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Big
Buck GNCC - Round 4
A TV / SxS Racing Links |
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Union, SC (4/15/2012) –
Expectations were high heading into round
four of the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country
Series after Chris Borich and Taylor Kiser
banged bars all the way through the final
moments of an intense two-hour battle in North
Carolina, resulting in Kiser’s first
win in two years and consequently giving Borich
his first loss of the season. The defending
champ switched things up this time and pulled
off yet another exciting win as he edged out
2011 runner-up Adam McGill by only two seconds
in a less dramatic—but just as intense—finish
at the 2012 VP Racing Fuels Big Buck GNCC
in Union, South Carolina.
The stage was set for Kiser continue his
streak as he quickly grabbed the $250 Motosport.com
Holeshot Award, gapping Ballance Racing Yamaha
teammate Walker Fowler and JG Offroad/FRE/American
Honda’s Brian Wolf from the get-go.
Wolf and Fowler are no strangers in battle
as the two former XC2 champions went head-to-head
for years in the Pro Am division, but this
time the intensity took over and the two riders
came together just after the finish area.
Wolf took the short end at first when he went
sailing to the ground, but it was Fowler who
ultimately suffered when his ATV quit working
shortly after he passed Wolf for second. It
didn’t take long for Fowler to figure
out the mechanical issue wasn’t fixable
and the track crew towed him into the pits.
And things only got worse for the Ballance
Racing crew when they learned that Kiser’s
ATV had also quit running within minutes of
his teammate’s incident. After putting
a sizeable gap on the rest of the field, Kiser
made a quick attempt to run on foot towards
the pit, but ended up getting towed in right
behind Fowler and neither rider was able to
make it back out to salvage any points for
the day.
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| Maxxis'
Chris Borich took the win at Big Buck
GNCC on his Suzuki LTR450 ATV |
In just one lap the entire dynamic of the
race had changed and Borich found himself
leading the two-hour race much sooner than
anticipated. Over the years, Borich has nearly
perfected his come-from-behind strategy where
he slowly reels in the leaders before making
his move in the final stretch, but this strategy
didn’t come into play as Borich surprisingly
found himself in the front the pack after
his Yamaha counterparts dropped out.
“It actually worked out to be in the
front this weekend especially because of how
much of a factor the dust was today,”
said Borich. “It’s unfortunate
what happened with those guys [Fowler and
Kiser] today, but that’s just part of
racing. I really like racing with them and
it makes it more fun when we can all mix it
up out there.”
Precision/Moto X Perts/ITP/Lonestar/RG Motorsports’
Adam McGill was held up off the start but
admittedly hooked onto Borich’s rear
bumper and sailed through the pack despite
the dusty course conditions. The two traded
places for the lead, claiming, “the
race almost felt like a practice day since
we were just out there having fun and racing
together.”
Chris Bithell eventually moved his Motoworks/Can-Am
DS450 into third after getting a slow start
in the beginning and it quickly became a three-way
battle for the lead between Borich, McGill
and Bithell. Borich and McGill put a small
gap on Bithell towards the end of lap four
and it was once again a drag race to the checkers,
with only two seconds separating Borich’s
victory and McGill’s hard-fought second.
Bithell came through with a solid third, taking
his second podium finish of the season.
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XC1 Pro
ATV Podium (left to right)
Adam McGill (2nd), Chris Bithell (1st)
, Chris Bithell (3rd)
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