Mud
Mucker GNCC
Round 1 - GNCC Racing Links |
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Bunnell, FL (3/9/2014)
– Less than thirty minutes away from the
Daytona Bike Week festivities, the 2014 AMSOIL
Grand National Cross Country Series presented
by Maxxis and sanctioned by AMA, kicked off
its 13-round series with the inaugural running
of the Moose Racing Mud Mucker GNCC. The event
held true to its name as Saturday's ATV competition
saw some of the wettest terrain of the entire
circuit, but that didn't stop five-time GNCC
National Champion Chris Borich from taking the
first win of 2014 in Bunnell, Fla.
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Chris Borich grabbed the $250 Twin Air/DeRisi Racing
XC1 Holeshot |
Borich got off to an early start aboard his
Maxxis-backed machine after grabbing the $250
Twin Air/DeRisi Racing XC1 Holeshot ahead
of nearly twenty other XC1 Pro competitors.
Precision/Maxxis Tires/Suzuki's Chris Bithell,
who took over the lead on the opening lap,
quickly challenged Borich. GT Thunder-backed
Brian Wolf inserted himself into the lead
battle early on, breaking up the Suzuki duo
of Bithell and Borich. However, Wolf ran into
mechanical issues that caused him to fall
outside the top ten by the second lap.
Meanwhile, N-Fab/AmPro Yamaha's Walker Fowler
worked his way through the pack from a start
outside the top five. Fowler jumped in behind
Borich and Bithell to begin an exciting three-way
battle for the lead.
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Adam McGill only completed three laps at
the season opener
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RacingPowersports.com/CST Tires/PirateMX.com's
Adam McGill put himself within striking distance
of Fowler and the leaders in the early portion
of the two-hour competition but as the race
wore on, McGill's machine wasn't able to withstand
the muddy conditions. McGill pulled off after
the third lap and never returned to the course.
It was also a tough day for BNR Motorsports/Loctite's
Kevin Yoho as the Ohio native experienced
mechanical issues early in the race. Yoho
was running inside the top five before his
machine broke down on the course.
The three-way battle for the lead position
became more exciting as the race wore on as
less than ten seconds separated the top three
runners throughout the second half of the
race. As the two-lap card fell, Bithell and
Borich were wheel-to-wheel, even swapping
the lead a few times on the final lap.
Borich said, "There were so many lines
out there and I think he [Bithell] bobbled
a little and I was able to get by him. On
the last lap a stick poked out and grabbed
my tether and killed the bike, so he was able
to get by me again."
However, it was the reigning champ who prevailed
in the end after putting his patented last-lap
pass on Bithell to take over the lead as the
duo came into the final turns within seconds
of one another. Borich went on to capture
his sixty-eighth career victory to put him
in the lead for all-time ATV wins. With Saturday's
win, the current points leader is now tied
with Barry Hawk for all-time GNCC victories
with sixty-eight.
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Chris Borich made his patented last-lap pass
for the lead |
"It's definitely pretty cool to tie
Barry's record for all-time wins!" Borich
said. "The track was pretty brutal out
there. It wasn't the sandy whoops like we're
used to here in Florida, it was a lot of mud
bogs everywhere but I just tried to be smooth,
patient and stay out of the roost as much
as possible to make the bike last."
Despite leading four of the five laps in
the two-hour race, Bithell secured a second
place finish to gain valuable points in the
championship chase.
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Chris Bithell lead four of the five laps on Saturday afternoon
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"Second place is actually my best finish
ever in Florida, so I'm pumped right now,"
Bithell said. "It was nuts out there!
The last mile before the finish Borich and
I were neck-and-neck. My bike blew a little
antifreeze so I just kind of backed down.
I knew I had Walker by then so I figured it
was better to finish second than to break
down."