Washington, GA - Here we are only a
week into the new GNCC season and there are already
two races in the books. Round one in Florida revealed
that the series was growing, with new models such as
the Polaris Outlaw and Suzuki's LTR450 entered in the
race and the formation of powerhouse teams featuring
the involvement of companies new to the ATV market.
A handful of new talent made their mark, but the existing
Pro Class regime claimed the podium. The first race
got everyone up to speed for the first woods battle
of 2006, the General GNCC in Washington, Georgia.
The General is the return to the traditional GNCC
course, as Florida is a one-off torture test that
has the racers running a 48 mile long sand whoop section.
The Aonia Pass Facility has a variety of terrain,
including a full-time MX track. The tight woods, stream
crossings, rocks and roots along the 12 mile course
would test the diversity of the racers, as a cross-country
event should.
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#7 Chris Jenks battling with #1 Bill Ballance
and Pro Rookie #9 Adam McGill for the lead after
turn one |
For the afternoon event 300 riders lined up on the start
for a shot at the course, with 21 Pro racers on the
front row. The weather turned out to be perfect, with
just enough rain during the week prior to the event
to keep the dust down and the mudholes challenging.
Chris Jenks jumped off the line to claim the ITP Holeshot
$100 bonus, with Bill Ballance and Adam McGill battling
side by side down the second straightaway. I was able
to go into the woods in the top ten, tucking in behind
Bryan Baker. The morning race had cut the trails in
nicely, and the track was clear with plenty of alternate
lines at the mudholes. Unfortunately, I was following
too close to Bryan, and when he stalled coming out of
a muddy gully I had no place to go and had to watch
as riders went around us. The course was pretty cut
and dry, and any small mistake was a real setback. The
end of the first lap had the top 5 riders only separated
by twenty seconds! Jenks held the lead with young gun
Chris Bithell in second. Chris Borich and Bill Ballance
battled for third with William Yokley right behind them.
William had opted to run his LTZ400 race quad from last
season, due to lack of necessary components to make
his new LTR450 competitive in the tight woods sections.
His Z400 is still very competitive, and don't forget
he won the last race of 2005 on it. Matt Smiley put
his Polaris Outlaw into sixth place after the first
lap.
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#3
William Yokley was back on Suzuki LTZ400 this
weekend while he waits on A-arms and large gas
tank for the new LT-R450, but regardless he
plans to be back on the LT-R450 for North Carolina |
#10
Jeremy Rice missed the opening round of the
series, and he arrived in Georgia on an almost
completely stock Suzuki LT-R450 QuadRacer, and
he plans to have it dialed in by Steele Creek |
Riders who were on the move during the second lap
were Rhett Butler, Mike Houston, and Duane Johnson.
I diced with Duane for a while and he has really stepped
it up this year, riding with a lot of confidence and
picking great lines. Slow starter Mike Houston put
on an explosive drive to the front in the opening
laps, working into 7th overall by the end of lap two.
Scott Barron and Adam McGill were in good position
for top ten finishes. The track did start to take
it's toll on a few pro riders, as Mighty Matt was
once again hampered by setup issues and Jeremy Rice
was getting beat up by the OEM shocks on his bone-stock
LTR450. I rode behind Matt for a little bit, and his
straight-line speed was there, but his corner speed
was not where it should be. You have to give it to
Matt for developing brand-new technology for his sponsors
during the race season, when he knows he could run
up front on his tried and true equipment. Brandon
Ballance had been running in the top ten but had to
pit to try and solve some mechanical problems. At
the end of lap two Jenks held onto the lead with Bill
Ballance moving up into second.
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#15 Duane Johnson has made a smooth transition
to the Pro Class with two finishes in the top
7 overall |
My third and fourth laps were smooth, and I was able
to move past some riders to get up into the top ten.
One big surprise was the resurgence of Johnny Gallagher,
whose riding in Georgia proved that rumors of his demise
in Florida were greatly exaggerated. I worked my way
past McGill and Houston, who was hung up on one of the
abrupt inclines right after a mud hole. Bryan Baker
was held back with suspension issues on the demanding
course.
Bill Ballance was making major time up on the motocross
track, clearing all the doubles and tabletops. He
was able to move into first on the third lap and held
it until the checkered flag. Second was a battle of
the Chris's with Borich and Jenks going tooth and
nail until the finish with Borich taking the runner-up
position. William put his Z400 into fourth place ahead
of Bithell. The Missouri Mafia of Johnson and Butler
pulled in with 6th and 7th overall. Taylor Kiser put
in a great ride to claim the ProAm class win and edged
me out by one second to claim 8th overall. Gallagher
kept it together for tenth.
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#1
Bill Ballance proved he is still the man to
beat as he chases after his seventh championship
to tie Barry Hawk |
#2
Chris Borich maintains the points lead by finishing
only two seconds ahead of #4 Chris Jenks rounding
out the Podium |
Going into Round 3, Chris Borich holds a 12 point
lead in the overall standings, with Bill Ballance
and William Yokley tied for second. Chris Jenks is
riding super-consistent, and is fourth in the standings
followed by Chris Bithell, who is looking for his
first podium of 2006. The Steele Creek GNCC should
be a good battle, and will test the hillclimbing abilities
of the racers; a factor that did not come into play
in the first two rounds. Look for the local guys to
excel at their home track and challenge for the top
positions. See you in North Carolina!
| GNCC
ATV Top 10 Overall in Point Standings |
| Position |
Rider Name |
Machine |
Total
Points |
| 1. |
Chris Borich |
Honda |
55 |
| 2. |
William Yokley |
Suzuki |
43 |
| 3. |
Bill Ballance |
Yamaha |
43 |
| 4. |
Chris Jenks |
Honda |
39 |
| 5. |
Chris Bithell |
Honda |
31 |
| 6. |
Duane Johnson |
Honda |
29 |
| 7. |
Andy Lagzdins |
Honda |
22 |
| 8. |
Brandon Ballance |
Yamaha |
21 |
| 9. |
Sean Neidlinger (ProAm) |
Honda |
20 |
| 10. |
Bryan Baker |
Honda |
19 |
Pro
ATV Race - Video Clip |
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| Videos
By: Ron Dernoski |
The
AMA-sanctioned Suzuki Grand National Cross Country
series is America's premier off-road racing series.
The 13-round series is produced exclusively by Racer
Productions. Cross-country racing is one of the most
physically demanding sports in the world. The nearly
three-hour long GNCC races lead as many as 1800 riders
through tracks ranging from eight to twelve miles
in length. With varied terrain including hills, trees,
mud, dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC events
are tests of both survival and speed. GNCC featured
sponsors include Parts Unlimited, Moose, Maxxis, Pirelli,
Wiseco, Klotz, FMF and ITP, and riders compete for
over $2.8 million in series prizes and contingency
money. Associate sponsors include Moose Utility Division,
Scott, Acerbis, Alpinestars, Cometic, Outerwears,
Twin Air, Polisport Plastics, Thor, Motion Pro, Hyper
Wheels, Elka Suspension, MotoTee's, Weekend Warrior,
Owens Motorsports, Tom's Marina Polaris, EK Chain
and Laeger's. Media Sponsors include Dirt Rider Magazine,
ATV Sport Magazine, www.ATVRiders.com
and Racer X Illustrated. For more information log
on to www.GNCCRacing.com.
www.gnccracing.com
122 Vista Del Rio Drive,
Morgantown, WV 26508
304-284-0084
ATVriders.com
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