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Ballance Pulls Out ITP Loretta
Lynn's GNCC on the Last Lap
Borich second and Jenks third in another amazing race
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#1
Bill Ballance takes the win at Loretta Lynn's,
which he dedicated to his newborn daughter. |
Hurricane Mills, TN (4/24/2006) –
Another amazing GNCC race, and another clutch win for
Yamaha's Bill Ballance. The 2006 Suzuki Grand National
Cross Country Series has turned into one of the best battles
ever, and the ITP Loretta Lynn's GNCC just added to it.
Ballance grabbed the ITP holeshot award, but GT Thunder's
Chris Jenks sped past and went fast, leading for most
of the day. On the last lap, he succumbed to the relentless
pressure of Ballance and East Cost ATV Honda's Chris Borich,
and Ballance survived a scare with a lapper to take the
win.
"It was pretty cool out there," said Ballance.
"Everyone has stepped up this year. You just have
to hold it wide open on every lap. It's intense. All
day long I just wanted to get out front. I had the lead,
but Chris got by and he was setting a good pace, so
I just wanted to stay with him. I've been riding and
riding and riding, so I wasn't getting tired, and I
was in one heck of a groove. I was eager to get out
front on the last lap. I saw the white flag and knew
it was time to go. I started to push it pretty hard.
Chris made a mistake in some roots. Then about four
miles from the end, I tangled with a lapper and hit
a tree, went over the bars and bent a tie-rod. I thought,
"Here we go again," because I had a couple
of these in the bag this year and it got away from me.
It made me mad. I got back on, and I could hear those
guys coming, so I held on. I have a lot of friends down
here and it was time for a win."
Borich suffered a few problems early, including a miffed
pit stop when he bobbled with a fresh set of goggles.
But he charged back to second on the final lap.
"We hooked up and were battling," said Borich.
"It was fun out there. I was leading a couple of
times. I came in that second lap, and I got a rock jammed
in my wheels, I had to get it out of there and they
got by me. I got by Chris, and I tried to reel Bill
in but I ran out of time. It's nice to have the points
lead, but I would rather win. We're having the longer
tracks here, and it helps. Lapped traffic wasn't a factor."
Jenks has shown tremendous speed this year and was
happy to get on the podium. "Getting a good start
is the key, and that's where I needed to be," said
the West Virginian. "I was able to put a little
run on him, there were a lot of lines out there. It
was on the second lap, we were in the woods where they
had some new woods cut in, and I just had a line and
made the move. But that's what got me on the last lap,
because there were a lot of lines to get back around
me. Then I got stuck on the last lap and Chris got around
me. After two sixth places, I'm finally back up here.
This where we are going to stay all year."
Ballance had help right off the start when he nailed
the ITP Holeshot Award. "We're going back to some
things we did last year when we got nine holeshots,"
said Ballance.
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| #149
BrEnt Sturdivant shocked everyone with his incredible
ride, which netted him 4th Overall |
Pro Am racer Brent Sturdivant logged the best race
of his GNCC career by winning his class and finishing
fourth overall. Pro rookie Duane Johnson rode very well
again to finish fifth, with Yoshimura Suzuki's William
Yokley in sixth. Chris Bithell, Bryan Baker, Adam McGill
and Matt Smiley rounded out the top ten overall.
The ITP Loretta Lynn's GNCC drew over 1000 individual
riders between the ATV and bike classes. The race was
taped for an airing on the Outdoor Life Network as part
of the Racer TV Series. GNCC TV airs every Saturday
and Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Alba Yamaha's Traci Cecco topped Polaris' Stephanie
Parton to win the morning race ATV overall.
The Suzuki GNCC Series continues in two weeks with
the all-new Showtime! GNCC in Seymour, Missouri. For
more information, log on to GNCCRacing.com
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Top Three Overall
(left to Right)
Chris Borich, Bill Ballance, Chris Jenks
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Suzuki GNCC Series ATV Racing
Results
Round #5 - "Loretta Lynn's"
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ATV
Top Twenty Overall |
1. Bill Ballance Oakland, KY YAM 01:55:40
2. Chris BorichSunbury, PA HON 01:55:44
3. Chris Jenks Washington, WV HON 01:56:12
4. Brent Sturdivant Montrose, WV HON 01:58:10
5. Duane Johnson Trenton, MO HON 01:58:17
6. William Yokley Tompkinsville, KY SUZ 01:58:32
7. Chris Bithell Irwin, PA HON 02:00:44
8. Bryan Baker Knob Noster, MO HON 02:01:19
9. Adam Mcgill West Union, WV HON 02:02:01
10. Matt J Smiley Kunkletown, PA POL 02:02:39
11. Andris Lagzdins Baltimore, MD HON 02:02:45
12. Craig Reed Crawford, TN HON 02:03:12
13. Brandon Ballance Oakland, KY YAM 02:03:24
14. Sean Neidlinger Flagtown, NJ HON 02:03:30
15. Tyler Lenig Shamokin, PA HON 02:03:44
16. Jeremy Rice Fombell, PA SUZ 02:04:06
17. Ryan Morphew Cookeville, TN HON 02:04:28
18. Santo Derisi Casar, NC HON 02:04:30
19. Jarrod McClure Kaska, PA HON 02:04:44
20. Rhett M Butler Oak Grove, MO HON 02:05:10 |
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
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