2009 GNCC Racing - Round 1 - River Ranch - ATV Race Coverage

[Pappy]

BJ Naugle would see his lead slip as he had to make an emergency pit stop for fuel. BJ went on to finish 2nd in 20 C but now knows he can win and I look for him to meet his goal when he rejoins the series at round 3

[Pappy]

Getting the slightest bit out of shape could mean a hang up.....


But hey...it made for some kick *** pictures eh?

[Pappy]

Angel Atwell had regained the lead from Albright and was now just a few turns from her first victory of 2009!

Atwell had one get off but she appeared to get herself uprighted and going again, and I know this win feels pretty dang sweet!

[Pappy]

Albright was on a mission and did not let up for one second today and that got her on the podium with 2nd in class and 2nd overall!

[Pappy]

Traci Cecco would round out the 3rd position in the womens class but her effort wouldnt be enough to get her on the podium

[Pappy]

Micheal Swift, Bryan Buckhannon and Cliffton Beasley started the season off right by claiming thier respective class wins.

[Pappy]

You know the rules..........If you dump it..I catch it Nice save

[Pappy]

I was off to change out batteries and such as harlen foley grabbed pics of the podium. It was awesome to see Jennifer Albright do so well in front of her hometown crowd!

Atwell draws first blood in what we all know will be another tough year in the womens class and round 2 will be an all out war as Cecco will want to get a win on the board.

Micheal Swift...the man is just fast and seeing him on the podium is nothing new for sure. He makes it look so easy

Thats it for the morning and youth and pre race.....now its time to dig in to the afternoon classes and ofcourse the pro's!


Photo by Foley

[Pappy]

With crack photo Foley busy schmoozing the pro's and me dealing with a battery charging issue(lack there of ) I stayed back again at a spot away from all the action. So for this round, you'll have to hit the galleries to see the pics of your favorite pro on the line.

I did manage to catch Ockerman has he did his final last minute things before heading out. he is alot slower off the quad...much easier to photograph

[Pappy]

I could hear all the pre race songs play and the prayer completed and then the silence that bestoes the echoing bellow of the "10 seconds" call!

The XC1 class fired to life and was heading for the first turn. Almost in unison, the roar of the machines now screaming for the right handed turn quieted slightly and only for a brief second as the riders set up for the first turn of the 2009 season. In an instant, the sound of full throttle racing shot across the flat terrain as once again the riders screamed for turn two!

Now running behind a large row of trees and brush and still out of my sight, I started getting keyed up as I knew my chances to grab the leader would be over in the bat of an eye. The dust that I could see rising from the first few turns would soon be driven my way by the wind and joined by the blackened soil that would surely overwhelm me and take away any chance of a shot of all but the leader.

As I peered through my lens checking my exposure one last time, I could see a yellow blur entering from left. It was Chris Borich out front! In 2008 he was left kicking over his machine in an attempt to get it fired and now he was screaming ahead of the class with the lead!