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#8 Johnny Gallagher earned third place at the Maxxis General GNCC giving him his first XC1 Pro podium in 10 years |
Cypress, CA (3/19/2013)
-Yamaha YFZ450Rs and YZ motocrossers raced to 14 wins and nearly two dozen more podium finishes in events from Georgia to Texas to California over the March 15-16 weekend.
Down south on Saturday, Walker Fowler and Johnny Gallagher podiumed in the GNCC premier XC1 Pro ATV class in Washington, Ga., with Patrick McGuire and Kara Merritt adding two more podiums in their respective XC2 Pro Am and Women's classes. And finally, at Glen Helen Raceway in Southern California on Sunday, Dustin Nelson put together 3-3 moto finishes to finish third overall in the opening round of the 2013 Yamaha Quad-X series.
On Saturday, the second round of the GNCC series in Georgia featured plenty of water, mud, rocks, roots, trees and dust – in other words, normal conditions for a great day of ATV racing! In the morning Women's race, Merritt crossed the line only in mid-pack after the first of five long laps totaling nearly 2 ½ hours of racing. Consummate pro that she is, the YFZ450R rider worked her way up to third place by the second lap, and then into second by the halfway point. With over a minute lead by that time, eventual winner and rival Kylie Ahart was out of Merritt's sight, so the Yamaha racer settled down and ran her own race through the woods. So tough was the course that only four women finished – Kara among them in a well-deserved second place.
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GNCC XC1 Pro
ATV Podium (left to right)
Walker Fowler (2nd), Chris Borich (1st), Johnny Gallagher (3rd) |
When the XC1 Pro and XC2 Pro Am classes lined up in the afternoon, the course was worked over from 20 morning classes having at it. As usual, XC1 Pro led the charge, with Chris Bithell taking the early lead before Yamaha's Fowler advanced from his mid-pack start to take control on the third of five laps, helped in part by mechanical problems for some of his rivals.
This set the stage for an exciting conclusion as Fowler and eventual winner Chris Borich locked horns in a battle for victory during the final hour of the race. Going into the last lap, Fowler held just a 2.2-second lead. And although the positions swapped by the flag, Fowler rode a fantastic race and was plenty happy with second.
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Walker Fowler once again come from behind to clinch a spot on the GNCC XC1 Pro Class podium in second place aboard his Am-Pro Yamaha YFZ450R ATV at Round 2 |
"It's not easy to come from the back at the beginning of a race and I'm in the best shape of my life," he said."I'm definitely excited with second place – now I just need to start picking up some wins."
For his part, Gallagher scored his first podium in a decade. He added, "It's been a long time and the faces have changed a little bit, but it still feels just as good!" Brian Wolf finished just off the podium in fourth on another YFZ, with Yamaha-mounted Kevin Yoho in fifth and Jeffrey Pickens in sixth.
2013
GNCC ATV XC1 Pro Points
|
| Position |
Name |
Points |
| 1 |
Chris Borich |
60 |
| 2 |
Walker
Fowler – Yamaha |
46 |
| 3 |
Adam McGill |
45 |
| 4 |
Chris Bithell |
32 |
| 5 |
Johnny Gallagher – Yamaha |
32 |
2013
GNCC ATV XC2 Pro Am Points
|
| Position |
Name |
Points |
| 1 |
Brycen Neal |
50 |
| 2 |
Landon Wolfe |
44 |
| 3 |
Patrick McGuire – Yamaha |
34 |
| 4 |
Fred Marley |
33 |
| 5 |
Chad Jones |
32 |
2013
GNCC ATV Womens Points
|
| Position |
Name |
Points |
| 1 |
Kylie Ahart |
40 |
| 2 |
Kara Merritt - Yamaha |
38 |
| 3 |
Jessica Ammons |
32 |
| 4 |
Quincy Cunningham |
18 |
| 5 |
Ashlee Barbee |
17 |
About Yamaha Motor
Corp., U.S.A.
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., (YMUS), a
leader in the motorsports market, makes the
toughest, most capable and versatile ATV and
Side-by-Side vehicles. The company’s ever-expanding
product offerings also include motorcycles,
outboard motors, personal watercraft, snowmobiles,
boats, outdoor power equipment, race kart engines,
accessories, apparel and much more. YMUS products
are sold through a nationwide network of dealers
in the United States.
Headquartered in Cypress,
Calif., since its incorporation in 1976, Yamaha
also has facilities in Wisconsin and Georgia,
as well as factory operations in Tennessee and
Georgia. For more information on Yamaha, visit
www.yamaha-motor.com.
