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Michael Houston Takes First GNCC Win in a Battle
at the Big Buck
Ballance and Yokley take second and third
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#13
Michael Houston earns not only his first podium
appearance, but also his first overall win in
the GNCC Racing Series |
Union, SC (4/11/2006) – The
racing action is better than ever in the Suzuki Grand
National Cross Country Series, and this time the battle
was so tight that an upstart was able to win his first-ever
GNCC. LTERacing.com’s Michael Houston, of Hickory,
North Carolina, fought to the top in an incredible race
between nearly ten riders to win the Pirelli Big Buck
GNCC in Union, South Carolina. Yamaha’s Bill Ballance
made up valuable championship points by finishing second,
as the Oakland, Kentucky, based rider knifed underneath
Yoshimura/Suzuki’s William Yokley in the final
stretch to the finish. Yokley, of Thompskinsville, Kentucky,
finished third on his Suzuki LT-R450 QuadRacer.
For Houston, who had never finished on the podium in
a GNCC before, it was a dream day. “It was a perfect
day, I ran in seeing distance of these guys all day,
and then I just waited for something to happen to them
instead of letting something to happen to me,”
said Houston, who rode smart and took advantage of errors
by the leaders. “The crowd just lit up every time
I came past, it really helps your inspiration and motivation.
I came into the pits around fourth or fifth, and when
I got out of the pits I was behind Borich in second.
Those guys were really pushing the pace, and after a
couple miles in I went back to fourth. I just really
wanted to keep them in sight. Then I guess they ran
into some problems in the creek, and I came around the
check point and got the white flag and they were telling
me I was in first! I didn’t feel too fast in the
first few miles, but I knew if I could hold them until
the second half of the track, I could hold them off
and win. This is my first podium – I would have
been happy to just be up here in third, but to win,
it’s just awesome.”
It was mad scramble all day, as only 45 seconds separated
the top ten riders at the halfway point of the race.
At that point, though, the Killer B’s of Ballance
and Chris Borich had grabbed the top-two spots, and
many expected them to pull away. Instead, they both
stalled in a water crossing, allowing Houston, Duane
Johnson and Yokley to get around.
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William Yokley was back on Suzuki LT-R450 QuadRacer,
and with his new ride came a return trip to the
Podium after leading the first two laps he finished
out the day in third overall |
The
Killer B's were at it again swapping the lead
back and forth, but a creek hazard would claim
the pair, which had them battling back through
the pack with Ballance finishing 2nd and Borich
in 4th |
“I was in the lead and I felt good, and I thought
I maybe had this one in the bag,” said Ballance,
the six-time and defending GNCC Champion. “Then
I took on some water, and the bike just choked out. Then
I looked around and saw Chris (Borich) in there too, so
I knew he had some problems, too! I lost a few positions
there, then I got past a few guys, and I clipped a tree
and flipped over the handlebars. Those guys got back around,
I was able to get around Jenks and Johnson with a line
in the woods, and then I got around William (Yokley) right
here coming to the finish. I was pushing it with everything
I had. I’m in a position where I need to get points,
and every position I could put between me and Chris I
needed to have. Ballance and his wife welcomed
a new baby girl into the world four days before the
race, and he wanted the win. “Second is alright,
but I promised my new little girl a win, so we’ll
have to get it at Loretta’s in two weeks.”
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| The
Pro Rookie, Duane Johnson was within four seconds
of finishing on the Podium at the checkered flag |
Yokley raced the Big Buck with a new woods setup on
his LT-R450, narrowing the machine nearly three inches
from the one he raced a month ago in Florida. He led
the race early. “It was a pretty crazy day,”
said Yokley. “The new Suzuki ran awesome today.
I had a good start and was running in the lead for awhile.
We came into the pits and lost a little time gassing,
we had to rig up a dry-break fuel system for the new
bike and our pit was a little slow. I got out and I
was a little behind, then Bill rolled it over out there,
and then (Duane) Johnson ran into another rider. So
I got into second, but Bill got me there at the end.
I went a little wide there and he got by. But that’s
racing.”
In the midst of the battle for the race win comes the
battle for the GNCC Championship. Borich, of Sunbury,
Pennsylvania, still leads the standings, but after stalling
in the water and losing the lead, he was only able to
climb back to fourth.
“I was right behind Bill in second, and we were
having a good race, but I jumped the second creek crossing,
and when I landed in the water it just died,”
said Borich. “I was there for maybe a minute just
kicking it. After that I had to get new goggles and
stuff, and I ran strong at the end, but it was just
too tight and I couldn’t get past those guys.”
The Big Buck GNCC drew over 1200 individual riders
between the Youth, 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. The Big Buck event will begin
airing on Saturday, May 13th.
Miller Yamaha’s Angel Atwell topped Polaris’
Stephanie Parton to win the morning race ATV overall.
Alba Yamaha’s Traci Cecco saw her three-race win
streak end after getting wire caught in her axle while
leading. Cecco finished third. Walker Fowler continued
his run through the ATV Youth Ranks with the Youth overall
win.
The Suzuki GNCC Series continues in two weeks with the
ITP Loretta Lynn’s GNCC in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.
For more information, log on to GNCCRacing.com.
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Michael
Houston pops his first bottle of bubbly on the
GNCC Podium with racing legend’s Bill Ballance
and William Yokley. |
Suzuki GNCC Series ATV Racing
Results
Round #4 - "Big Buck"
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ATV
Top Twenty Overall |
1 Michael S Houston Hickory, NC HON 02:21:14
2 Bill V Ballance Oakland, KY YAM 02:21:17
3 William Yokley Tompkinsville, KY SUZ 02:21:19
4 Chris M Borich Sunbury, PA HON 02:21:21
5 Duane Johnson Trenton, MO HON 02:21:23
6 Chris Jenks Washington, WV HON 02:21:46
7 Brandon Ballance Oakland, KY YAM 02:23:06
8 Adam Mcgill West Union, WV HON 02:23:20
9 Jeffrey Pickens Lemont Furnace, PA YAM 02:23:46
10 Chris Bithell Irwin, PA HON 02:24:08
11 Taylor Kiser Alva, FL YAM 02:24:08
12 Ryan Morphew Cookeville, TN HON 02:24:15
13 Craig Reed Crawford, TN HON 02:24:27
14 Bryan Baker Knob Noster, MO HON 02:24:54
15 Matt J Smiley Kunkletown, PA POL 02:25:01
16 Scott Barron New Cumberland, WV HON 02:25:11
17 Andris Lagzdins Baltimore, MD ROL 02:25:59
18 Tyler Lenig Shamokin, PA HON 02:26:08
19 Santo Derisi Casar, NC HON 02:26:36
20 Brandon Sommers Millersburg, OH YAM 02:27:13 |
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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