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Ballance tops Borich in yet another Wisp Classic
Champion heads into summer break with momentum
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| Chris
Borich & Bill Ballance race tire to tire for
almost the entire race |
Deep Creek, MD – Many new pro
contenders have arrived in the 2006 Suzuki Grand National
Country Series, but only two could win on the ultra
rugged ski slopes of the Wisp Resort in Deep Creek,
Maryland. The Wisp hosted a classic Killer B’s
battle as Yamaha’s Bill Ballance and Honda’s
Chris Borich returned to the front of the pack. The
dup bumped and banged for two hours, with Ballance finally
pulling out a clutch win.
“This is the roughest track we race all year.
It’s like a toughman thing, it just beats you
to death with these rocks,” said Ballance, the
six-time and defending GNCC Champion from Oakland, Kentucky.
“It seems like any time we get hooked up, we take
it down to the end. Me and Chris just went back and
forth. I passed him on the third lap, and he got me
in a sweeper. The last time I passed him, it was a bottleneck.
I tried a new line and couldn’t get too much traction,
but the lapper moved up a foot and opened up a perfect
line. I got the lead right there, and I tried to pull
away, but he was right up to me. In that last open section
I don’t think I let off the gas even once. It
was a heck of a battle.”
Borich held the lead several times throughout the day.
He gave it everything he had down the stretch, but came
up just short.
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| Chris
Jenks was in the hunt for the lead until the last
lap |
“It was a lot of fun just battling all day,”
said Borich. “I wanted it pretty bad. On the last
lap we hit a bottleneck and Bill but by. He put a good
20 seconds on me and I put my head down and caught up
to him. Around the ten-mile marker I touched the front
brake a little bit and fell down. I thought I lost him.
I got up to him again and tried to dive inside in some
of these last fields, but I couldn’t get in like
I wanted to. I know I can trust him, so we can just
go all out!”
Early in the race, Ballance and Borich had to fight
with GT Thunder’s Chris Jenks. The Washington,
West Virginia rider was in podium position until a broken
suspension component ended his day. The door then opened
to a big battle between a four-man pack, and Yoshimura
Suzuki’s William Yokley won it on his LT-R450.
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| William
Yokley charges his way to final podium from 7th
place in the last lap of the race |
“I was pretty far back at the end of the third
lap,” said Yokley. “I never gave up and
just tried to pick them off one at a time. I got around
Johnson, and me and Chris Bithell were battling pretty
hard for the whole lap My tire was just grinding his
nerf bar in one fast section. We were banging bars!
My elbows are a little rusty, but I can still stick
them out when I have to. It was fun.”
Fourth went to Bithell, who rode an amazing race after
tangling with Polaris’ Matt Smiley early and starting
way, way back. Running laps at times faster than even
the leaders, he nearly pulled off a podium finish.
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| Bill
Ballance heads into the Summer Break with the
points lead and a huge smile! |
“It would have been good to get another podium,”
said Bithell. “But I’m happy with it considering
how far back I was.”
Fifth went to Duane “The Rock” Johnson
in another solid ride. Bryan Cook, Brandon Balance,
Santo DeRisi, Adam McGill and Michael Houston rounded
out the top ten.
The Outdoor Life Network crew taped all of the Wisp
action for the Racer TV Series on OLN. Races air every
Saturday and Wednesday at 3 pm.
The Suzuki GNCC Series now begins its annual summer
break. Racing continues in two months at the Yadkin
Valley Stomp GNCC in Yadkinville, NC.
Suzuki GNCC Series ATV Racing
Results
Round #8 - "The Tire Balls Spartan GNCC"
| ATV
Top Twenty Overall |
1. Bill V Ballance Oakland, KY YAM 02:08:33
2. Chris M Borich Sunbury, PA HON 02:08:37
3. William Yokley Tompkinsville, KY SUZ 02:10:23
4. Chris Bithell Irwin, PA HON 02:10:26
5. Duane Johnson Trenton, MO HON 02:10:29
6. Bryan Cook Casar, NC HON 02:11:35
7. Brandon Ballance Oakland, KY YAM 02:12:14
8. Santo Derisi Casar, NC HON 02:13:43
9. Adam McGill West Union, WV HON 02:14:42
10. Michael Houston Hickory, NC HON 02:14:49
11. Bryan Baker Knob Noster, MO HON 02:14:52
12. Todd Demaree Varsailles, IN HON 02:14:54
13. Ryan Morphew Cookeville, TN HON 02:14:58
14. Craig Reed Crawford, TN HON 02:15:18
15. Matt J Smiley Kunkletown, PA POL 02:15:57
16. Tyler Lenig Shamokin, PA HON 02:16:11
17. James Wahl Shillington, PA HON 02:16:20
18. Jarrod McClure Kaska, PA HON 02:16:41
19. Taylor Kiser Alva, FL YAM 02:17:02
20. Kyle Martin Winona, MO HON 02:17:06
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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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