For Immediate Release
October 6, 2003

Contact: Jason Weigandt
Phone: 304-284-0084
Email: info@gnccracing.com

Production Quads Moving to Head of GNCC Pack
Top pro riders are going four-stroke in Grand National Cross Country Series

Morgantown, WV – It’s the dawn of a new era of GNCC ATV Racing. The top pro riders are all switching from traditional 250R-based two-stroke quads to the new generation of production four-stroke ATVs, and it’s a move that has all racers, from amateur to pro, fired up.

“These new machines, like the Yamaha YFZ450, are great,” says defending GNCC Champion Bill Ballance. Ballance rode a Yamaha at the previous series’ event in Kentucky. “It’s not just for us pros either. It makes the sport a lot more accessible for the average guy. Just like the bike racers, he can just buy a machine at his local shop and come out here and race and be competitive.”

Ballance also tried a Suzuki Z-400 Quad Sport a month ago in Pennsylvania, and he rode it well to a second-place overall finish. In Kentucky, William Yokley rode a Suzuki to the overall win, and Bill’s brother Brandon won the series’ opener in Florida on a Suzuki. Clearly, the Z-400 has proven itself competitive in the top level of ATV racing.

Yamaha’s YFZ450 debuted in June, and top pros like Matt Smiley (GNCC #2) and Chad DuVall (Pro Production points leader) have immediately taken a liking to the machine. “All you have to do is put a pipe on it and some suspension,” said Smiley. “That’s all it needs.”

In comparison, the old Honda 250R-based machines are essentially built from the ground up from aftermarket parts, making them more expensive and harder to maintain.

In Kentucky, Yokley (Suzuki Z-400), Brad Page (Kawasaki KXF400) and Smiley (Yamaha YFZ450) made for an all production-based four-stroke podium, the first such finish in GNCC Racing history. Just two of the top ten overall riders were riding 250Rs.

As development continues, expect even more top racers to make the switch. “We don’t want anyone to get the advantage on us next year,” said the Troy Racing/LRD/Klotz/Maxxis/Pro Armor-backed Ballance. “We’ll try a lot of different things, like maybe race the Suzuki again, and see what works.”

Yokley, for example, has used the 2003 season as an ongoing development process. His Nac’s/IMS/Roll/Yohimura/ITP/Elka team made major changes to the Suzuki that led to a Kentucky win. With aftermarket suspension components, the production machines can now match the aftermarket chassis for wheel travel, and the four-stroke engines are an easy match for the two-strokes.

This weekend’s Power Line Park GNCC in St. Clairsville, Ohio will pit over 500 ATV racers against mud, hills, dirt and rocks. ATVs race Saturday, with novice, women and utility classes racing at 10 a.m. and pros and intermediates racing at 1 p.m. Both races last two hours.

The AMA Grand National Cross Country series is America’s premier off-road racing series. One of the most physically demanding sports in the world, the nearly three-hour long cross-country races lead as many as 1300 riders through tracks ranging from eight to twelve miles in length. With varied terrain including hills, mud, dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC races are tests of both survival and speed. GNCC featured sponsors include MSR, Yamaha, Dunlop, Wiseco, Maxxis, FMF, Klotz, and ITP, and riders compete for over $500,000 in series prizes and contingency money. The 13-round series will air on cable television later in the year. Associate sponsors include Ohlins, Cometic, Scott, Sidi, Boyesen, Twin Air, Pro Armor, Outerwears, Laeger’s, Silent Sport and Morgantown Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha and KTM.

For more information log on to http://www.gnccracing.com/.

Talk About This In Our Forums