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Parts Unlimited/Moose/Maxxis/Yamaha/Wiseco/Klotz/FMF/Dunlop/ITP
Suzuki Grand National Cross Country Series
Michael Houston Takes First
GNCC Win in a Battle at the Big Buck
Ballance and Yokley take second and third
 Union,
SC – 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 Tompkinsville, 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 checkpoint 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.”
Michael Houston Takes First
GNCC Win in a Battle at the Big Buck.
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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.
“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.”
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 a while. 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.
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, woods, 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, ITP and Tire Balls, and
riders compete for over $3 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.
Michael Houston photos by Raymond Gundy.
Contact RaymondGundy@aol.com
Results:
Suzuki Grand National Cross Country Series -
Round 4
Pirelli Big Buck GNCC, Union, SC
April 8, 2006
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 Cumbrland, WV HON
02:25:11
17 Andris Lagzdins Baltimore, MD HON 02:25:59
18 Tyler Lenig Shamokin, PA Pro Am HON
02:26:08
19 Santo Derisi Casar, NC HON 02:26:36
20 Brandon Sommers Millersburg, OH YAM
02:27:13
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