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Borich in
Must-Win Situation Heading to ITP Power Line
Park GNCC in Ohio
Chris Borich |
St. Clairsville, OH
– East Coast ATV’s Chris Borich wanted to avoid
this, but his back is up against the wall again
in the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country
Series. A few weeks ago Borich held the series
points lead after grabbing two-straight GNCC
wins, and the Sunbury, PA native appeared
to have seven-time and defending GNCC Champion
Bill Ballance against the ropes in the battle
for the ’07 title. But Borich blew a shock at
last week’s race in North Carolina, which left
the 25-year-old limping to the finish line in
17th. Factory Yamaha’s Ballance took the points
lead back, and Borich must win the next two
races to stop his rival’s historic quest for an
eighth-straight title.
“I wasn’t too happy after the last one,” said
Borich in his trademark understated fashion. “I
just need to win the next two and hope that
someone gets in there and beats ‘old Billy boy
at one of these. Basically all the pressure is
on him. If a DNF happens to me it’s all over, so
I can just go for it. I know I can win these two
races, I’ve done it before, so I just have to
hope one of these other guys gets in there.”
If Borich wins the final two rounds of the
series—this Saturday’s ITP Power Line Park GNCC
in St. Clairsville, Ohio, and the finale two
weeks later in Indiana—and Ballance takes second
both times, Ballance will still win the
championship. If Borich wins both and Ballance
takes only a second and a third, Borich wins the
title. Ballance hasn’t finished off the podium
all season.
Luckily for Borich, there’s plenty of talent
that can finish between him and Ballance. The
list starts with LTERacing.com’s Chris Bithell,
the 19-year-old who collected his first GNCC win
last weekend. Bithell won that race after
holding off a determined Ballance on the last
lap. Bithell also rides and trains with Borich,
so no doubt the youngster would like to help his
friend in the quest for a title.
Bithell’s fellow pro sophomore, Adam McGill,
would also like to take a bite out of the
podium, and he honestly doesn’t care what points
he takes doing it—the 20-year-old just wants to
win. After leading several laps in Pennsylvania
and New York, McGill had an off day in North
Carolina and could only muster sixth overall.
Expect a rebound this weekend as the series
heads closer to his West Virginia base.
Borich also has a teammate who is no slouch—and
no stranger to battling Ballance. Matt Smiley’s
renaissance season has produced a climb from
19th in the series last year to fourth in points
this time, and “Mr. Consistency” is always in
the hunt no matter what terrain the series races
on.
As a final wild card—but this one on Ballance’s
side—GT Thunder Yamaha’s Brandon Sommers will
make his pro debut after a dominating season in
the XC2 Pro Am class. The Ohio rider surely
won’t hurt his fellow Yamaha rider in points,
but there’s still plenty of anticipation to see
how the hard-working Sommers will fare when
racing on the front row. Meanwhile, his XC2
class is now wide open, with Don Ockerman, David
Crane and Ryan Lane looking to break through on
Saturday.
There are plenty of other contenders as well,
including GT Thunder’s Chris Jenks and Duane
Johnson. Both struggled mightily in 2007 after
finishing third and fourth in points last year
and need to end the year strong. And one of
these days, Monster Energy/National
Guard/Kawasaki’s William Yokley will uncork a
good finish. The multi-time GNCC race winner and
crowd favorite hasn’t scored a podium yet this
season.
All of those pro riders race at 1 pm on
Saturday. The day also includes a 10 a.m. race
with Utility, Women, Sport, Super Senior and
Novice racers. The Open 4x4 title is still wide
open, with a trio of Can-Am mounted riders—Rick
Cecco, Bryan Buckhannon and Scott Kilby—trading
wins and points all season long. Buckhannon
needs a win this weekend to stave off Cecco’s
championship clinch, and he did deliver one at
the previous race in North Carolina. The other
4x4 classes are wrapped up. Michael Benson took
Utility Unlimited on his Four-Stroke Tech
Kawasaki KFX700, and Warnert Racing Can-Am
teammates Cliff Beasley (Utility Lites) and
Michael Swift (Utility Limited) won their
crowns.
The Women’s class is out there in the morning,
too, and Yamaha’s Traci Cecco has been battling
LTERacing.com’s Angel Atwell tooth and nail all
season. Cecco has the title clinched, but Atwell
has won three rounds in a row and appears to be
on the top of her game.
Dirt bikes
will follow the ATV show on Saturday with their
own program on Sunday, featuring international
talent like David Knight. Knight, from the Isle
of Man in the United Kingdom, holds just a
12-point lead over Am Pro Yamaha’s Barry Hawk
with two races to go in the series. Ohio’s own
Charlie Mullins won last weekend’s race in North
Carolina and also the previous series’ stop in
Ohio back in June.
Tickets for the event cost $12 for the full
weekend, with ATVs racing throughout the day on
Saturday and bikes on Sunday. Children five and
under are free. To get to the track, Take exit
213 off Ohio I-70 to Route 331 N., roughly 15
miles from Wheeling, W.Va. For more information,
log on to
www.gnccracing.com.
Can-Am Grand National Cross Country ATV Series
Overall Standings
(After 11 of 13 rounds)
1. Bill Ballance 287/4 wins
2. Chris Borich 274/6 wins
3. Chris Bithell 212/1 win
4. Matt Smiley 166
5. Adam McGill 160
6. Taylor Kiser 148
7. Brandon Sommers 139
8. Bryan Cook 119
9. Chris Jenks 110
10. Duane Johnson 104
About GNCC Racing:
The AMA/ATVA-sanctioned Can-Am 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 1,800 riders through tracks ranging from
eight to twelve miles in length. GNCC Racing
airs weekly television shows on Versus (formerly
Outdoor Life Network) every Saturday at 3 p.m.
and Thursday at 4 p.m. beginning on April 14.
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 BRP Can-Am, Parts
Unlimited, Moose, Maxxis, Pirelli, Wiseco,
Acerbis, Elka, Geico, Klotz, FMF, ITP and
Weekend Warrior, and riders compete for over $3
million in series prizes and contingency money.
Associate sponsors include Alpinestars, Cometic,
EK Chain, HiPer Technology, Laegers, Moose
Utility Division, The National Guard, Powersport
Grafx, Race Tools, REM, Scott, Thor, Tire Balls,
Twin Air, and MotoTee’s. Media Sponsors include
Racer X Illustrated, ATV Rider, ATV Sport,
ATVRiders.com, Quadzone.com, Dirt Rider and ATV
Insider. For more information log on to
www.gnccracing.com.
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