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Ballance Takes Third Straight and the Points
Lead at Home GNCC
Bill Ballance has overcome another slow
start to jump back into the GNCC points
lead.
Brandon Sommers took second. |
Sparta, KY (May 31, 2008)
-- Bill Ballance picked the right place, the
right time and the right track to nail his
third-straight Can-Am Grand National Cross
Country win. Not only did the Kentucky rider
take the Weekend Warrior Spartan GNCC in front
of his home-state fans, but his chief
championship rival, Adam McGill, failed to
finish due to mechanical problems, allowing
Ballance to take the GNCC XC1 Pro points lead
for the first time this year.
"Man it feels good to win in front of so many
friends and family," said Ballance. "These were
my type of conditions. It was hard and fast and
I was able to have fun."
Ballance topped his fellow Yamaha rider
Brandon Sommers and The National Guard/Honda
veteran William Yokley to take the win.
Ballance's day started by grabbing the $100
ITP Holeshot Award, but trouble on the first lap
saw the eight-time GNCC Champion fall to the
back of the top ten. From there he put on a
charge and took the lead halfway through the
race, and then held off a strong challenge from
Sommers and Yokley on the final lap to take the
win.
Team Excell Motorsports Bryan Cook logged
another solid run, coming from mid-pack to
finish fourth, ahead of ATVRiders.com backed
Jarrod McClure.
Yokley took his second podium of the
season on his The National Guard ride.
More bad luck for McGill cost him a
finish and the points lead. |
As for McGill, the West Union, West Virginia
rider held the lead early in the race and
battled with the lead pack for a podium finish
on the last lap. With about three miles to go in
the event, trouble set it. "I had a stick jammed
in the a-arm and the wheel and everything, so I
had to stop and rip it out," said McGill. "I
took off in fourth and hooked up with Brandon
Sommers and trained off of him. All of a sudden
I heard a squealing noise, and I realized it was
the chain coming off of the sprocket. So I
slammed it into reverse so the chain would go
back on, but I ended up sheering all of the
sprocket bolts out. They're hardened steel
bolts. They've never done that before."
McGill now sits second in the points, 14
markers behind Ballance.
GT Thunder Yamaha's Don Ockerman topped the
XC2 Pro-Am class for the sixth time in seven
races this season. He also finished an
impressive sixth overall. Ockerman also won the
$100 Rekluse Clutch Holeshot Award. Second in
the class went to Josh Kirkland, with David
Crane third.
In the morning race, Yamaha's Traci Cecco won
the ATVRiders.com Morning Race Overall. Once
again, Kawasaki KFX700 rider Michael Benson
pushed hard and nearly pulled off the win, but
ended up second, with Angel Atwell third on her
Tom Clark Motorsports Honda.
Complete race-day results are available at
this link or by scrolling to GNCCRacing.com.
About GNCC Racing:
The Can-Am Grand National Cross
Country series is America’s premier off-road
racing series. The 13-round championship series
is produced exclusively by Racer Productions and
has run since 1973. 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.
With varied terrain including hills, woods, mud,
dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC events
are tests of both survival and speed. GNCC
Racing will air weekly television shows on the
Versus network starting August 2. GNCC featured
sponsors include Can-Am, Parts Unlimited, Moose
Racing, 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, HiPer Technology,
Laegers, Moose Utility Division, The National
Guard, Powersport Grafx, REM, Scott, Thor, Tire
Balls, Twin Air, Ogio, Rekluse, and MotoTee’s.
For more information log on to
www.gnccracing.com.
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