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The Loretta Lynn's GNCC ATV Race Report
Hurrican Mills,
Tennesee, April 18, 2009
William Yokley finished 7th Overall and 7th
in the XC1 Pro Class today at the historic
Loretta Lynn’s Ranch. There were 219 total
entries with 21 XC1 Pro Riders. Team Rider
Mark Notman finished 175th Overall and 23rd in
the 30 rider XC2 Pro Am Class after experiencing
some mechanical issues.
Summary
I always like coming to Loretta Lynn’s
because it’s pretty close to home and the
facilities are great. It’s the oldest race
on the GNCC circuit and always draws a huge
crowd. The course is always rough with
lots of hills, sandy soil with rocks mixed in,
and lots of whooped out trails. Each lap
includes a circuit around their national-level
motocross track which is really fun. I felt
like I made some improvements in the handling
department during testing this past week. Elka
Suspension’s Jay Gobel came to KY a few days
prior to the event to work with myself and Mark
Notman to fine tune our Elka shocks and Roll
Design a-arms. I knew that this year would
be a work in progress with this new bike, and
I’m feeling more comfortable on it every race.
The conditions were great on race day as I
prepared to head to the start area. The
National Guard had a neat setup with a huge
spider tent with display materials and lots of
soldiers and recruiters. They performed
the Color Guard presentation before the races
which is always very meaningful and appreciated
by everyone. Even though I didn’t get a
good gate pick, my Polaris fired quickly and I
got a decent start and missed the big pile up in
the first turn. I entered the woods in 7th
place, and the pace was pretty fast and intense
right off the get go. With positions
changing every few minutes, I wish I had a
camera to catch all the action! I was more
on pace with the front runners today as the bike
was working well, and thanks to my
workout/nutrition plan laid out by Moto Pro
Training, I was able to hang in there for the
duration of the race. I know each and
every race that my tires and wheels are going to
be hammered, but I’ll have to say my Kenda
tires, Tireballs, and Douglas wheels held up
like a champ and performed great.
Finishing in 7th place and seeing progress from
the hard work from myself, family, team and
sponsors have put into the 2009 season is very
rewarding. I look forward to the next race
and the rest of the season!
My teammate Mark Notman had another difficult
day. He got a pretty good start but got
shuffled out trying to avoid some bottlenecks.
He was 21st on Lap 1, and passed 4 riders on Lap
2, even with his bike experiencing some
overheating problems. The problem got
worse and he had to withdraw; he was totally
bummed out. Mark had his bike set up
really well and had been flying in practice, so
this was a tough day for him. He will
regroup and be up front soon.
We go to Lafayette, TN in 2 weeks which is a
new track on the schedule this year. We will
be ready, see you there!
Yokley Racing Team Sponsors are The Army
National Guard, Polaris Industries, Kenda Tires,
Elka Suspension, Roll Design, HMF Exhaust
Systems, IMS/Roll, PURE Polaris Lubricants &
Fuels, Intense Fabrication & Design, Douglas
Wheel Technology, Moto Pro Training, Tire Balls,
Andrews Cycle, Tsubaki Chains, IMS, Four
Apparel, ASV Levers, CV4 Hoses, Hygh Octane
Design, PIER Graphics, Universal Handlebars,
Scott Goggles, ATVRiders.com, Hetrick
Motorsports, Powermadd, and Rekluse Clutches.
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