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Kiser Takes Second GNCC Win of the Season at
Round Six
Borich and
Sommers join him on podium
Kiser takes his second win of the 2009
Season
The XC1 class had a muddy start.
The XC2 class didn't fare much better.
Borich takes on the waterfall at the
Titan GNCC.
Sommers took his second consecutive
podium at the Titan GNCC.
Borich, Kiser and Sommers are no
strangers to the podium this season.
Kirkland, Wolf and Jones were all smiles
on the podium. |
Lafayette, TN (May 2, 2009) - At round 6 of
the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series,
Yamaha's Taylor Kiser fought the deep mud of the
Tennessee track and constant position changes to
roar into first place after an amazing battle at
the Weekend Warrior Titan GNCC in Lafayette, TN.
"I just kept telling myself to keep steady
and not make any mistakes," Kiser said. "I
pushed as hard as I could push. I'm so happy
it's unbelievable."
After a day of constant passing and lead
changes, Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Chris Borich
recovered after last week's disappointment at
Loretta Lynn's, where he broke a chain, to take
second place, while Kiser's teammate Brandon
Sommers took his second podium in a row with
third place.
"I just tried to ride smooth today," Borich
said. "I was pretty bummed out by the last one.
This is a big confidence booster."
Heavy downpours the day before and morning of
the race cleared up before the start of the
day's races, but the rain still left its mark on
the track and had turned the pits into a soupy
mess. ATVRiders.com -backed privateer Jarrod
McClure started off the race best, nabbing the
$250 MotorcycleUSA.com holeshot award. From then
on, every turn and hill of the race saw a new
line of leaders as each picked on one of
countless lines to choose from.
Can-Am's Brent Sturdivant led the first two
laps, followed closely by Yamaha's Johnny
Gallagher and Bill Ballance, FRE KTM's Adam
McGill, Borich and Kiser. By the end of second
lap, Ballance began to drop back, and Houser
Racing's Bryan Cook was able to catch up to him.
Sturdivant, Gallagher and McGill held the lead
right before the pit stops, when McGill was able
to take the lead with Sturdivant close behind.
Meanwhile, Yamaha's Donnie Ockerman overtook
Borich, Gallagher and Kiser to take the third
place position.
Sturdivant grabbed the lead again on the
third lap, and Kiser began making his move to
inch up from second place, followed by McGill
and Borich. Late in the race, Kiser, Borich and
Sommers fought into the top three positions, and
then Kiser and Borich battled wheel-to-wheel
until the finish line. Kiser made the right
moves late in the race to take first, followed
by Borich in second and Sommers in third.
"I tried to ride smart, pick good lines and
all of a sudden I realized I was in third,"
Sommers said.
Ockerman held on for fourth followed by
Sturdivant in fifth. McGill came in sixth with
privateer Ryan Lane on Honda coming in seventh.
Ballance fell back to eighth and Cook and
McClure rounded out the top 10 in ninth and
tenth places, respectively.
In the XC2 Pro-Am Class, Brian Wolf took yet
another first place position despite his vocal
dislike of the mud.
"I think first off, I hate the mud," Wolf
said. "The mud slows everything down. The fans
out there though just made me smile, cheering me
on, pointing out lines. I just really appreciate
it."
FRE KTM's Josh Kirkland also nabbed another
second place finish followed by Parker Jones who
made it on the podium for the first time.
"I try to stay on the podium all year long,"
Kirkland said.
Dave Phillips started off the race first,
nabbing the $100 Rekluse Holeshot award. Jones
was dead last off the starting line and Kirkland
battled his own problems in the first lap. Wolf
started out in strong fashion and rode to
another stellar finish.
Fourth place went to Gabe Phillips followed
by Craig Bowman in fifth. Jeremy Rice came in
sixth followed by Rob Hertz. Blake Kramer, Eric
Wilezek and Joey Margueria filled out the top
10.
Top Amateur Honors went to Jamie Bithell.
In the AM race, Warnert Can-Am's Bryan
Buckhannon of the 4X4 Open Class took $100 GT
Thunder Amateur Overall Award.
"It's awesome man," Buckhannon said, who took
advantage of four-wheel drive in the mud. "I've
been wanting to get on the podium all season
long. Anytime you can get up here and win an
overall is huge."
Michael Swift came in for second place
overall and a win in the 4x4 Limited Class.
Traci Cecco came in third overall and first in
the women's class.
In the women's class, Cecco was followed by
Jennifer Albright in second and Angel Atwell in
third.
"It was going to come down to who picks the
smartest line and who doesn't get stuck," Cecco
said.
The 2009 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country
Series continues tomorrow with bike racing from
the Weekend Warrior Titan.
The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country
Series continues on May 16 -17 with the Geico
Mountain Ridge GNCC in Somerset, Pennsylvania.
For more information on the series, and complete
results from the Acerbis Loretta Lynn's GNCC,
visit
www.gnccracing.com
XC1 Finish:
1. Taylor Kiser (YAM)
2. Chris Borich (SUZ)
3. Brandon Sommers (YAM)
4. Donald Ockerman (YAM)
5. Brent Sturdivant (Can-AM)
6. Adam McGill (KTM)
7. Ryan Lane
8. Bill Ballance (YAM)
9. Bryan Cook (Houser)
10. Jarrod McClure
XC1 Point Standings:
1. Taylor Kiser (135/2 wins)
2. Adam McGill (128)
3. Chris Borich (127/ 2 wins)
4. Bryan Cook (98/1 win)
5. Brandon Sommers (97)
6. Bill Ballance (95/ 1 win)
7. Donald Ockerman (82)
8. Duane Johnson (75)
9. Jarrod McClure(66)
10. Johnny Gallagher (63)
XC2 Finish
1.
Brian Wolf
2. Josh Kirkland (KTM)
3. Parker Jones
4. Gabe Phillips
5. Craig Bowman
6. Jeremy Rice
7. Rob Hertz
8. Blake Kramer
9. Eric Wilezek
10. Joey Margueria
About GNCC Racing
The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country series
is America's premier off-road racing series.
Founded in 1973, the 13-round championship is
produced exclusively by Racer Productions.
Cross-country racing is one of the most
physically demanding sports in the world. The
grueling three-hour GNCC races lead as many as
1,800 riders through tracks ranging in length
from eight to 12 miles. With varied terrain,
including hills, woods, mud, dirt, rocks and
motocross sections, GNCC events are tests of
both survival and speed. Riders compete for more
than $3 million in prize money, which draws
talent from all over the U.S., Europe, Australia
and New Zealand. GNCC Racing is televised and
airs every Saturday and Thursday on the Versus
Network. For more information, please visit
www.gnccracing.com.
About Racer Productions
A West Virginia-based motorcycle and ATV event
production company, Racer Productions has been a
leader in the off-road racing industry for more
than 30 years. It's repertoire of events
includes the 13-round Can-Am Grand National
Cross Country Series, held since 1973; The
Kawasaki/Monster Energy High Point National in
Mount Morris, Pa., held since 1977; The ATV Dirt
Days at Loretta Lynn's Ranch in Hurricane Mills,
Tenn., held since 1985; The U.S. World Motocross
Gran Prix at Steel City Raceway in Delmont, Pa.
in 1987; The Monster Energy/Kawasaki Steel City
National, held since 1988; The ATV Stampede
National Motocross at High Point Raceway, held
since 1994; The AMA Pro ATV Open at Steel City
in 2007; as well as numerous other amateur
motocross events. In addition, Racer Productions
staffs the prestigious Air Nautiques/AMA
Amateur National Motocross Championship at
Loretta Lynn's Ranch, held since 1982. For more
information, please visit
www.racerproductions.com.
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