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Borich Outduels McGill for Mountain Ridge GNCC
Win
Kirkland takes
XC2 class, Benson wins morning overall
Somerset, PA (May 16, 2009) - Rockstar/Makita
Suzuki's Chris Borich claimed his
second-straight Can-Am Grand National Cross
Country Series victory after a stirring two-hour
duel with FRE KTM's Adam McGill at the Mountain
Ridge GNCC in Somerset, Pennsylvania. On a
course that was fast in spots and rocky and
technical in others, under sunny skies, McGill
took second, finishing just inches away from
Borich's back bumper, and then, for added
dramatics, Borich's engine blew as he crossed
the finish. GT Thunder Yamaha's Brandon Sommers
took his third-straight podium finish with a
third.
"It was so much fun, that might have been the
best battle me and Adam we've had," said Borich.
"I got an okay start, I was hooked up with
(Chris) Bithell there in third, then he made a
mistake in a rock section and I went around him.
They told me I was down 45 seconds to McGill, so
I just decided to put the hammer down and see
what we had."
McGill had the early lead after passing $250
MotorcycleUSA.com Holeshot Award Winner Jeff
Pickens, and then braced for a battle. "I know
Borich and Bithell go really strong on the
rocks, so I knew they were coming," said McGill.
It took Borich two laps to catch McGill, and
then the race was on for the final lap, the duo
going back and forth on the final 11-mile loop.
"We passed each other a bunch of times," said
McGill. "It was fun, we were yelling at each
other and waving. He had a great line in a
field, it was straighter than mine and he got
around, then I got to another section and just
wanted to show him what this Baldwin motor can
do. I was like "see ya!"
Borich fought back, though and gained the
lead one more time, but then his engine started
to go south. "I knew it was barely gonna' hold
on, all I could do was dump the clutch and hope
it kept pulling," said Borich. "In those fields,
I could smell him, so I just hoped I could push
him enough so he could rev it out and blow It
up," said McGill.
Borich's engine held together, barely,
billowing smoke as he crossed the finish two
seconds ahead of McGill."Hey, it did its job,"
said Borich.
Sommers overcame fellow Yamaha rider Taylor
Kiser, who ran third early. "I caught up to
Taylor and it looked like something was wrong,"
said Sommers. "But as soon as I passed him he
went back after me, of course. It was fun, but
then I saw his handlebars had actually come
loose, so I was able to get away."
Kiser, despite the loose bars, hung on for
fourth ahead of nine-time and defending GNCC
Champion Bill Ballance. "I had a bad bad bad bad
start," said Ballance. "It was dusty in some
sections on the first lap, I was going first
gear in some fifth-gear sections just fighting
it."
Ballance passed Houser Racing's Bryan Cook on
the last lap to get fifth, while Cook held on
for sixth. "He was just blasting through the
rock section, I was trying to save my
equipment."
Privateer Jarrod McClure
took seventh, followed by Don Ockerman, Ryan
Lane and Duane Johnson.
In XC2 action, FRE KTM's Josh Kirkland
rallied for the win after a but battle with
Yamaha's Brian Wolf, who had won three-straight
races coming into the event. "It was good clean
racing, but I did tag Brian in the pits once,"
said Kirkland, who grabbed the $100 Rekluse
Holeshot Award to start the race. "I didn't know
he was going to pull in to pit and I got locked
up in his wheel."
"It was good racing," said Wolfe. "I'm glad
to be up here, these have been some good
battles."
Third went to Parker Jones, who mounted a
comeback effort from out of the top ten. "I'm
really happy with this," said Jones. "I would
like to be up there with those two, but they're
really going fast right now."
In the morning race, Four-Stroke Tech's Mike
Benson finally broke through for an overall win
after three years of close calls. He was awarded
the $100 GT Thunder Morning Race Overall Award.
"I started racing this series on bikes in 1980,
and switched over the ATVs in 1985," said
Benson, who races on a Kawasaki KFX700 in the U2
class. "We've been so darned close to being up
here, this is just a dream come true for me and
my family."
Second overall went to 4x4 Limited Class
Winner Michael Swift on his Warnert Racing
Can-Am. Third went to the previous morning race
overall winner, Super Senior (50+) rider Glenn
Pritchard. FRE KTM's Angel Atwell finished
fourth overall and took her fifth win of the
season in the Women's class. Lexie Coulter and
Kristen Atwell followed her home, while
defending Women's Class Champion Traci Cecco saw
her two-race win streak end while she ran into
electrical problems on the first lap.
The 2009 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country
Series continues with the Wiseco John Penton
GNCC in Millfield, Ohio, in three weeks, on June
6 and 7. GNCC racing airs in HD on Versus every
Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Mountain Ridge GNCC
Somerset, Pennsylvania
XC1 Finish:
1. Chris Borich (Suz)
2. Adam McGill (KTM)
3. Brandon Sommers (Yam)
4. Taylor Kiser (Yam)
5. Bill Ballance (Yam)
6. Bryan Cook (Houser)
7. Jarrod McClure (Yam)
8. Donald Ockerman (Yam)
9. Ryan Lane (Hon)
10. Duane Johnson (Hon)
XC2 Finish
1. Joshua Kirkland (KTM)
2. Brian Wolf (Yam)
3. Parker Jones (Hon)
4. Rob Hertz (Hon)
5. Josh Beavers (KTM)
6. Eric Hoyland (Hon)
7. Eric Wilezek (Suz)
8. Blake Kramer (Suz)
9. Corbin Knox (Hon)
10. Jeremy Rice (Pol)
XC1 Point Standings:
1. Chris Borich (162/ 4 wins)
2. Adam McGill (150)
3. Taylor Kiser (144/1 win)
4. Brandon Sommers (122)
5. Bryan Cook (114/1 win)
6. Bill Ballance (113/ 1 win)
7. Donald Ockerman (91)
8. Duane Johnson (86)
9. Jarrod McClure (80)
10. Johnny Gallagher (67).
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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