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Borich takes
down-to-the-wire win at John Penton
Kiser and Bithell on podium
Borich's lead in the points keeps
growing
Kiser came in just seconds after Borich
for another podium finish.
Bithell finished his strongest race this
season at the John Penton track.
Wolf took home another win, but Kirkland
is still close behind in the points
race.
Photos By: Matt Ware |
The Wiseco John Penton GNCC, round 8 of the
2009 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country series
presented some of the tensest racing action thus
far this season as Rockstar/Makita Suzuki's
Chris
Borich took the win after a neck-and-neck
race with FRE KTM's Adam McGill in dry, sunny
conditions. McGill eventually broke his A-Arm
and finished 13th. Yamaha's Taylor Kiser
finished in second and Warnert Can-Am's Chris
Bithell made his first podium appearance this
year in third place.
The race began as the riders took the first
turn in a roaring freight train. Yamaha's Taylor
Kiser took the $250 MotorcycleUSA.com holeshot
award. McGill, Houser Racing's Bryan Cook, Jeff
Pickens, Warnert Can-Am's Chris Bithell followed
in hot pursuit. The 12-mile race track prevented
most pass attempts but McGill was able to take
the lead by the end of the first lap, followed
by Cook, Kiser and Pickens. Borich began making
his move in the second lap after a slow start at
the beginning, and was able to move up to second
place, right on the heels of McGill. Cook, in
one of the best races he's had since his win at
Steele Creek, fell to third but kept a close gap
on the leaders. Bithell began moving up and by
the end of the second lap was in fourth place.
McGill held on tight to first place as the
riders went through the motocross track. By the
third lap, he still had a lead on Borich but
disaster struck when his A-Arm broke and he had
to wheel his bike out to be repaired. Borich
took the lead to take the checkered flag just
seconds ahead of Kiser who had kept the heat on
him until the end.
Bithell's past races have seen him near the
end of the pack, and he's only been in the top
10 twice this season. Bithell kept up a
hard-charging fight to come up with his season
best third place.
Cook settled for fourth place and Defending
Champion Ballance recovered from a disheartening
start in 14th place to make a huge comeback,
moving into fifth place at the finish. Pickens
fell back to finish in sixth followed by Honda's
Duane Johnson in seventh. Yamaha's Donald
Ockerman, privateer Jarrod McClure and Ryan Lane
on a Honda rounded out the top 10. McGill
reentered the race and finished his final lap to
come in 13th place.
In XC2 action, the Wolf is back. Brian Wolf,
who finished second at the last race was back in
the first place position and also took home the
$100 Rekluse Holeshot Award. Wolf only gave up
the first place position to move back in second
in the second lap. Kevin Yoho moved up from a
4th place start to take second place, followed
by Dustin Canipe in third. Previous winner, FRE
KTM's Josh Kirkland finished in fourth, followed
by Eric Hoyland in fifth. Sixth place went to
Rob Hertz, followed by Joey Margueria in
seventh. John Cunningham, Josh Beavers and Eric
Wilezek rounded out the top 10.
In the AM Race, Yamaha's Traci Cecco took
first followed by Michael Swift in second and
Samuel Williams in third. Swift was the top 4x4
rider with second overall on his Warnert Can-Am.
This is Cecco's third Women's class win.Cecco
also took home the GT Thunder Morning Race
Overall award. Lexie Coulter took second and
Jennifer Albright, third. Cecco's biggest rival,
Angel Atwell finished in a season worst 9th
place.
Top Amateur Awards went to Walker Fowler.
The 2009 Can- Am Grand National Cross Country
series heads to Snowshoe, WV for its last race
before the summer break for the
MotorcycleUSA.com Snowshoe GNCC on June 27-28.
XC1
1.Chris Borich (SUZ)
2. Taylor Kiser (YAM)
3. Chris Bithell (CAN )
4. Bryan Cook (HOUS)
5. Bill Balance (YAM)
6. Jeffrey Pickens (YAM)
7. Duane Johnson (HON)
8. Donald Ockerman (YAM)
9. Jarrod McClure (YAM)
10. Ryan Lane (HON)
XC1 Points Standings
1. Chris Borich (192/5 wins)
2.Taylor Kiser (169/1)
3.Adam McGill (158)
4. Bryan Cook (132/1)
5.Bill Ballance (129/1)
6. Brandon Sommers (126)
7. Donald Ockerman (104)
8.Duane Johnson (100)
9. Jarrod McClure (92)
10.Johnny Gallagher (77)
XC2
1. Brian Wolf
2. Kevin Yoho
3. Dustin Canipe
4. Joshua Kirkland (KTM)
5. Eric Hoyland
6. Rob Hertz
7. Joey Margueria
8. John Cunningham
9. Josh Beavers
10. Eric Wilezek
XC2 Points Standings
1.Brian Wolf (216/5 wins)
2. Josh Kirkland (208/3 wins)
3. Eric Hoyland (133)
4. Parker Jones (109)
5. Rob Hertz (108)
6.Dustin Canipe (88)
7.Gabe Phillips (83)
8. Scottie Rich (77)
9.Josh Beavers (69)
10.Blake Kramer (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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