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Borich Bests Sommers and Ballance at Can-Am
Unadilla GNCC
Wolf Wins XC2
Again
Unadilla marked the seventh class win
this year for Borich.
Sommers, Borich and Ballance on the
podium.
Brandon Sommers led on the last lap but
ended up second.
Ballance said he felt much better after
the summer break.
Bill Ballance snagged the
MotorcycleUSA.com holeshot award.
Gabe Phillips grabbed the Rekluse XC2
Holeshot Award.
Kirkland, Wolf and Yoho on the XC2
podium. |
New Berlin, NY (September 12, 2009) -
Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Chris Borich took a
huge step toward securing his first Can-Am Grand
National Cross Country Series Championship by
mounting a late-race charge to win the Can-Am
GNCC at the legendary Unadilla Valley Sports
Center in upstate New York. On the last lap, the
Pennsylvanian sprinted away from Yamaha
teammates Brandon Sommers and Bill Ballance,
giving him his seventh XC1 pro class win of the
season.
"I really wanted to win today, I wasn't just
coming here to score points," said Borich, the
GNCC points leader. "I had a lot of friends and
family out here cheering me on. We were battling
hard and everyone was riding well, but the
Suzuki worked awesome. We kind of lost our way
doing some suspension testing last week, but we
kept our heads down, figured it out, and
everything worked awesome today."
A little rain on Friday left perfect track
conditions on Saturday's ATV race day, which
hosted over 600 different riders.
Sommers led going into the last lap, but
Borich made a move and then pulled away.
Nine-time GNCC Champion Ballance put the
pressure on for second, but Sommers, a
second-year pro, held on to edge Ballance by a
wheel length at the finish.
"I've been wanting to win one of these since
I was racing in the C class," said Sommers. "I
was in the lead, just going as fast as I could
in the open stuff, and then trying to ride smart
in the woods. I was pushing it, but Chris, he
was riding really well and got away from me
there. Bill, he's won nine championships and
he's hard to hold off, but I managed to do it
and get on the podium."
Ballance started the year slowly after
recovering from surgery to remove cancer from
his rib. He returned after the GNCC summer break
stronger and vowed to win. "I'm kind of
disappointed in myself to be honest," said
Ballance, who took the $250
MotorcycleUSA.com holeshot award. "The fire
is still burning and I want it bad, I just
couldn't make the right moves on the last lap
with the lappers. Chris got a few of them
between us and we couldn't make that time back
up. Hat's off to Chris, he's been riding well."
Taylor Kiser took fourth on his Yamaha, with
Adam McGill in fifth on his FRE KTM. McGill got
into the lead on lap two when he elected to skip
his pit, but he and Kiser both had to give
positions back when they pitted the next time
around. The race was so close that just 15
seconds separated the top seven riders heading
into the final lap.
In XC2 Pro-Am class racing, Yamaha's Brian
Wolf followed his overall win at the previous
race at Snowshoe with a come-from behind class
win here. Kevin Yoho led most of the race, but
Wolf tracked him down. Then FRE KTM's Josh
Kirkland closed in after starting 17th, and the
three battled to the finish. Kirkland took
second and Yoho was third.
"It's no secret, I wasn't able to ride much
during the summer, I had some other priorities,
and I knew these other guys were working hard,"
said Wolf. "To pull this off, it feels as good
as winning the whole thing at Snowshoe."
Walker Fowler won the College A class and
took top amateur honors overall, enough to lock
up his class championship for the season. He
will race XC2 at the next round of the series.
In the GNCC morning race, FRE KTM's Angel
Atwell took a huge step toward her first GNCC
Women's Title by taking the class and overall
win. Her niece Kristen Atwell took second on a
Yamaha, with defending class champion Traci
Cecco taking third in the class. Cecco led early
but got a tree stuck between her exhaust pipe
and frame, losing ground. The Atwell's rode
solid all day to take the top spots. Third place
overall went Glen Pritchard, who topped the
Super Senior 50+ class on his Suzuki.
Rick Cecco was the top Utility rider on the
day, taking the U2 class win on his Warnert
Racing Can-Am Renegade. The Open 4x4 class
featured an amazing battle between Can-Am riders
Scott Kilby and Bryan Buckhannon and Rath Racing
Polaris rider Darryl Rath. Kilby came out on top
on his Can-Am Outlander 800R. "That was the best
race I've been in since maybe 1999, when me,
Mike Penland and Rich Travelina were going for
the title at the last race," said Kilby. "I have
the DPS power steering on now and it made a big
difference."
Cliff Beasley topped the 4x4 Lites Class and
Michael Swift won the 4x4 Limited, impressive
since he hit his head on a tree on the opening
lap and injured his neck.
The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country
Series continues in two weeks with the Moose
Yadkin Valley Stomp in Yadkinville, NC. The
Can-Am Unadilla ATV GNCC will air on Versus on
October 03 at 4:00 p.m. with a re-air October 6
at 2:30 p.m.
Results
Can-Am Unadilla GNCC
New Berlin, NY
September 12, 2009
XC1 Class
1. Chris Borich (Suz)
2. Brandon Sommers (Yam)
3. Bill Ballance (Yam)
4. Taylor Kiser (Yam)
5. Adam McGIll (KTM)
6. Don Ockerman (Yam)
7. Bryan Cook (Hon)
8. Johnny Gallagher (Yam)
9. Jarrod McClure (Yam)
10. Duane Johnson (Hon)
XC2
1. Brian Wolf (Yam)
2. Josh Kirkland (KTM)
3. Kevin Yoho (Yam)
4. Parker Jones (Hon)
5. Gabe Phillips (Yam)
GNCC Point Standings
1. Chris Borich (252/6 wins)
2. Taylor Kiser(199/1 win)
3. Adam McGill (176)
4. Bill Ballance (175/1 win)
5. Brandon Sommers (172)
6. Bryan Cook (162)
7. Donnie Ockerman (134)
8. Jarrod McClure/Duane Johnson (122)
10. Johnny Gallagher (95).
XC2 Standings
1. Brian Wolf (276)
2. Josh Kirkland (258)
3. Eric Hoyland (168)
4. Parker Jones (142)
5. Rob Hertz (125).
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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