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Borich Takes GNCC Opener at Parts Unlimited
River Ranch
Kiser and
McGill Round Out Podium
Chris Borich took a solid win in
Florida.
Taylor Kiser edged McGill for second.
Chris McGill put his Can-Am on the
podium.
Photo By: Shan Moore |
Lake Wales, Florida (February 28th, 2010) --
The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series
kicked off its 2010 schedule in grand style as
riders from nearly 25 states attended the
opening round at the beautiful Westgate River
Ranch in Lake Wales, Florida. Chris Borich came
into the Parts Unlimited River Ranch GNCC as the
heavy favorite after dominating last year's
series, and the Yoshimura Suzuki rider backed it
up by coming from behind to take a thrilling win
in the XC1 final. Meanwhile, Honda-mounted Brian
Wolf took the win in the highly competitive XC2
division, also turning in a come-from-behind
performance.
Yamaha's Don Ockerman grabbed the $250
Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot award, leading
fellow Yamaha riders Taylor Kiser and Bill
Ballance through the first turn to start the
four-lap XC1 race. Warnert Can Am's Adam McGill
and Borich were not far behind, with McGill
taking the lead when the front-runners ducked
into the woods for the first time. Kiser, Borich,
and Warnert Can Am's Chris Bithell followed
McGill, running second, third and fourth at the
two-mile mark.
With a little over a lap to go, Borich picked
up the pace and moved around Kiser to take
second. A lap later, he passed McGill to take
the lead. Kiser was also on the move, and picked
off McGill in the mud.
"We were all running nose-to-tail and Adam
took a bad line in a mud hole and I passed him,"
said Kiser. "I wanted to challenge Chris in the
end, but there just weren't any good lines to
get by"
At the finish, the top three riders were
separated by less than two seconds, with Borich
taking the win with 1.4 seconds to spare over
Kiser. McGill followed another 0.4 seconds back.
"It feels good to get the first one out of
the way," said Borich. "I knew it was going to
be a rough track and I just paced myself and
then made my move. I just let the track come to
me and everyone made little mistakes and I was
able to take advantage of it. I pretty much made
my moves around the mud holes and anywhere else
I could find."
Kiser, a native of Florida, was happy to make
the podium in front of a hometown crowd, but he
was disappointed at not getting the win. "I kind
of laid back a bit and just tried to pace myself
and once I pitted I dropped the hammer and just
tried to move to the front," said Kiser. "I
guess I should have put the hammer down a little
sooner. There was just nowhere to get by Chris
on that last lap."
After leading much of the first part of the
race, McGill was pleased with putting the Can Am
on the podium."The fuel-injection worked really
well and I was able to get the start," said
McGill. "I've been working with [the bike] for a
while and I'm happy with it. I heard somebody
when I was running out front and I looked back
and it was Chris [Bithell, McGill's teammate]
and I was like, 'Yes!'"
"I ran strong at the beginning and then they
go strong at the end," added McGill. "I don't
know if they are playing me or what, but we are
going to get it figured out."
Bithell ended up finishing fourth with
nine-time champ Bill Ballance getting fifth on
the Yamaha. Jerrod McClure, on the Polaris, beat
out Yamaha-mounted Jeffrey Pickens for sixth,
with Yamaha riders Johnny Gallagher and Don
Ockerman finishing eighth and ninth ahead of FRE
KTM's Bryan Cook.
In the XC2 race, Brian Wolf took advantage of
first-lap mistake by KTM's Josh Kirkland.
Kirkland got hung up when Parker Jones hit a
tree, allowing Wolf to take a lead he would
never relinquish. Kirkland, who earned the $100
Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot award at the start,
ended up with second place in the class, with
Yamaha-mounted Kevin Yoho finishing third.
"I snuck around Kirkland when he got hung up
and I just held on to the lead to the checkers,"
said Wolf. "My team has been working really hard
and we spent all day Thursday working on
suspension and I think that was the key to
getting this win."
Women's class Lexie Coulter put her Can-Am on
top of the podium for her first national win,
also winning the GT Thunder ATV Amateur Overall
award. Yamaha rider Jennifer Albright finished
second ahead of defending Women's champion FRE
KTM's Angel Atwell in third.
Can-Am riders dominated the podium in the 4x4
Open division, with Bryan Buckhannon, Rick Cecco
and Zac Zakowski going 1-2-3.
Kevin Trantham topped the 4x4 Lites class on
a Can-Am, beating out Kawasaki rider Andrew
Stuckey and Honda-mounted Rob Herbert to get the
win. Meanwhile, in the 4x4 Limited division,
Can-Am factory rider topped Michael Swift topped
fellow Can-Am riders Andrew Langston and Ken
Robey.
The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country
Series continues with bike racing on Tuesday,
March 2nd.
XC1:
1. Chris Borich (Suz); 2. Taylor Kiser (Yam); 3.
Adam McGill (CAN); 4. Chris Bithell (CAN); 5.
Bill Ballance (Yam); 6. Jerrod McClure (Pol); 7.
Jeffrey Pickens (Yam); 8. Johnny Gallagher
(Yam); 9. Don Ockerman (Yam); 10. Bryan Cook
(KTM).
XC2:
1. Brian Wolf (Hon); 2. Josh Kirkland (KTM); 3.
Kevin Yoho (Yam); 4. Dustin Canipe (Kaw); 5.
Parker Jones (Hon); 6. Josh Beavers (KTM); 7.
Gabe Phillips (Yam); 8. Eric Hoyland (Yam); 9.
Blake Kramer (Suz); 10. Corbin Knox (Hon).
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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