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Yamaha's Taylor Kiser Takes Maxxis General GNCC
Bithell's
Bobble Collects Ballance and Borich, Benefits
Kiser
Borich and Kiser go at it on the podium.
Taylor Kiser gets the checkers.
Chris Borich was second.
Bill Ballance rounded out the podium.
Walker Fowler won the XC2 class.
Photos By: Shan Moore |
Washington, Georgia (March 6th, 2010) - After
an exciting opening round last weekend in
Florida, the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country
Series moved north to Washington, Georgia, for
the Maxxis General GNCC, where Taylor Kiser took
advantage of a mistake by early leader Chris
Bithell to claim a solid win in the XC1
division. Last week's winner, Yoshimura Suzuki's
Chris Borich, finished the day in second, while
ATV legend Bill Ballance rounded out the podium.
After two rounds, Kiser and Borich share the
lead in the series standings, with 55 points
each, while Adam McGill (39), Ballance (37) and
Bithell (34) round out the top five.
For the second week in a row it was Don
Ockerman claiming the Motorcycle-usa.com
Holeshot Award and the $250 that goes with it,
leading fellow Yamaha riders Kiser, Ballance,
and Jeffrey Pickens through the first turn.
However it was Can-Am's Bithell with the lead
when the front-runners came through the finish
line area to complete the first lap. For the
next two laps Bithell maintained a slight lead
while Borich, Ballance and Kiser fought over
second. That order changed drastically when
Bithell hit a tree at speed, collecting both
Ballance and Borich in his wake, and handing
Kiser the lead. From there it was Kiser's show,
with the Floridian cruising home with an
eight-second cushion over second.
"This was a good win for me," said Kiser. "We
were running in fourth for most of the day, and
then Bithell made a mistake and flipped right in
front of everybody and it held Borich and
Ballance up and I was able to get by them. Once
I got out front I was able to put my head down
and charge."
Borich and Ballance battled over the runner-up
spot for the last hour of the race, with Borich
ultimately claiming the position.
"I tried to pass Ballance in one field
section and got by him, then I pushed out wide
and he got back by me," said Borich. "I finally
got by him in one of the mud sections and then I
tried to catch Taylor but it was too late."Ballance
rounded out the podium, while Bithell rebounded
from his crash to finish fifth behind teammate
McGill.
"We came out in an open section and there was
just a little bit of mud and slime on the side
and it just grabbed one of my tires and sucked
me into a tree and that's all it took," said
Bithell. "Chris and Ballance were behind me and
they got stuck behind me."
FRE KTM's Bryan Cook ended the day in sixth,
ahead of Pickens and Yamaha rider Johnny
Gallagher. Meanwhile, Polaris-mounted Jarrod
McClure
And Yamaha rider Don Ockerman were ninth and
tenth.
In the XC2 division, Yamaha rider Walker
Fowler rebounded from a disappointing showing in
last week's opening round at River Ranch to post
an impressive win in the XC2 class. Fowler
passed Motorcycle-usa.com Holeshot Award winner
Parker Jones to take the lead on the opening lap
and then rode away to an easy win.
"That last race in Florida was kind of a
bummer for us," said Fowler. "I wanted to come
out and show everyone what I had and I don't
know what happened. But today, [Adam] McGill
told me to just slow down, and that's what I did
and I rode smart and it paid off."
Jones held on to take second on his Honda (in
addition to the $100 that goes with the
Motorcycle-usa.com Holeshot Award), while
round-one winner Brian Wolf rebounded from a
slip in the first turn to finish second.
"I just spun out in that first turn and I was
almost last when I got going," said Wolf. "I
just put on a charge and moved up and then on
the last lap I came up on Parker and we were
going back and forth and when we got to the
motocross section I was able to pull him."
FRE KTM's Josh Kirkland finished fourth with
Yamaha-mounted Kevon Yoho in fifth.
In the UTV classes, Team Starrett took the
win in the Open Modified division over Team
Hendershot and Team Kiger.
Like the Open Modified division, the Open
limited class saw Polaris dominate the podium
with Team Fortner taking the win over Team
Bottle and Team Howard.
In the Lites Modified class Team LeMaster
(Yam) beat Terry Haymaker (Kaw) for the win.
Meanwhile, Kawasaki dominated the podium in
the Lites Limited class, with Team Travelnea
topping Team Stake and Team Held.
In the Pilot class, Joe Warrick (Hon), beat
Michael Doolittle (Hon) and Terri Anger (Hon)
for the win.
In the morning race, FRE KTM's Angel Atwell
won the GT Thunder ATV Amateur Overall award,
finishing first ahead of Yamaha riders Kristen
Atwell and Traci Cecco.
XC1 Results:
1. Taylor Kiser (Yam)
2. Chris Borich (Suz)
3. Bill Ballance (Yam)
4. Adam McGill (CAN)
5. Chris Bithell (CAN)
6. Bryan Cook (KTM)
7. Jeffrey Pickens (Yam)
8. Johnny Gallagher (Yam)
9. Jarrod McClure (POL)
10. Don Okerman (Yam)
XC1 Point Standings:
1. Chris Borich (55/1 win); 2.
Taylor Kiser (55/1 win); 3. Adam McGill (39); 4.
Bill Ballance (37); 5. Chris Bithell (34); 6.
Jeffrey Pickens (28); 7. Jarrod McClure (27); 8.
Bryan Cook (26); 9. Jimmy Gallagher (Yam); 10.
Don Okerman (23).
XC2 Results:
1. Walker Fowler (Yam)
2. Brian Wolf (Hon)
3. Parker Jones (Hon)
4. Josh Kirkland (KTM)
5. Kevon Yoho (Yam)
6. Gabe Phillips (Yam)
7. Nathan Thomas (Hon)
8. Mark Notman (Yam)
9. Blake Kramer (Suz)
10. Corbin Knox (Hon)
XC2 Point Standings:
1. Brian Wolf (55/1 win); 2.
Josh Kirkland (43); 3. Kevin Yoho (37); 4.
Parker Jones (37); 5. Walker Fowler (31/1 win);
6. Gabe Phillips (29); 7. Dustin Canipe (28); 8.
Corbin Knox (22); 9. Mark Notman (17); 10. Josh
Beavers (15).
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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