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Borich Claims FMF Steele Creek GNCC
Kiser, Ballance finish on podium
Chris Borich got his second win of the
series in North Carolina.
Bill Ballance leads Taylor Kiser and
Chris Borich early in the race.
Taylor Kiser led the final lap until
Borich got by. Ballance ran a strong and
solid race until midway into the fourth
lap.
Brian Wolf claimed his second win of the
series.
Dave Simmons won the GT Thunder Top
Overall Amateur Award.
Photos By: Shan Moore |
Morganton, North Carolina (March 20, 2010) --
Chris Borich claimed his second win of the 2010
Can-Am Grand National Cross Country season and
extended his lead in the championship standings
with a gritty performance at round three of the
series at Steele Creek in Morganton, North
Carolina. The Yoshimura Suzuki rider trailed
Yamaha teammates Bill Ballance and Taylor Kiser
on the narrow and undulating 11.2-mile circuit,
the three riders running nose-to-tail for much
of the race. Borich finally found his way into
the lead on the final lap, beating Kiser to the
finish by just over a second after two hours of
racing. Ballance held on for third ahead of FRE
KTM's Bryan Cook and Yamaha rider Jeffrey
Pickens.
Ballance claimed the $250 Motorcycle-USA.com
holeshot award by narrowly edging Yamaha-mounted
Don Ockerman across the holeshot stripe to start
the day's premier race. Kiser moved into
formation with Ballance midway into the opening
lap, and the duo extended their lead over the
field until lappers held them up on lap two,
allowing Borich and Can-Am's Adam McGill to
close in.
For the remainder of the race, Ballance,
Kiser, Borich and McGill ran in a tight
formation, until McGill dropped out, leaving
Ballance, Kiser and Borich to battle for the
lead.
With a lap-and-a-half to go, Ballance made a
mistake in a critical section, allowing Kiser
and Borich to go by. A half lap later, Borich
took advantage of a lapper to pass Kiser for the
lead. From there Borich was able to hold off
Kiser to the checkered flag.
"This was a tough one, the lappers were
brutal and I knew this track was going to be
hard to pass on so I wanted to get a good
start," said Borich, who was in fifth when the
pack rolled into the woods for the first time.
"I saw Ballance getting away, but I was
basically hanging out and checking out the
track."
"Once I caught up, it was a three or four
rider battle, kind of a freight train out there,
and then Taylor bobbled with a lapper and I was
able to make a move on him. I just paced myself
after that and things just worked out for us."
"I made a mistake with a little over a lap to
go and that was the race," said Ballance. "I
took a new line in the creek and I spun out in
the ruts a little bit and Taylor and Borich got
around me. There's no passing lines out there
and it pretty tough to get around anybody out
there, and I just couldn't find a way back
around those guys."
Kiser was in good position to claim his
second win of the series until he tangled with a
lapper on the final lap.
"I caught up with Bill on the first lap and
he let me by and we tried to set a good pace and
pull away," said Kiser. "But we got into lappers
and that allowed everyone to catch up and then
Chris got by when we caught up with a lapper and
there was not much I could do about it."
Ockerman finished sixth behind Pickens, with
Yamaha riders Brandon Sommers and Johnny
Gallagher finishing seventh and eighth, ahead of
Polaris rider Jarrod McClure and Honda rider
Sloan Jackson in ninth and tenth, respectively.
With 10 rounds remaining, Borich holds a five
point lead over Kiser (85 to 80), with Ballance
in third at 58 points. McGill sits fourth with
47, while Cook rounds out the top five with 44.
Honda rider Kevin Yoho claimed the $100
Motorcycle-USA.com Award to start the XC2 race,
but it was Kawasaki's Dustin Canipe who led the
pack into the woods on the opening lap.
Brian Wolf put his Honda around Canipe on lap
two to take the lead, and held on to take his
second win of the season. Yoho passed Canipe on
the final lap to claim third.
"The Steele Creek track was rough today and
the field was tough," said Wolf. "I snuck around
Yoho on the first lap and I followed Canipe for
just over a lap and then finally made a move."
Honda-mounted Parker Jones beat round two
winner Walker Fowler to finish fourth.
With three rounds in the books, Wolf leads
the series standings with 85 points, followed by
Yoho with 62 and Jones with 55.
Dave Simmons won the Super Senior 50+ class
and by doing so also claimed the $100 GT Thunder
Amateur Overall award. The Yamaha-mounted
Simmons battled early in the race with Glen
Pritchard , but pulled away in the end.
"I knew Glen was going to be tough," said
Simmons. "We went back and forth for a while."
Traci Cecco finished second overall, and
topped the Women's division on her Yamaha,
beating Can-Am's Lexie Coulter, who finished
third overall, and Yamaha-mounted Jennifer
Albright for the win.
A full slate of bike racing begins at 8:00
a.m. tomorrow morning, starting with the Youth
divisions, at Steele Creek in Morganton, North
Carolina.
XC1 Results:
1. Chris Borich (SUZ)
2. Taylor Kiser (YAM)
3. Bill Ballance (YAM)
4. Bryan Cook (KTM)
5. Jeffrey Pickens (YAM)
6. Don Ockerman (YAM)
7. Brandon Sommers (YAM)
8. Johnny Gallagher (YAM)
9. Jarrod McClure (POL)
10. Sloan Jackson (HON)
XC1 Standings:
1. Chris Borich (85/2 wins)
2. Taylor Kiser (80/1 win)
3. Bill Ballance (58)
4. Adam McGill (47)
5. Bryan Cook (44)
6. Jeffrey Pickens (44)
7. Chris Bithell (41)
8. Johnny Gallagher (39)
9. Jarrod McClure (39)
10. Don Ockerman (38)
XC2 Results:
1. Brian Wolf (HON)
2. Kevin Yoho (YAM)
3. Dustin Canipe (KAW)
4. Parker Jones (HON)
5. Walker Fowler (YAM)
6. Gabe Phillips (YAM)
7. Josh Beavers (KTM)
8. Eric Hoyland (YAM)
9. Josh Kirkland (KTM)
10. Mark Notman (YAM)
XC2 Standings:
1. Brian Wolf (85/2 wins)
2. Kevin Yoho (62)
3. Parker Jones (55)
4. Josh Kirkland (55)
5. Dustin Canipe (49)
6. Walker Fowler (47/1 win)
7. Gabe Phillips (44)
8. Blake Kramer (34)
9. Josh Beavers (29)
10. Mark Notman (28)
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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