Yamaha captured nearly half of all available podium positions in the top three ATV classes – including an XC2 Pro Am win – at the opening round of the 2011 GNCC off-road series in River Ranch, Fla. on Sunday, March 6. Walker Fowler and Gabe Phillips put together a 1-2 sweep for Yamaha in the XC2 Pro Am class, Taylor Kiser took second in the premier XC1 Pro class, and Traci Cecco added a third-place finish in the Women’s division. With at least six ATV manufacturers fighting for podium finishes in the series, Yamaha riders taking home so many trophies in round one bodes well as the 13-race season fires up.
Pro Class... The long River Ranch course was typical for Florida – generally flat, with miles of woods and sand, and this year, dust. Fowler started only seventh in the five-lap XC2 Pro Am race, which followed one wave behind the premier XC1 Pro class. But once the pack settled in, he began moving his YFZ450X through the XC2 field. Fowler made it into second behind Phillips, the early leader, by the end of the first lap, and then passed his fellow YFZ rider for the lead on the third lap. From there Fowler was never challenged, eventually finishing nearly two minutes ahead of Phillips, who in turn was over seven minutes ahead of the next competitor. All in all, it was a dominating Yamaha sweep.
Despite earning some blisters and soreness from the deep whoops that formed in the Florida sand, Fowler finished the two-hour event in good shape – a far cry from last year’s River Ranch season opener, in which he DNF’d after a nasty crash. “It’s great to win the first race of the year, especially after our experience here last year,” he remarked after the event. Donnie Luce, Yamaha’s ATV racing manager, added, “I’m proud of Walker for his great ride today, and for the entire Ballance Racing team for securing podiums in all three major classes.”
| XC1 Pro Class |
| 1 |
Chris Borich |
|
| 2 |
Taylor Kiser - YAM |
|
| 3 |
Chris Bithell |
|
| 4 |
Adam Mcgill |
|
| 5 |
Bryan Cook |
|
| 6 |
Jarrod McClure |
|
| 7 |
Donald Ockerman |
|
| 8 |
Johnny Gallagher - YAM |
|
| 9 |
Kevin Yoho - YAM |
|
| 10 |
Brian Wolf |
|
|
 |
| Standings |
| 1 |
Chris Borich |
30 |
| 2 |
Taylor Kiser - YAM |
25 |
| 3 |
Chris Bithell |
21 |
| 4 |
Adam Mcgill |
18 |
| 5 |
Bryan Cook |
16 |
| 6 |
Jarrod McClure |
15 |
| 7 |
Donald Ockerman |
14 |
| 8 |
Johnny Gallagher - YAM |
13 |
| 9 |
Kevin Yoho - YAM |
12 |
| 10 |
Brian Wolf |
11 |
|
| Womens' Class |
| 1 |
Lexie Coulter |
|
| 2 |
Angel Atwell |
|
| 3 |
Traci Cecco - YAM |
|
| 4 |
Kristen Atwell - YAM |
|
| 5 |
Kara Merritt - YAM |
|
| 6 |
Cheyanne Shadron - YAM |
|
| 7 |
Shanna Bradshaw |
|
|
|
| Standings |
| 1 |
Lexie Coulter |
20 |
| 2 |
Angel Atwell |
19 |
| 3 |
Traci Cecco - YAM |
18 |
| 4 |
Kristen Atwell - YAM |
17 |
| 5 |
Kara Merritt - YAM |
16 |
| 6 |
Cheyanne Shadron - YAM |
15 |
| 7 |
Shanna Bradshaw |
14 |
|
|