Ballance Racing’s Walker Fowler extended his victory streak to four straight in the 2011 GNCC ATV XC2 Pro Am class in Union, South Carolina on Saturday afternoon, April 9. With the season not even one third over, the likeable young YFZ450X rider now has an impressive 40-point lead over fellow YFZ racer Gabe Phillips, who took his third podium of the year. Meanwhile in the premier XC1 Pro class, Taylor Kiser likewise grabbed his second GNCC podium this season. And in the morning Women’s class, Traci Cecco nearly had her second win of the year in hand before getting slowed by deep mud and ultimately finishing third. Another bright spot in the morning race was Yamaha-mounted Dave Simmons, who won the Amateur Overall Award by setting the fastest overall race time of the entire field. Mighty impressive for a Masters 50+ rider!
XC1 Pro Class... The long GNCC course challenged riders with tight and fast sections alike, as well as a couple of mud bogs and even a water jump. Knowing the difficulty these latter sections would pose for a knotted pack of racers, Fowler grabbed the XC2 Pro Am class lead early, then steadily built up nearly a two-minute advantage over Phillips after two of five laps. That margin increased to over three minutes by lap four and nearly five minutes on the fifth and final lap. "I tried to push real hard at the beginning to build a big lead in case I got tired at the end – and I definitely got tired," Fowler explained later. "Maybe I pushed too hard, but that's how you get faster!"
| XC1 Pro Class |
| 1 |
Chris Borich |
|
| 2 |
Adam Mcgill |
|
| 3 |
Taylor Kiser - YAM |
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| 4 |
Chris Bithell |
|
| 5 |
Bryan Cook |
|
| 6 |
Kevin Yoho - YAM |
|
| 7 |
Donald Ockerman |
|
| 8 |
Jeffrey Pickens - YAM |
|
| 9 |
Brian Wolf |
|
| 10 |
Craig Bowman |
|
|
 |
| Standings |
| 1 |
Chris Borich |
106 |
| 2 |
Adam Mcgill |
94 |
| 3 |
Chris Bithell |
89 |
| 4 |
Taylor Kiser - YAM |
82 |
| 5 |
Jarrod McClure |
62 |
| 6 |
Bryan Cook |
59 |
| 7 |
Donald Ockerman |
53 |
| 8 |
Kevin Yoho - YAM |
49 |
| 9 |
Brian Wolf |
45 |
| 10 |
Jeffrey Pickens - YAM |
44 |
|
Womens' Class... For her part, Ballance Racing’s Cecco came into the GNCC weekend tied for the points lead with one win and two podiums. She went right to work at the start of the Women’s race, taking the lead on the second of six laps, losing it temporarily during the mid-race fuel stop, and then regaining control on lap four. However on the last lap, a mud line that Traci had been using successfully all race long worsened, temporarily snagging the multi-time GNCC champion and letting rival Lexie Coulter and Yamaha-mounted Kristen Atwell jet ahead. Fortunately, Cecco muscled her way back into the race and joined Atwell in a close 2-3 Yamaha finish – while gaining some essential points in the process.
Sunday’s GNCC motorcycle races saw Jason Raines and Tyler MacDonald rule the morning Sportsman A class with a 1-2 Yamaha finish, and 10 other Yamaha amateurs take class wins during the day. All in all, it was a great weekend for blue-and-white racers!
| Womens' Class |
| 1 |
Lexie Coulter |
|
| 2 |
Kristen Atwell - YAM |
|
| 3 |
Traci Cecco - YAM |
|
| 4 |
Shanna Bradshaw |
|
| 5 |
Cheyanne Shadron - YAM |
|
| 6 |
Kara Merritt - YAM |
|
| 7 |
Jennifer Britts |
|
| 8 |
Angel Atwell |
|
|
|
| Standings |
| 1 |
Lexie Coulter |
76 |
| 2 |
Traci Cecco - YAM |
75 |
| 3 |
Angel Atwell |
70 |
| 4 |
Kristen Atwell - YAM |
68 |
| 5 |
Kara Merritt - YAM |
63 |
| 6 |
Cheyanne Shadron - YAM |
62 |
| 7 |
Shanna Bradshaw |
61 |
| 8 |
Jennifer Britts |
14 |
|
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