Yamaha’s Bill Ballance won his first GNCC XC1 Pro ATV race of the 2008 season in Hurricane Mills, Tn. on Saturday, April 26, raising him to third in the championship after five rounds of the series. But the YFZ450 rider wasn’t alone in scoring victories for Yamaha as Donnie Ockerman took the XC2 Pro Am class aboard his own YFZ450, while Jennifer Albright added a third-place finish and points leader Traci Cecco finished seventh in the Women’s class. The wins continued for Yamaha in Sunday’s motorcycle classes with Thad Duvall scoring his fourth XC2 Pro Lites win of the year on his WR250F ahead of Yamaha-mounted Josh Weisenfels. Likewise, Mandi Mastin took her fourth straight win in the Women’s motorcycle class ahead of Yamaha-mounted Leeann Bange.
Pro Class... The 12-mile course at Loretta Lynn’s famous racing facility and campground started on the motocross track before breaking into the open fields and then through steep hills and woods. With recent rains moistening the dirt and reducing dust, conditions were perfect. In the afternoon XC1 Pro race, Ballance got his YFZ450 out front early in the four-lap, two-hour contest, leading the first lap before ceding to points leader Adam McGill on lap two. But the cagy Ballance retook control on lap three as McGill ultimately faltered and dropped out, then cruised in for a narrow four-second win after another battle with Chris Borich.
Ockerman’s XC2 Pro Am victory was his fourth in five starts this year, and he now firmly controls the XC2 points chase over competitor Brian Wolf. Spencer Dickerson jumped to the early lead on the first of four laps, with Ockerman close behind. The Yamaha pilot then roosted past his rival to take the lead on lap two as Dickerson eventually faded to third. Ockerman then got into a terrific scrap with Kyle Martin on the last lap before regaining the lead with under a mile to go. “The Yamaha always gives me a good start – I’m almost guaranteed to get going in the top five,” he praised afterwards. “Then as the track breaks down I can excel over the other guys because of the suspension. In fact I always want the track to break down because I can shine over that stuff.”
XC1 Pro Class |
| 1 |
Bill Ballance - YAM |
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| 2 |
Chris Borich |
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| 3 |
Bryan Cook |
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| 4 |
William Yokley |
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| 5 |
Jarrod McClure |
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| 6 |
Brandon Sommers - YAM |
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| 7 |
Ryan Lane |
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| 8 |
Taylor Kiser |
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| 9 |
Michael Houston - YAM |
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| 10 |
Chris Jenks |
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XC1 Pro Class Standings - After Round 5 of 13 |
| 1 |
Adam Mcgill |
109 |
| 2 |
Bryan Cook |
96 |
| 3 |
Bill Ballance - YAM |
92 |
| 4 |
Brandon Sommers - YAM |
88 |
| 5 |
Chris Borich |
88 |
| 6 |
William Yokley |
76 |
| 7 |
Taylor Kiser |
73 |
| 8 |
Ryan Lane |
62 |
| 9 |
Matt Smiley |
61 |
| 10 |
Jarrod McClure |
60 |
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Women's Class |
| 1 |
Angel Atwell |
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| 2 |
Lexie Coulter |
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| 3 |
Jennifer Albright - YAM |
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| 4 |
Stephanie Parton - YAM |
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| 5 |
Jennifer Fulkerson - YAM |
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| 6 |
Stefanie Verkade |
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| 7 |
Traci Cecco - YAM |
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| 8 |
Kim Muzzarelli - YAM |
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| 9 |
Kristen Atwell - YAM |
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| 10 |
Kyrie Brafford |
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Womens' Class Standings - After Round 5 of 13 |
| 1 |
Traci Cecco - YAM |
92 |
| 2 |
Angel Atwell |
89 |
| 3 |
Lexie Coulter |
84 |
| 4 |
Jennifer Albright - YAM |
76 |
| 5 |
Stefanie Verkade |
76 |
| 6 |
Stephanie Parton - YAM |
70 |
| 7 |
Kristen Atwell - YAM |
65 |
| 8 |
Shanna Bradshaw |
65 |
| 9 |
Jennifer Fulkerson - YAM |
55 |
| 10 |
Laura Strother |
48 |
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