Yamaha YFZ450 ATVs enjoyed an incredible day at the GNCC event in Snowshoe, WV, sweeping the XC2 Pro Am podium and taking three of the top four positions in the Women’s class on Saturday, June 25. Walker Fowler’s XC2 win was most incredible, as it’s the seventh consecutive time the 18-year-old has stood atop the GNCC XC2 podium this year – a perfect record so far. But Cecco’s victory was no less impressive, as the seven-time class champion grabbed her fourth win of the 2011 season. Both she and Fowler continue to lead the points standings for their classes. While in the premier XC1 Pro class, it was good to see nine-time champion Bill Ballance fighting inside the top 10 once again after being injured last season. He finished seventh ahead of Yamaha-mounted Kevin Yoho and Jeffrey Pickens.
| XC1 Pro Class |
| 1 |
Adam Mcgill |
|
| 2 |
Chris Bithell |
|
| 3 |
Bryan Cook |
|
| 4 |
Jarrod McClure |
|
| 5 |
Donald Ockerman |
|
| 6 |
Taylor Kiser - YAM |
|
| 7 |
Bill Ballance - YAM |
|
| 8 |
Kevin Yoho - YAM |
|
| 9 |
Jeffrey Pickens - YAM |
|
| 10 |
Craig Bowman |
|
|
 |
| Standings |
| 1 |
Chris Borich |
170 |
| 2 |
Adam Mcgill |
163 |
| 3 |
Chris Bithell |
141 |
| 4 |
Taylor Kiser - YAM |
136 |
| 5 |
Bryan Cook |
103 |
| 6 |
Brian Wolf |
100 |
| 7 |
Donald Ockerman |
98 |
| 8 |
Jarrod McClure |
95 |
| 9 |
Kevin Yoho - YAM |
87 |
| 10 |
Johnny Gallagher - YAM |
72 |
|
The Snowshoe event is one of more unique GNCC races of the year. Held in a ski resort area, the course winds through high-altitude ski runs and even includes a section of road within the village. In the four-lap Women’s race on Saturday morning, Cecco was simply unstoppable here. She put her YFZ450X firmly into the lead and then built a three-minute gap over rival Angel Atwell on the first lap, grew the advantage to nearly five minutes by the midway point, to nine minutes after three laps, and then finally cruised to a six-minute win over Angel at the flag. Yamaha-mounted Kristen Atwell and Kara Merritt finished third and fourth, respectively, to give Yamaha a hammerlock on the top four places.
With six consecutive wins this season, Fowler understandably felt the pressure as he lined up for the afternoon’s combined XC1 Pro and XC2 Pro Am race. Although struggling at first, he eventually got into a rhythm to take the lead and win by more than four minutes over the Yamaha-mounted duo of Gabe Phillips and Patrick McGuire. McGuire actually led the first pair of laps, but Fowler turned the tables after the halfway point, gaining over three minutes on his rivals on lap three, and then increasing the advantage further by the end. Fowler was so strong, that he also finished the combined race in third overall against the XC1 Pro riders. "I didn't ride well on the first lap and the entire second row got around me,” Fowler later admitted. “After that I just settled down and started riding like I should have, started picking off riders, and eventually found myself up front."
| Womens' Class |
| 1 |
Traci Cecco - YAM |
|
| 2 |
Angel Atwell |
|
| 3 |
Kristen Atwell - YAM |
|
| 4 |
Kara Merritt - YAM |
|
| 5 |
Shanna Bradshaw |
|
| 6 |
Jennifer Britts |
|
|
|
| Standings |
| 1 |
Traci Cecco - YAM |
135 |
| 2 |
Angel Atwell |
124 |
| 3 |
Lexie Coulter |
111 |
| 4 |
Kara Merritt - YAM |
110 |
| 5 |
Shanna Bradshaw |
109 |
| 6 |
Kristen Atwell - YAM |
106 |
| 7 |
Cheyanne Shadron - YAM |
62 |
| 8 |
Jennifer Britts |
29 |
|
|