Yamaha ATV racers captured a pair of wins and another three podiums in key classes at the 12th round of the 2011 GNCC series in Crawfordsville, Ind. on Saturday, Oct. 22. Yamaha’s Traci Cecco took her eighth win of the year over fellow YFZ450X rider Kristen Atwell in the Women’s class, while Ballance Racing’s Walker Fowler took his 12th straight XC2 Pro Am win over Waynesburg Yamaha’s Gabe Phillips, also YFZ450X mounted – a series record. Cecco and Fowler had already locked up their 2011 championships and been awarded No. 1 plates at the event, making the wins extra satisfying. Meanwhile in XC1 Pro competition, Ballance Racing’s Taylor Kiser put in a stellar ride to finish second – his fifth podium of the season – also aboard a YFZ450X. The performance moves Kiser to third in points behind rivals Chris Borich and Adam McGill.
Kiser’s second-place finish in the competitive XC1 Pro class was nothing less than a work of art, considering that he flipped over in the very first turn of the long two-hour race. After scrambling to remount, Kiser then started a grueling charge from nearly last place that would leave him covered in mud from helmet visor to boot heels. Amazingly, the Yamaha rider moved into sixth position by the end of lap one. He advanced to third by lap two, and then into a narrow lead over a surging Borich on the fourth of five laps. Although Borich eventually snuck into the lead using a trick line late in the race, Kiser definitely put on a thrilling performance. "We charged hard today and the bike really hooked up and was running great," he said.
| XC1 Pro Class |
| 1 |
Chris Borich |
|
| 2 |
Taylor Kiser - YAM |
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| 3 |
Adam Mcgill |
|
| 4 |
Chris Bithell |
|
| 5 |
Jarrod McClure |
|
| 6 |
Donald Ockerman |
|
| 7 |
Jeffrey Pickens - YAM |
|
| 8 |
Kevin Yoho - YAM |
|
| 9 |
Ryan Lane |
|
| 10 |
Mark Notman - YAM |
|
|
 |
| Standings |
| 1 |
Chris Borich |
306 |
| 2 |
Adam Mcgill |
261 |
| 3 |
Taylor Kiser - YAM |
238 |
| 4 |
Chris Bithell |
235 |
| 5 |
Brian Wolf |
202 |
| 6 |
Jarrod McClure |
170 |
| 7 |
Bryan Cook |
167 |
| 8 |
Donald Ockerman |
166 |
| 9 |
Kevin Yoho - YAM |
152 |
| 10 |
Jeffrey Pickens - YAM |
10 |
|
Yamaha dominated the morning Women’s event, with Cecco leading early and then late in the race, and Atwell leading one lap in between. In fact, the pair battled just seconds apart for the entire five laps – even as they streaked into the final lap separated by just 0.6 sec. But true to her championship form, Cecco dug deep on the lap that mattered and forged a comfortable 7.4-sec. lead over Atwell at the finish. As has become typical this year, Fowler had a relatively easy time dispatching the competition in the afternoon XC2 Pro Am event. He led four of five laps, building up an advantage of nearly three minutes over Phillips at one point. He then rode smart to finish with a comfortable 2 ½-minute lead at the flag.
| Womens' Class |
| 1 |
Traci Cecco - YAM |
|
| 2 |
Kristen Atwell - YAM |
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| 3 |
Angel Atwell |
|
| 4 |
Lexie Coulter |
|
| 5 |
Shanna Bradshaw |
|
| 6 |
Kara Merritt - YAM |
|
| 7 |
Kyrie Brafford |
|
| 8 |
Kylie N. Ahart |
|
|
|
| Standings |
| 1 |
Traci Cecco - YAM |
178 |
| 2 |
Angel Atwell |
170 |
| 3 |
Kristen Atwell - YAM |
166 |
| 4 |
Lexie Coulter |
164 |
| 5 |
Shanna Bradshaw |
148 |
| 6 |
Kara Merritt - YAM |
143 |
| 7 |
Cheyanne Shadron - YAM |
62 |
| 8 |
Quinley Cunningham |
30 |
|
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