Yamaha YFZ450R ATVs captured two of the three premier-class wins at the fifth round of the 2012 GNCC series in Park City, Ky. on Saturday, April 28. Yamaha’s Traci Cecco took her third win of the year in the morning Women’s class, while Gabe Phillips took his second victory of the year in XC2 Pro Am – more than any other competitor in the class. Making the day even better for Yamaha, Ballance Racing’s Walker Fowler took a strong second in the top XC1 Pro race, his best finish of the year. And furthermore, Yamaha YFZs swept five of the top eight positions in XC1 Pro and four of the top seven places in XC2 Pro Am – more than 50 percent of the top finishers in both cases. Cecco’s win gives her the lead in the Women’s championship, Patrick McGuire is now second in XC2 Pro Am points, and Kiser is third in XC1 Pro points for Yamaha.
The morning Women’s race was among the closest in GNCC history, with Cecco and rival Lexie Coulter vying for the lead throughout four long laps and nearly two hours of racing. On lap one, Cecco led rival Angel Atwell and Coulter by less than five seconds, establishing a fierce battle among the trio. By the halfway point Coulter had a narrow 2.5-second lead over Cecco, and the pair had gapped Atwell by some 20 seconds. Cecco then rallied back into a 5.4-second lead over a resurgent Atwell on lap three, setting up a dramatic sprint for the win on the final lap. While Atwell ultimately faltered, Cecco and Coulter raced closely all the way to the checkers, with Cecco and her Yamaha prevailing by just 0.069 sec. So fast was Traci that she also finished second overall among 16 classes in the morning race.
In the afternoon, Phillips became the first XC2 Pro Am rider to take two races this year, winning by a comfortable 21.4-second margin over rival Eric Hoyland. But the racing spectacle was truly in the XC1 Pro class as class rookie Fowler grabbed the holeshot and led virtually the entire race, fending off repeated attacks from series champ Chris Borich in the process. After 2 ¼ hours of racing, the contest boiled down to the final moments of competition, when Borich finally used his experience to slip pass a flying Fowler in the final section of the course. “For me to get the holeshot and lead every bit of that race besides the last 30 seconds is pretty cool, but second place isn’t where I want to be,” Fowler said on the podium. “I want to be on top of the podium, and that’s what we’re going to keep working towards.”
| XC1 Pro Class |
| 1 |
Chris Borich |
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| 2 |
Walker Fowler - YAM |
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| 3 |
Taylor Kiser - YAM |
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| 4 |
Jarrod McClure |
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| 5 |
Bryan Cook |
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| 6 |
Jeffrey Pickens - YAM |
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| 7 |
Kevin Yoho - YAM |
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| 8 |
Johnny Gallagher - YAM |
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| 9 |
Derek Swartfager |
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| 10 |
Craig Bowman |
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| Womens' Class |
| 1 |
Traci Cecco - YAM |
|
| 2 |
Lexie Coulter |
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| 3 |
Angel Atwell |
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| 4 |
Kylie N. Ahart |
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| 5 |
Kara Merritt - YAM |
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