So far this season, the Killer Bs have been locked in an exhilarating battle. Challenger Chris Borich has forced Bill Ballance to reach deep and pull out every trick in the hat to defend his championship. But a horrific crash for Alba Actions' Borich may have given the Yamaha rider the breathing room he needs to hold on to the lead for the remainder of the season. Borich clipped the side of the trail while trying to set up for a fifth-gear pass on Matt Smiley and Ballance on a wide-open ski-slope section. In the ensuing tumble, Borich broke his collarbone and was knocked down to 16th for the day. "It's unfortunate what happened to Borich, we never like seeing another rider go down," race-winner Ballance said. "But I do feel relieved to be in the lead at this point in the season." His lead has now stretched to a phenomenal 43 points heading into the summer break.
Was this the end of Borich's possible championship hunt? Not likely, as he is young, strong and itching to get that number one on his Honda. The good news here is he will have two months to recover before the next GNCC in Yadkinville, North Carolina. In fact, Borich was back training on his quad after only two weeks of healing time. "He'll be ready for North Carolina," said Joey Borich, Chris' father.
The battle for the championship is not the only bar-banging action taking place this season. Suzuki's William Yokley and Polaris Industries' Matt Smiley have been duking it out for the third-place position all season. As Yokley currently leads this battle by only 15 points, Smiley cannot be counted out thanks to his sheer determination and consistent riding style. Smiley gained a slight break when Yokley snapped his subframe on a gnarly Wisp rock section, allowing the Polaris rider to make a pass and reel in some of those not-so-distant points. It will be nothing less than pure adrenaline-pumping excitement as the second half of this season unfolds.
| Point Standings |
| 1. Bill Ballance/Yamaha | 237 |
| 2. Chris Borich/Honda | 194 |
| 3. William Yokley/Suzuki | 172 |
| 4. Matt Smiley/Polaris | 157 |
| 5. Chris Jenks/Honda | 141 |
| 6. Brandon Ballance/Yamaha | 128 |
| 7. Andris Lagzdins/ROL | 114 |
| 8. Bryan Baker/Honda | 98 |
| 9. Jeremy Rice/Honda | 85 |
| 10. Bryan Cook/Yamaha | 84 |
| After 9 of 13 rounds, going into the summer hiatus |
Best in the Desert Silver State SeriesMatlock/Prull Rule The Mcmillin Nevada 1000, The Longest Off-Road Race In America At four days and just under 1000 miles long, the inaugural McMillin Nevada 1000 easily earned the title of longest off-road race in America. But what lots of competitors didn't know was that it would also end up being one of the toughest-and comparable to SCORE's Baja 1000. Round 3 of Best in the Desert's Silver State Series, it started in Beatty and headed north to Tonopah, with the remaining three days being based out of this town where the F-117 "stealth" fighter was developed.
Besides being four days long, the Nevada 1000 differed from a "usual" American off-road race in several other ways. For instance, racers had a one-hour work period after each day in order to perform maintenance; any work that took longer resulted in a time penalty. After the work period, vehicles went into an impound area where no work was permitted, and they wouldn't be released until staging began at 5:00 the next morning.