It's easy for armchair racers to claim that Brandon Ballance has been riding the coattails of his six-time GNCC championship-winning brother Bill Ballance for the past several years. But nothing could be further from the truth as Brandon has earned his stature via hard work and perseverance. Although true talent may run through the veins of the Ballance family, Brandon has earned his own sponsorships and competes on a machine set up for his particular needs. Just because both Ballance brothers race Yamaha YFZ450s doesn't mean their machines are identical-Brandon and Bill are not twins, nor are their YFZs. I had been eager to throw a leg over this sparkly blue work of art to see for myself just how different it was. Fortunately for me, Brandon hesitantly gave me the go-ahead.
Due to countless hours dialing in suspension components, this YFZ delivers outstanding stability at a fast pace.
We set off on a short hour-and-a-half adventure ending in Washington, Georgia, for round two of the GNCC series. Trees, trees and then more trees mixed in with a little red clay-that's what the Georgia track is all about. No worries. It's my home track, and I know this terrain better than any other in the country. Pounding out miles through the windy yet open country roads while trying to find my way to the track, I decided to ring up Brandon one last time to assure myself that the plan was still in motion. With the staticky crackling of my cell phone and the lack of reception on this Deep South excursion, I was able to make out "It's all good," from the other end of the line! Even though the call was dropped, that was all I needed to know.
A luminous collage of colorful, gleaming tents and bright, shiny race quads lining pit row greeted me as I pulled in. My heart began pounding from the anxiety and excitement of competing on a Ballance-prepped race quad. This was no practice quad; this was the actual racer that pulled off a third-place overall finish the previous week at round one of the GNCC series in DeLeon Springs, Florida. "I think this machine is better dialed-in than the one that I'll be riding this weekend," Brandon said when I arrived. It was unbelievable that he would sacrifice his best-prepped race machine for me, and I really appreciated his willingness to loan out the quad for a grueling day of competition. As we walked away, I heard the voice of Brandon say, "Oh yeah, you'll be pitting with us today. Get your gear together and get with our crew on what you'll need." Wow! How cool is that? Not only will I be racing a Ballance quad, but I'll be pitting from the very same factory Yamaha pit that accommodates him and his brother Bill, as well as women's champion Traci Cecco. This day was already going well, and the race hadn't even started.