It was a banner day altogether for Yamaha, who not only celebrated Ballance's eighth crown, but also won the overall in the morning race with Traci Cecco, who started in the fourth row in the Women's class but still managed to win the race--a fitting end to a championship season. "I had it in my mind today; I was going to give it all I got today," said Cecco. "The course is just awesome right now. You can really hook up and it's tacky. It's just basically having momentum to make it up all those hill climbs out there. I had it my mind off the starting line, just pass one at a time, and pass as fast and as soon as I could and that's what I did. It feels really good."Cecco was followed by a pair of happy class winners in the morning race, as Scott Kilby won the Open 4x4 class and Mike Benson took U2. Also, the UTVs had their way with the Ironman track and it was one of the most fun events races the series had ever seen, with about 30 machines (and 30 passengers) battling through mud, water, hills and rocks. It was very fun to watch--there's a good chance you'll see more of these races in the future. But the future, the present and the past belongs to Ballance. "We got so many fast guys out there riding these days, and factory support and everything is coming, everyone is taking it so seriously now, and spending so much time riding and training. Things like bike setup are a lot closer than they used to be."Close, but once again not quite enough to knock off the King of Quads.The 2007 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series concludes with the annual Awards Banquet on Friday, November 23.
Results:
Klotz Ironman GNCC
Crawfordsville, IN
October 27, 2007
1. Bill Ballance (Yam)
2. Adam McGill (Hon)
3. Matt Smiley (Hon)
4. Brandon Sommers (Yam)
5. Chris Borich (Hon)
6. Duane Johnson (Hon)
7. Bryan Cook (Hon)
8. Johnny Gallagher (Suz)
9. Craig Reed (Hon)
10. Jeffrey Pickens (Hon)
11. William Yokley (Kaw)
12. Donald Ockerman (Hon)
13. Michael Burrows (Hon)
14. Bryan Baker (Pol)
15. Chris Jenks (Hon)
16. Michael Houston (Yam)
17. Brian Wolf (Hon)
18. Kevin Yoho (Yam)
19. Adam Reed (Hon)
20. Ryan Lane (Hon)
Final GNCC Overall Point Standings
1. Bill Ballance 347/6 wins
2. Chris Borich 311/6 wins
3. Chris Bithell 237/1 win
4. Matt Smiley 203
5. Adam McGill 185
6. Brandon Sommers 175
7. Taylor Kiser 154
8. Bryan Cook 133
9. Duane Johnson 132
10. Chris Jenks 116
About GNCC Racing:
The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country series is America's premier off-road racing series. The 13-round championship series began in 1973 and is produced exclusively by Racer Productions. Cross country racing is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world. The nearly three-hour long GNCC races lead as many as 1,800 riders through tracks ranging from eight to twelve miles in length. GNCC Racing airs weekly television shows on the Versus network every Saturday at 3 PM and Thursday at 4 PM. With varied terrain including hills, woods, mud, dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC events are tests of both survival and speed. GNCC featured sponsors include BRP Can-Am, Parts Unlimited, Moose, Maxxis, Pirelli, Wiseco, Acerbis, Elka, Geico, Klotz, FMF, ITP and Weekend Warrior, and riders compete for over $3 million in series prizes and contingency money. Associate sponsors include Alpinestars, Cometic, HiPer Technology, Laegers, Moose Utility Division, The National Guard, Powersport Grafx, REM, Scott, Thor, Tire Balls, Twin Air, and MotoTee's. Media Sponsors include Racer X Illustrated, ATV Rider, ATV Sport, ATVRiders.com, Quadzone.com, Dirt Rider and ATV Insider. For more information log on to www.gnccracing.com.