Team Yamaha Atop GNCC After Perfect Weekend

TEAM YAMAHA ATOP GNCC AFTER PERFECT WEEKEND
Taking advantage of perfect racing conditions, Yamaha YFZ450 racers put in a perfect day's work at the seventh round of the 2008 Grand National Cross Country series as Bill Ballance and Brandon Sommers went 1-2 in the XC1 Pro class, Donnie Ockerman won XC2 Pro Am, and Traci Cecco commanded the Women's category in Sparta, Ky., on Saturday, May 31. Better still, the victories secure Ballance, Ockerman and Cecco atop their respective divisions as the GNCC season passes the halfway point. Cecco not only won the morning Women's race, but took the overall win against almost 300 riders in 16 different categories as well. However the victory didn't come easily for the multi-time GNCC champion. She tangled with fellow Yamaha rider Stephanie Parton's machine after Parton stalled near the start, putting the pair at the back of the pack. But Cecco quickly battled forward and had taken over second behind Angel Atwell by the end of the first lap. With no serious traffic problems to contend with, she passed Atwell on lap five and finished the two-hour, six-lap marathon with a comfortable 37-second margin of victory. Jennifer Albright, Kristen Atwell and Parton followed up in third, fourth and fifth to give Yamaha four out of the top five places. The XC1 Pro and XC2 Pro Am classes ran in the afternoon. Ballance grabbed the holeshot and looked set to disappear immediately, but he bent a heel guard and pitted after the first lap to straighten it. Ballance then charged strongly up-field to grab the lead on the third of four longer laps, claiming his third consecutive win and taking over the points lead in the process. "When Bill disappeared, I thought he had pulled away," recalled Sommers after the race. "Then I saw someone behind me and it was Bill on a mission. I pulled over and then followed every line and detail that he followed on the track." Eventually the pair caught and then passed the leaders to score their memorable 1-2 sweep. Not far behind was Ockerman, dominating his sixth XC2 Pro Am race of the year and further extending his points lead.