Yokley Wins a GNCC Mudder in Ohio

Last Updated 7/31/2004
The Wiseco John Penton GNCC always pushes the racers to extremes. The race usually contains large quantities of dust or mud, but this year it had both. Rain came down just as the green flag fell on round 11 of the ATVA Grand National Cross Country Series, and what could have been a dust bowl turned into a mud bog. Yoshimura/Roll/Elka/ITP/ Suzuki rider William Yokley handled it best by taking his second win of the 2004 season.

"It was a wild day," said Yokley. "I just tried to play it safe, there were bottlenecks everywhere. I thought I threw it away a time or two. I was ready for dry, dusty conditions, but this Suzuki is such a great all-around bike that it worked good anyway. The season hasn't gone exactly like I wanted, so I'm glad to be up here."

Team Safari's Matt Smiley took second for the fifth time this year. "I didn't really know where I was at," said Smiley, who rides a Yamaha YFZ450. "I think William got through one bottleneck faster than I did, but I wasn't really worried about him, I was just trying to keep forward progress."

Am Pro Yamaha's Chad DuVall, who has been on the mend from a broken collarbone, was thrilled to be back on the podium with a third. "I had fun out there," said DuVall. "It was a little gruesome, but I liked it."

GNCC points leader Bill Ballance was leading the race for before he got stuck in a terrible bottleneck that claimed several top riders. While Ballance was stuck in a ravine with traffic all around him, Yokley and Smiley managed to find a way through, take the top two spots, and hold it to the end. Ballance ended up in fourth.

"There were people all around me," said Smiley of the bottleneck. "I don't know how I got out. Luck was on my side for once."

Thanks to the bottlenecks, Open A rider Michael Benson was able to work all the way up to fifth overall at the finish.

Ballance still holds a big points lead in the GNCC Series, and he can wrap the title up early thanks to his seven wins this year.

In the GNCC Pro Am class, hard-lucked competitor Jason Lewis notched the win and sixth overall on his Lewis Racing Yamaha YFZ450.

In the morning ATV race, held before the rain came down, the riders faced dry, hot and humid conditions. But it couldn't stop Troy Racing's Stephanie Parton, who took the overall and Women's class win on her Suzuki. Parton pushed so hard that she was nearly too exhausted to even shake the victory champagne on the podium.

The ATVA Grand National Cross Country Series now begins a summer break that concludes with a non-points race on Sunday, September 12th at the Spartan GNCC in Sparta, Kentucky.

The ATVA Grand National Cross Country series is America's premier off-road racing series. The 14-round series is produced exclusively by Racer Productions. One of the most physically demanding sports in the world, the nearly three-hour long cross-country races lead as many as 1300 riders through tracks ranging from eight to twelve miles in length. With varied terrain including hills, mud, dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC races are tests of both survival and speed. GNCC featured sponsors include Parts Unlimited, Moose, Maxxis, Yamaha, Wiseco, Klotz, FMF, Dunlop and ITP, and riders compete for over $1.3 million in series prizes and contingency money. The 2003 series aired weekly on Speed Channel. Associate sponsors include Moose Utility Division, Scott, Alpinestars, Cometic, Outerwears, Pro Armor, Race Tools, Twin Air, SFB Racing, Thor, Racer X Illustrated, EFM, Motion Pro, Tire Balls, Ohlins, GPR Stabilizer, Moto-Tees, Warrior and Laeger's.