The Wisp GNCC - Ballance gets Three in a Row and Pulling Away

If you didn't do The Wisp, than you undoubtedly missed out on one of the grandest of the 2005 Grand National Cross Country events of the year. Held at The Wisp Ski Resort in McHenry Maryland, the sun rose early over the mountain peaks promising extraordinary weather and a great day for ATV racing.

The twelve mile cross country course started at the very bottom of one of the Wisp's famous ski slopes and would wind up and down through the treacherous wooded mountains. In fact, beating fellow competitors was not the biggest worry; overcoming the sea of massive boulders that blanketed the course proved to be the racers toughest challenge.

When the flag dropped, 19 of the world's best spun their tires with the holeshot in their sights. Yamaha's Bill Ballance rounded the first turn with a massive lead while Alba Actions Chris Borich and Suzuki's William Yokley sucked his dust. Thirty-two long minutes later, a roaring cheer rang out from the sea of spectators as mighty Matt Smiley blasted out of the woods in the lead. Trailing Smiley's dust was Yokley, Ballance and Chris Jenks all battling within seconds of each other. When Yokley broke the subframe of his Suzuki, he dropped back to third place and limped it back to the finish line. On the last lap, Ballance poured on the gas making a last effort pass on Smiley and took the checkered flag.

The unfortunate news of the weekend was a bad get off by Chris Borich. Blasting down one of the fast slippery slopes, Borich lost his footing and tumbled down the mountain side while wrapped up in his Honda 450R. The results were a broken collarbone and a battered Borich. The only upside is that this happened right before the two month GNCC break and he will have a little extra time for recovery before the next race.

As a relieved Bill Ballance pulled his quad on the podium with his daughter in his lap, he gave the crowd one of his signature victory burnouts. "It feels great to finally get some breathing room on the points lead" claimed Ballance. He went on to say "My Yamaha YFZ has given me holeshots at almost every race this year, it just cranks right up and goes."

Next to Ballance on the podium was an emotional Matt Smiley in second place with a grin that spanned from ear to ear. Smiley is the first racer to put a Polaris Predator on a GNCC podium, and has done so four times this season. In third, Yokley stood on the podium and screamed out a big "Hell yeah!" to his fans.

The Grand National Cross Country Series now takes a two-month hiatus. The next GNCC will be held on September 10th but the location is still to be determined.

The Wisp Overall Results

1. Bill V Ballance 001
2. Matt J Smiley 004
3. William Yokley 002
4. Santo Derisi 016
5. Chris Jenks 007
6. Bryan Cook 006
7. Jeremy Rice 008
8. Adam Mcgill 066
9. Andris Lagzdins 014
10. Todd Knippenberg 013