Powerline Park GNCC Round 12
St. Clairsville, OH
Oct 8, 2005
By Nathan Delabar
Alba Action’s Chris Borich started out this season on fire – winning the first two rounds. Add a second place at round three and another win at round five, Borich looked to be a very strong contender in the 2005 championship series. This year’s Powerline Park GNCC in St Clairsville, OH marked another victory for Borich’s respectable year. With Yoshimura Suzuki’s William Yokley and Yamaha Factory Support rider Bill Ballance rounding out the podium positions three of the top manufactures were represented. Borich may have won the battle for the day but Ballance won the war, wrapping up his 6th consecutive Grand National Cross Country Championship with one race to go.
The rain showers in St. Clairsville started early Friday morning and continued through Saturday during the race. The wet conditions and temperatures in the 50’s made it far from an ideal race for many of the riders. One rider who loves the mud is Cernic/GT Thunder’s Johnny Gallagher. “I’ve been doing a rain dance for the last two weeks,” said Gallagher. “Deep mud won’t be too much of an issue. The dirt is a hard packed clay based here it will just get really slick.” The gloomy weather was a downer, but there was still plenty of exciting news at the track. GNC MX Champion, John Natalie was on hand. Ironman Natalie had a Borich loaner and was out to do what no other GNC rider has been able to do — win. It wasn’t Natalie’s first GNCC, but it was his first time this season. “I am going to race this race and go out to Indy (the Ironman GNCC) and race there too. I’m trying to get some seat time before the 12 hours of America race,” said Natalie. “Borich and I will be running that again along with a new understudy from out in California. We’ll try to defend our title.”
Let’s switch gears from a new legend at Powerline to a veteran one leaving. Long time GNCC front runner, Chad Duval announced that he will be calling it quits after this season. He was quick to thank all that had helped him along the way and let everyone know he will still be around the races with his son Thad, who is very competitive in Sunday’s bike scene.
In other news, 17 year old Adam McGill made the move up to the pro class after scoring enough points to secure his championship in the Pro-Am division. McGill was able to podium from the second row earlier this season. Seeing what this kid can do from the front line should be fun. On to injury reports, Polaris star, Matt Smiley isn’t completely healed from his injury he received two weeks ago during the Unadilla GNCC. News coming from the Ballance pit says that Bill is yet to be 100% either.
How it went down
In typical Ballance fashion, he put all pain aside and grabbed the holeshot anyway. Borich was able to make the pass in turn three and never looked back. For Borich to win the title he knew he had to win the last two races and Ballance would need to DNF both. Borich who is not known to be a mud rider pushed his Honda 450R hard all day long. On the final lap of the race, his quad started to overheat. Steam was pouring out from around the motor. With a 40 second lead, Borich’s crew tried to wave him into the pits starting the last lap with hopes of cooling it down. Borich was on a mission, with no plans of stopping. He quickly waved his pit crew off and headed for 10 more miles of mud. The gamble paid off as his machine stayed running and took him all the way to the checkers. The victory marked his first win since round five – the first weekend in April. “I have had some problems with mud races in the past, but I think I finally figured out that you need to slow down in order to go fast in the mud” said Borich high atop the podium. “I guess it just wasn’t my year. This year I knew I had the speed-but when luck is on your side it’s good too, and when it’s not, it’s not. I am just ready to get things going for next year.”
Always a crowed favorite Yoshimura Suzuki’s William Yokley proved once again reminded all that he’s an excellent mud racer by finishing the day in second. The finish gives Yokley a little bit of breathing room in that third overall spot in the GNCC championship point’s battle. Yokley is one of the truly great people of GNCC racing. His friendly attitude and joyful smile make him a fan favorite wherever he goes. “Man it’s awesome having those fans out there, they just keep you going and make you push a little harder,” proclaimed Yokley after the race. “It feels great to get back up on the podium after the few bad races I’ve had recently.”
Yamaha Factory Support rider Bill Ballance finished out the day in 3rd and in doing so earned enough points to wrap up his 6th consecutive title. Ballance rode smart all day knowing he didn’t have to win the race to achieve his ultimate goal. The crafty veteran made longer pit stops than most, making sure he had dry gloves and clean goggles throughout the race. His smart and precise riding always moved him right back up to the front regardless of how long he spent in the pits. “Of all the titles, this was definitely the toughest,” said Ballance. “It just keeps getting harder; the pace is so much faster than it was five years ago because everyone is stepping it up now days.” Ballance’s road to the championship was rough to say the least. Just before the season started the champ tore some ligaments in his knee. He had little to no seat time prior to round one. Then he badly broke his leg mid way through the season at a photo shoot – only to come back and finish on the podium seven short weeks later. Without a doubt, Ballance, and his cunning determination, surely proved that he truly is a champion at heart.
Matt Smiley finished the day 4th followed by Chris Jenks in the 5th spot. Smiley is coming off an injury himself that knocked him out of the Unadilla GNCC two weeks ago, but was able to run strong today. Jenks had been on a roll winning the overall two rounds ago and running out front with the speed to win two weeks ago before a mud bog slowed him on the last lap. Jenks experienced some problems with the mud this race as well. While running in the top three, spectators pointed Jenks down the wrong path. He then reached a mud section that causing him to get stuck and lose several positions.
After winning the GNC MX series earlier this year, John Natalie wasn’t about to sit at home while big race events were being run. Natalie has a passion for ATV racing and it shows with his ear to ear smile. Natalie put together a good ride finishing the day in 8th. “Man, that was a blast,” said Natalie. “Slipping and sliding all over the place. It was fun. I want to win one of these. Actually that’s my goal every time I race – to win”, added Natalie. Natalie will also race the final GNCC of the year, the “Ironman” in Crawfordsville, IN Oct 22. Can the Ironman win the Ironman? We think so.
Not pro – but just as important
B class champion, Brandon Sommers, who moved up to the A class last race, was able to achieve his first top 20 finish of his career. Sommers finished 20th overall and 2nd in Open A.
The Woman’s class point’s race continuous to be as tight as ever. Coming into this race, Traci Cecco and Stephanie Parton where tied for the point’s lead. With Cecco taking the win and finishing third overall for the morning, she holds a one point lead on Parton heading into the final round of the season. With how the series point’s system works – whoever finishes ahead of the other girl at the final round wins the championship!
Tommy Farr, Tim Farr’s brother, raced ATV Scene’s project Suzuki King Quad to a second place finish in the Utility Modified class, but was no match for Jim Stack who has been on a tear since the summer break. Look for a closer look at Stack’s Honda and Farr’s Suzuki in the future. And look for one of the most exciting Utility Expert races in 12 Hours of America history as several of the country’s best utility racers put their machines to one of the most grueling events in our sport. The Maxxis 12 Hours of ATV America is quickly approaching. It’s October 29 at the Rausch Creek Motorsports complex in Tremont, PA. Be sure to sign your team up before the pre entry fee goes up.