Richardson Takes Sixth GNCC ATV Win in West Virginia
- Updated: June 22, 2014
Yamaha YFZ450Rs and YZ450Fs took a half a dozen wins, podiums and top-five finishes in key ATV and off-road motorcycle classes over the long June 21-22 summer solstice weekend. Leading the charge was Cole Richardson, who captured his sixth XC2 Pro Am win of the 2014 season, taking over the championship lead by a single point in the process. Kara Merritt likewise stepped up to grab her sixth podium of the year in the women’s WXC class aboard another YFZ450R. Then in Sunday’s GNCC motorcycle competition, bLU cRU rider Jordan Ashburn took his N-Fab/AmPro Yamaha YZ450F to a strong second-place finish in the premier XC1 Pro class, while Raines Racing/Atlas Sales’ Ricky Russell grabbed a top-five finish on his YZ250F. As well, Becca Sheets added a fourth-place finish in WXC on her own YZ250F.
The annual GNCC Snowshoe event is held at the Snowshoe Mountain Resort, and features an exciting pavement start along with plenty of steep climbs and forested slopes. In the premier XC1 Pro class, N-Fab/AmPro Yamaha’s Walker Fowler appeared to be headed to his fourth win of the year, moving from second up to first place on the second of six laps, and then stretching out a lead of 25 seconds over defending champion Chris Borich. Unfortunately, a broken chain put him out of action on the next lap. However in the following XC2 Pro Am class, Richardson won his sixth race of the year, snatching the points lead from rival Marshal Goings as the series heads into the long summer break. The YFZ racer led three of six laps and won by over a minute and a half over rival Goings.
Ashburn really earned his second-place finish in Sunday afternoon’s premier XC1 Pro motorcycle class. The bLU cRU rider finished the first of seven laps only in sixth place, but he moved into second behind Kailub Russell before the halfway point of the three-hour race and held the position right through to the checkers. Rocky Mountain ATV/MC N-Fab/AmPro Yamaha’s Josh Strang and Ashburn’s teammate Paul Whibley finished sixth and eighth, respectively. Then in the XC2 Pro Lites class, Yamaha-mounted Russell led the first three laps before encountering difficulties and dropping to fifth. And lastly, at the annual Mammoth Motocross in California’s beautiful Sierra Nevada, longtime Yamaha racer Doug Dubach returned to glory at the tough high-altitude course by winning the 40 A class on his YZ450F, sweeping both motos for a commanding overall victory. He won the first moto by 10 seconds, and the second moto over Jeff Ward by 14 seconds. Congratulations all!
