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2002 AMA Grand National Cross Country ATV Racing Round 8 and 9 GNCCRounds 8 and 9

Publish date: Aug 1, 2002
By: Jason Weigandt
Source: ATV at Off-Road.com

Nothing can stop Bill Ballance. GNCC Rounds Eight and Nine were some of the toughest ever, but Bill hung on both times to improve his chances of taking a third-straight GNCC ATV Overall Title. Now his competition has a two-month break to figure out what it will take to beat him. Round Eight
Mathews Farm GNCC, Taylortown, PA As showers rained down on the Mathews Farm course, the moods of some top riders actually brightened. Some riders, like last year's Taylortown ATV winner Brad Page, saw mud as an equalizer in their bid to stop the champ's win streak. But when it all counted, Ballance was once again standing on top of the podium.

Baker led much of the race in the Pro Production class

Ballance showing why he has the #1 plate

The Roll/LRD/Klotz/Maxxis/Axis/Moose-backed Ballance took his fourth win in a row, which means that after a shakey start of the season, he's back in the groove that carried him to the number-one plate. Sharing Bill's positive momentum is Chad Duvall, who has become the dominator of the Pro Production class. Chad's win in Taylortown was his third straight.
But while both riders' results look great, it hasn't been as easy as it looks. Ballance faced stiff competition from Page, Matt Smiley and Chris Borich before taking his win, and Duvall had to get past Bryan Baker in the Pro Production ranks. Smiley ended up second in the Pros, continuing his impressive eight-for-eight streak of podium finishes. But the Team Safari/Pro Parts Racing/ITP/Hyper Wheels/Axis rider is getting a little tired of consistency and wants to win. However, his recent finishes are at least better than William Yokley, backed by Roll, ITP, IMS, Axis, Moose and Klotz, who has been having all sorts of trouble getting back to victory lane after taking three of the first four races this year. At Taylortown, the Yoke came from way back to score third. Ballance knew that a few mistakes by the competition helped him get the win. "I was glad to get the opportunity to win today," said Ballance. Smiley showed his determination when he nailed the Pro holeshot. Matt usually tries to hang back early, but this time he took the top spot and kept pulling away. Ballance and Page battled in second and third, while Yokely was way back in dead last. "I had a bit of a brain fade there," said Yokley of his bad start. Yokley would then go on a rampage trying to come back, but he had his work cut out for him.

Borich was so close to getting his first win.

Brad Page at the Wisp GNCC

Meanwhile, Baker holeshot the Pro Production pack and led the way for much of the early going. He would eventually succumb to the pressure of Duvall, however, and play it safe in second. Smiley held off Ballance for several laps, and then Borich came from nowhere and slithered past both riders just as the mud and rain were really starting to fly. As the white flag came out, Borich looked to be in position to win his first race of the season, as he traded paint with Ballance's number one ride in a bid for the lead. But when he and Ballance tried to fit into a spot with room for just one quad, the champ came out on top. Then Borich suffered a flat, and dropped off the pace. Amidst the carnage, Smiley regrouped and took over second, while Yokley battled through to take third.
Round Nine
Wisp GNCC, McHenry, MD To say the ATV racers made the GNCC series' debut at the Wisp a good one would be an understatement. It's almost impossible to describe how wild this race was, with about five riders contending for the win, including two Pro Production riders who moved so far out front that, at one point, one had passed all the pros and held the overall lead.

The slopes of Wisp. Could there be a better site for a Pro ATV race?

Pro ATV start at the Wisp

Through all of this, it looked like Ballance was finally going to lose a race. Flat tires knocked the defending series champ to the back of the pack, but then the rocky course flattened everyone else, and he was able to get back into contention and take the win. Matt Smiley, Mr. Consistency, took second and William Yokley ended up third. "Everything happened today," said Yokley. "It was one hell of a race, one of the toughest ones I ever rode." Yokley was one of five riders to hold the overall lead at the Wisp, joining Ballance, second-place Matt Smiley, Chris Borich, Chad Duvall and Greg Trew at the front of the pack.
Duvall, backed by Four Stroke Tech, Maxxis, MSR, Maier and Elka, held on for the Pro Production win. Greg Trew, a CT Racing/East Coast ATV/ITP/PRM/Klotz/Hinson-backed rider, finished second. Points leader Bryan Baker was third. It was all in a day's work for the top GNCC ATV riders, most of whom were pleased with the Wisp layout and facility, cut out of a ski resort. "I liked the track," said Ballance. "I think it would be cool to have a couple of events like this every year. But I wouldn't want to do this more than a few times each year!" At the start, Ballance got to turn one first, but Borich and Smiley were soon past and dueling for the lead. Right after the pros took off, the Pro Production Class roared into the first turn, with Mike Benson putting his brand-new Four-Stroke Tech Suzuki LT-Z 400 Quad Sport into turn one first. Baker knifed inside and grabbed the lead heading up the first ski run. His lead was short-lived, however. "I put a new steering stem in, and it made the steering a little different than what I was used to," said Baker. "A quarter mile into the race, I tried to turn and it didn't turn the way I expected. I went over a berm and got hung up."

Mike Benson put his brand-new Four-Stroke Tech Suzuki LT-Z 400 out front for the hole shot

Smiley speaking of the race at Wisp, "They should all be like this."

A bottle-neck on lap two allowed the Pro Production riders to make up time on the pros. Trew and Duvall both passed Santo DeRisi and Brad Page, and then set out after Borich and Smiley. Smiley said: "Somehow I ended up in first. Then Chad came up behind me, and I figured he was already ahead of me on time, so I might as well follow him." Smiley and Duvall both got flats, but Smiley was able to hold on to the lead. Ballance, Trew and Yokley were all there to apply pressure.

Climbing the Ski Slopes

Duvall was coming on strong before having a flat

Of that pack, Trew seemed the strongest. As the white flag came out, he had the overall lead and was in control of his own destiny. In fact, six miles into the 8-mile last lap, Trew led everyone by 22 seconds. "I was thinking this might be my day, but I was actually nervous because I had never been there before," said Trew. Unfortunately, he flattened his front tire trying to bring it home, a heart-breaking turn of events. The Yoke and Mighty Matt passed each other back and forth, but then Ballance set them up for the final pass. "I saw this line off to the side going up one of those rocky hills," said Ballance. "It didn't look like anyone else was taking it. I figured I might as well. It couldn't be any rougher than any of the other stuff we were going over. I made a pass on both of them right there." Ballance was still unsure if he needed to pick up the pace to beat Trew, but it didn't really matter. "I thought maybe we would have to gain time, but you can't gain time out there, it was too rough," said Ballance. "I just tried to keep going." He did, and he held on for his sixth win of the year. And while he's frustrated with the lack of his own wins, Smiley couldn't help but be proud of his ride. "They should all be like this," said Smiley.