#GrandNationalCrossCountrySeries

Photos by Amy McConnell, XCountry Photos

It’s always an interesting adventure to compete at a brand new venue. When the 2012 Grand National Cross Country Series arrived at Park Mammoth Resort in the rolling hills of south-central Kentucky for the fifth round of the series, everyone was faced with trying to learn new trails and figure out an ideal machine setup. Racers and mechanics took their closest guess — because no pre-riding is allowed in GNCC racing — and then hoped for the best when the green flag flew.

Luckily the Team ITP riders had a number of options to choose from when it came to tires – from the Holeshot to the QuadCross XC.

Dave Simmons ( Yamaha) captured yet another overall amateur morning race victory. On what turned out to be a mostly tight and technical course, Simmons led the way ahead of nearly 240 other athletes in a wide variety of classes. This performance marked the fifth time in a row he’s won the Super Senior 45+ class in 2012, and was his third morning overall of the season.

National Guard / Polaris / Coastal / Yoshimura / DragonFire / Yokley Racing Team driver William Yokley finished first overall and first in the Side by Side XC1 Modified Class at the Big Buck GNCC in Union, SC, while teammate Scott Kiger finished fourth overall and fourth in the same class. Meanwhile, National Guard / Coastal / Bowers Motorcycle Supplies / Yokley Racing Team rider Jarrod McClure finished fourth overall and fourth in the XC1 Pro ATV Class.

Summary – Side by Side

The GNCC Series moved on to the Big Buck in South Carolina for Round 2 of the Side by Side machines. Since the area has had very little rain leading up to the race, the track was very dusty. The course was rough with lots of ruts, and a good start would be very important. Other than the dry conditions, the weather was great with temps in the low 80’s.

The start flag dropped and after the first few turns, Yokley was in second place with Kiger in fifth. Yokley made a pass for the lead in the first open field section where he could really open up the Yoshimura-tuned Polaris. He then proceeded to open up a sizable gap heading into the second lap of the four-mile course. Meanwhile, Scott Kiger was mired behind a nose-to-tail group of machines which were churning up clouds of vision-blocking dust. At times, he had to come to a complete stop in order to see the course. Once he worked his way past those machines into some cleaner air, he was a considerable distance behind teammate Yokley.

Now that we’re a few races into the 2012 Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series, the standings and championship races are starting to take shape. Yamaha is fielding a particularly strong team this year and its Pro GNCC racers Taylor Kiser, Walker Fowler and Traci Cecco, along with Ballance Racing boss Bill Ballance, offered up some thoughts on the season so far.

Bill Ballance Question: You’re widely known as the best off-road ATV racer of all time, and while you haven’t announced any plans to officially retire from racing, you’re transitioning more into a team management role – tell us about Ballance Racing and how you approach your new job.

BB Responses:

The first priority is the race team. Our team provides full race support to Taylor Kiser and Walker Fowler in the GNCC race circuit. We also provide some support to Thomas Brown on the MX side.

The second side to Ballance Racing is aftermarket sales and support. We sell all of the race products from companies that sponsor our race program. Also, we build complete race quads.

Ballance Racing started as me competing and winning championships and has transitioned into a program that supports both riders and sponsors on and off the track.

My role as team manager includes many responsibilities and those change from day to day. I spend numerous days testing on the track, which requires me to do lots of riding – this being my favorite part! Other days my time is filled by taking orders from customers, building shocks, setting up race quads, talking to sponsors, and keeping up with what the guys are doing and needing. A big part of my job is developing and testing for companies like Lone Star, Ohlins, Maxxis, and Moto-Xperts. I even build and fine tune maps for ECUs.

The transition has been difficult in some ways. When we are at the races and the guys line up on the starting line, it is hard for me not to be a part of that. However, in some ways it has been pretty easy because of the attention to detail that I give to every working part of the race bike is natural to me. I do this just the same way I did with my own race quad. I try to give the guys the equipment they need and the knowledge I have gained over the years. I want to see them win, and I strive for nothing less.

With three rounds of the 2012 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series in the books, the Parts Unlimited GNCC Dealer Challenge is well underway. Forty seven teams signed up for the program this year, which is designed to enhance the involvement of dealership support to racers in the series.

North Lima, Ohio’s BNR A Team currently leads the way with a full slate of ATV racers on board. Thomas Koontz (Junior A 22+) heads BNR with teammates Robert Smith (U2), Baby Mac (College A) and Kevin McKeown (College B) helping to put BNR on top of the leader board.

Caser, NC’s DeRisi Racing Woodhead team only trails BNR by 11 points in the overall standings with stellar performances so far by ATV riders Braden Henthorn, who secured his first win in the XC2 Pro Am class at round three, and teammates David Reeves (Junior A 22+), Brycen Neal (College A) and Kylie Ahart (Women).

In a series they regularly dominate, Can-Am X-Team racers picked up five more 4×4 class wins at this past weekend’s Steele Creek GNCC. As well, Can-Am riders earned three victories in the Texhoma Quad Racing Association (TQRA) series.

In the GNCC series, Kevin Trantham led the way, winning the 4×4 Lites class and finishing third overall on the morning podium aboard his 2012 Can-Am Outlander 500. Cody and Hunter Miller each piloted a Can-Am vehicle to victories at round two of the TQRA motocross series held in Geary, Okla.

“The Steele Creek GNCC was a brutal, challenging course, but our 4×4 class racers truly performed well aboard their Can-Am ATVs,” says Jimmie O’Dell, race manager, Can-Am. “Michael Swift and Bryan Buckhannon are so evenly matched aboard their 2012 Outlander 800s, they really put on a show racing wheel-to-wheel with each other the entire two-hour race. I was glad to see Swift finally get his first win of 2012, but I’m sure the two riders will have another battle at the next race in South Carolina. Kevin Trantham put in one of his most impressive performances ever aboard his Outlander 500, by winning his class and earning a spot on the morning overall podium. In TQRA, I was pleased to see both Cody and Hunter Miller post some hard-fought victories over the weekend with both their Can-Am ATVs and side-by-side machines.”

Racer Productions, producers of the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series, and BRP Can-Am are excited to announce Sunshine “Sonny” Willis, of Indianapolis, Ind. as the winner of a brand-new 2011 Can-Am Outlander 650 XT. Can-Am Race Manager, Jimmie O’Dell, drew Sunny’s name during the ATV podium celebration at Saturday’s Ironman GNCC.

Several thousand GNCC fans entered the season-long sweepstakes at the first twelve rounds of the series, including the Amsoil Ironman GNCC, where the drawing took place.

“I am super excited to win the Can-Am Outlander 650, it’s a pretty cool ATV – I like it a lot!” says Willis. “I’m probably going to let the family have fun with it, it’s a great all-terrain vehicle and we will get a lot of use out of it! Thanks to GNCC and Can-Am for the opportunity to finally own an ATV to go riding with my friends!”