Chris Borich wins Orange Crush Cross Country race in Florida
April 27, 2005 – Alba Honda's Chris Borich pounded through the Florida sand to win the first-annual Moose Racing Orange Crush Grand National Cross Country race in De Leon March 5-8.
It
was a dominating win in the second round of the GNCC series, signaling that
Borich may be the man to beat for the 2005 Suzuki Grand National Cross Country
title.
"Man, I just feel so comfortable on this bike, and all of the training is really starting to pay off," says Borich, the hot young star who is rapidly climbing to the top of the GNCC mountain. "The track was real rough. I knew it was going to be a long day for us. We were battling for awhile there but I was able to pull away."
The battle came from the Ballance brothers — defending GNCC Champ Bill and his younger brother Branden. But Bill's run for the win ended when he wedged a stick into his A-arm, making it almost impossible to steer his factory-backed Yamaha YFZ450. He would struggle to fifth.
"I just can't seem to get the ball rolling," said Bill Balance, with more than a hint of frustration. He has never faced such a strong challenge in his five years of GNCC ATV dominance.
Younger brother Branden was able to hold on, taking second, which was his best ride since winning the GNCC opener in Florida two years ago.
"I've been working really hard, going to the gym five or six days a week," said Branden. Confidence has often been missing from Branden's program, but the heavily-improved conditioning program is paying big dividends mentally and physically. "It's hard to beat the sand of Florida for me I guess!"
Team Polaris rider Matt Smiley also put in a hard ride to land his Predator 500 on the podium. "I was there just staying in touch with the leaders," said Smiley in his customary style. "I think we proved a lot of people wrong by getting this Polaris up on the podium. This may be the first time, but it won't be the last. My crew was telling me I was catching Bill. I didn't leave anything in the tank."
Smiley always appears to be one of the most serious racers on the tour, but he lived up to his name by beaming from the podium.
Yoshimura Suzuki's William Yokley placed fourth. The fun-loving, out-going rider from Kentucky suffered from arm pump and struggled early, but he launched a major offensive late in the race to get to fourth and preserve major championship real estate.
Ballance was fifth. With Borich riding a two-race win streak to start the season, including the Florida win on an ultra-rough whooped out track, there appear to be no weaknesses in his game.