Round 4 GNCC Nationals
Photos by Raymond Grundy
Michael Houston Takes First Grand National Cross Country Win
By Jason Weigandt
April 10, 2006 – The racing action is better than ever in the Suzuki Grand National Cross Country Series, and this time the battle was so tight that an upstart was able to win his first-ever GNCC.
LTERacing.com’s
Michael Houston (left), of Hickory, North Carolina, fought to the top in an
incredible race between nearly 10 riders to win the Pirelli Big Buck GNCC in
Union, South Carolina, on April 8.
Yamaha’s Bill Ballance made up valuable championship points by finishing second, as the Oakland, Kentucky, rider knifed underneath Yoshimura/Suzuki’s William Yokley in the final stretch to the finish. Yokley, of Thompskinsville, Kentucky, finished third on his Suzuki LT-R450 QuadRacer.
For Houston, who had never finished on the podium in a GNCC before, it was a dream day.
Houston rode smart and took advantage of errors by the leaders.
"The crowd just lit up every time I came past, it really helps your inspiration and motivation. I came into the pits around fourth or fifth, and when I got out of the pits I was behind (Chris) Borich in second. Those guys were really pushing the pace, and after a couple miles in I went back to fourth. I just really wanted to keep them in sight.
"Then I guess they ran into some problems in the creek, and I came around the check point and got the white flag and they were telling me I was in first! I didn’t feel too fast in the first few miles, but I knew if I could hold them until the second half of the track, I could hold them off and win. This is my first podium—I would have been happy to just be up here in third, but to win, it’s just awesome," Houston said.
It was mad scramble all day, as only 45 seconds separated the top 10 riders at the halfway point of the race. At that point, though, the Killer Bs of Ballance and Borich had grabbed the top two spots, and many expected them to pull away. Instead, they both stalled in a water crossing, allowing Houston, Duane Johnson and Yokley to get around.
"I was in the lead and I felt good, and I thought I maybe had this one in the bag," said Ballance, the six-time and defending GNCC champion. "Then I took on some water, and the bike just choked out. Then I looked around and saw Chris (Borich) in there too, so I knew he had some problems, too! I lost a few positions there, then I got past a few guys, and I clipped a tree and flipped over the handlebars. Those guys got back around, I was able to get around Jenks and Johnson with a line in the woods, and then I got around William (Yokley) right here coming to the finish. I was pushing it with everything I had. I’m in a position where I need to get points, and every position I could put between me and Chris I needed to have."
Ballance and his wife welcomed a new baby girl into the world four days before the race, and he wanted the win.
"Second is alright, but I promised my new little girl a win, so we’ll have to get it at Loretta’s in two weeks."
Yokley raced the Big Buck with a new woods setup on his LT-R450, narrowing the machine nearly three inches from the one he raced a month ago in Florida. He led the race early.
"It was a pretty crazy day," said Yokley. "The new Suzuki ran awesome today. I had a good start and was running in the lead for awhile. We came into the pits and lost a little time gassing, we had to rig up a dry-break fuel system for the new bike and our pit was a little slow.
"I got out and I was a little behind, then Bill rolled it over out there, and then (Duane) Johnson ran into another rider. So I got into second, but Bill got me there at the end," Yokley said. "I went a little wide there and he got by. But that’s racing."
In the midst of the battle for the race win comes the battle for the GNCC Championship. Borich, of Sunbury, Pennsylvania, still leads the standings, but after stalling in the water and losing the lead, he was only able to climb back to fourth.
"I was right behind Bill in second, and we were having a good race, but I jumped the second creek crossing, and when I landed in the water it just died," said Borich. "I was there for maybe a minute just kicking it. After that I had to get new goggles and stuff, and I ran strong at the end, but it was just too tight and I couldn’t get past those guys."
Miller Yamaha’s Angel Atwell topped Polaris’ Stephanie Parton to win the morning race ATV overall. Alba Yamaha’s Traci Cecco saw her three-race win streak end after getting wire caught in her axle while leading. Cecco finished third. Walker Fowler continued his run through the ATV Youth Ranks with the Youth overall win.
The Big Buck GNCC drew more than 1,200 individual riders between the Youth, ATV and bike classes. The race was taped for an airing on the Outdoor Life Network as part of the Racer TV Series. GNCC TV airs every Saturday and Wednesday at 3 p.m. The Big Buck event will begin airing on Saturday, May 13.
For information on future events, log on to www.GNCCRacing.com.
The AMA-sanctioned Suzuki Grand National Cross Country series is America’s premier off-road racing series. The 13-round series is produced exclusively by Racer Productions.