Racing
2004 ATVA/AMA
Grand National Cross-Country Series
William Yokley Wins the First Lone Star GNCC
Mar.
19, – William Yokley rode to victory in the first-ever Lone Star GNCC
held in Gilmer, Texas, January 31-February 1. The pros are now on production
machines.
"I just tried to ride really smart today," said the ever-smiling Kentucky rider, who rode his Yoshimura/Roll/IMS/ ITP Suzuki Z-400 to victory. "The course got real rough, and my bike was working awesome. It doesn't feel like the first race. I've been running this Suzuki since last season, so it feels like just another round from last year."
Behind Yokley came a pack of Yamaha YFZ450s. Defending GNCC champ Bill Ballance proved he could ride a four-stroke by leading the race early and battling with Yokley and Team Safari's Matt Smiley. But a hard tangle with a lapper pushed Ballance to mid-pack.
"We were all going fast, and I tried to pass a lapper in a place I shouldn't have," Ballance said. "We tangled going over a ridge and I got thrown down pretty hard. It took me a long time to get up, and the bike was all tweaked."
Once he was going again, Ballance rode with a vengeance, getting past East Coast ATV's Greg Trew, who now runs No. 6 on a Yamaha YFZ450, and then dueling with his old rivals Smiley and East Coast ATV's Borich.
Ballance bulldozed past Borich and Smiley and even started cutting into Yokley's monster lead.
With the top two spots set, the battle was on for the last podium position. Smiley battled hard with Borich, and the two Yamaha riders were glued to each other for the final two laps. But Smiley dug down and pulled out a podium finish.
"I just saved some energy for the last lap and dug down deep," said Mighty Matt.
The entire race had a different sound to it since all of the pros were four-stroke mounted. Yokley though, who went through the growing pains of dialing in a new machine last season, had the upper hand in the development wars and used experience to his advantage.
His former Pro Production class rival though, Am Pro Yamaha's Chad DuVall, had a terrible day due to a sticking rear shock and a snapped chain. This was quite an adventure for the first race of the season," said DuVall.