Racing
2003 ATVA/AMA
Grand National Cross-Country Series
Borich gets revenge on Wisp Mountain
Young GNCC Star wins where he broke his arm last year; points leader Ballance breaks chain
By Jason Weigandt
July
1, 2003 – No event on the 2003 ATVA Grand National Cross Country Series
tour offers more ups and downs than the MSR Wisp GNCC at Deep Creek Mountain
Resort. Not only do the ski slope trails offer climbs and descents like no other,
Chris Borich experienced a big high to match his awful low here last year. After
breaking his arm in a crash at Wisp in 2002, the Pennsylvanian came roaring
back to win this year's race.
"It feels real good to come back here and win," said the East Coast ATV/Maxxis/Oneal-backed Borich. "It's a lot better than last year. It was tough. I was about 30 seconds back after getting a flat tire."
Borich did deal with a flat, but his determination got him back in the hunt. Then his persistence paid off when GNCC Champion Bill Ballance finally had some bad luck. Ballance won seven-straight GNCC overalls coming into Wisp, and he was positioning himself for number eight as he battled with Borich. But a broken chain ended his run. "I hit a bump and shot the back end up way high," said Ballance. "When it came down the torque of the engine just snapped it when I came back down."
With Ballance out of contention, the field was given the opportunity they had waited for all season long. Team Safari's Matt Smiley tried to get into victory lane, but had to settle for second. "I was right where I wanted to be: in touch with the leaders," said Smiley. "But I lost my rear brakes. I caught Chris when he was getting the flat fixed, but every time I went onto the pavement section it seemed my brakes would fade."
DeRisi racing's Santo DeRisi rounded out the podium with a strong come from behind ride. "I felt good but I got hit in the second turn," said DeRisi. "After that I just started picking guys off."
The rugged Wisp track seemed to favor the traditional two-stroke ATVs from the Pro class. With hardly any mud on the track to hamper traction, the light weight machines bounced through the rocks with relative ease. William Yokley topped the Pro Production class and finished fourth overall, and he was (as usual) all smiles after a hard day on his Nac's/Yoshimura Suzuki Z-400 Quad Sport. "It was a good, fun race," said the fun-loving Yokley. "This place is awesome. I'm hanging out here for the next few days."
Yokley's rival in Pro Production points, Chad DuVall, was hanging out mid pack for most of the day when he had tire problems chasing Yokley on lap two. He put in a strong charge to score a distant second in the class and fourth overall on his Four-Stroke Tech Honda. Maryland's own Todd Knippenberg put in one of the best rides of his career when he finished sixth overall and third in the Production ranks.
Ballance still enjoys a big points lead in both the overall points and the
pro class over Borich. DuVall is third overall in points and leads Yokley by
a slim margin in the Production class.
Last year's inaugural Wisp race became legend due to rocky terrain that flattened
tires and broke equipment. This year's track was toned down quite a bit, but
it still took its toll. Bill Ballance's brother Branden had a pair of flats
on his Suzuki Quad Sport, while Duncan Racing's Brad Page had a similar fate
on his Kawasaki. HMF's Johnny Gallagher salvaged fourth in the Pro Production
class despite losing all the water from his drink system early in the race.
And East Coast ATV's Greg Trew, who nearly won last year's event, was running
strong until his transmission started to grenade on the last lap.
It was a tough race for most, but Borich didn't seem to mind. "It was tough coming back from that flat," said the Pennsylvanian. "I just went for it and hoped for the best. This feels real good."
The GNCC morning race was highlighted by another great performance by Women's Champion Stephanie Parton. Parton put together a great run on her Troy Racing/LRD Suzuki 400 to take her third overall win of the season. Parton has been running LRD's new aluminum Suzuki frame, and after a problem at the previous round in Virginia, appears to have it all worked out.