GNCC
Rd. 5 - April 26, 2008
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"KILLER B's" Swarm Loretta's
GNCC - Round 5 - Hurricane Mills, TN - April 26, 2008
It was only a matter of time before the stinging began in the '08 GNCC series. Bill Ballance and Chris Borich resumed their legendary battle during round five at Loretta's in Tennessee and what was once a 2008 series of new
comers to the podium has now turned into a classic struggle of veterans vs: up and comers.
It took five rounds, but Yamaha's Bill Ballance finally charged into victory lane in the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series. The eight-time and defending GNCC Champion won one of the closest GNCC battles in recent memory to snag the Acerbis Loretta Lynn's GNCC over Rockstar/Yoshimura Suzuki's Chris Borich and Team Excell Motorsports' Bryan Cook.
The incredible battle saw the top seven riders enter the last lap seperated by a total of eight seconds. FRE KTM's Adam McGill, winner of the previous three GNCC rounds, fought with Ballance on the last lap. The duo passed each other over and over while
Ballance then held the lead, but Borich put in one last charge. The finish came down to a classic "Killer B's" battle, as Borich got to Ballance's rear wheels but came up short of making a pass.
Cook logged another consistent ride to net his third podium of the season. National Guard's William Yokley took fourth ahead of ATVRiders.com's Jarrod McClure, who turned in his best result ever with a fifth.
McGill was unable to get his machine refired and did not finish the final lap with the leaders. He was credited with 18th in the XC1 class and 103rd overall. Kiser was able to nurse his machine home eighth in the class. McGill does still hold the GNCC points lead, but Cook has narrowed the gap to 13 points in the XC1 class. Ballance and Borich climbed to third and fourth in the rankings.
(Info & Photos Courtesy of Racer Productions)
"Right now it's not even about the championship," said Ballance after logging possibly the longest burnout ever seen at a GNCC on the podium. "I just need to start getting wins and then we can focus on the championship. It was a great battle today and I'm glad to come out on top of it."
Borich began a charge from the back after getting stuck on a hill. But with just a few miles to go, McGill's machine suddenly quit due to an electrical problem, ending his win streak. His teammate Kiser, running third, ran into the same problem as well.
Borich
Ballance
