GNCC Round 8 2016 Race Report
Fowler Wins Second Annual Dunlop Tomahawk GNCC With a Commanding Lead
Christofferson Scores Big In XC2 Pro-Am In Front of Hometown Crowd
After losing his rear brakes on the first lap, Chris Borich continued to fight for a podium position all while proving that he still has his eyes on the National Championship. Photo: Ken Hill
ODESSA, N.Y. (June 11, 2016) – The 2016 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series presented by Maxxis, an AMA National Championship, continued today in Odessa, New York with the Second Annual Dunlop Tomahawk GNCC. By the time the 1 p.m. Pro race kicked off the weather had turned around creating near perfect race conditions. At the conclusion of the two hour race it would be N-Fab/Maxxis/AmPro Yamaha/Lonestar/MXP’s Walker Fowler crossing the line first with a commanding lead.
Maxxis/Fly Racing/HMF/Ye Olde Cycle Barn/Suzuki’s Chris Borich found himself in a favorable position once the green flag waved and grabbed the $250 Wiseco XC1 Holeshot Award. While Borich would put forth his best effort, it would not take long for Fowler to move into the lead once Borich missed the main race line.
“Chris made a little bobble and missed the line he was going to take so I took it and got around him,” said Fowler. “Once I got into the lead I just tried to put myself in my own race and just get out there. That way I would be able to play it safe if anything was to happen in the latter half of the race.”
Adam McGill struggled with getting a flow on the track, but still managed to come out with a third place overall finish.
Fowler quickly capitalized on the open track and began pulling away from the rest of the field and gaining valuable time. Once he checked through timing and scoring for the first time he already had a 27-second lead ahead of Borich who still remained in second.
Meanwhile, Borich would find himself in a battle with CST/LSR/Induction Solutions/DeRisi/SG/Tire Blocks’ Adam McGill. Borich would ultimately end up losing his back brakes on the first lap which created an added challenge for the six-time champion. Borich and McGill spent the entirety of the race swapping positions.
Walker Fowler would take the Tomahawk GNCC win with a two minute lead.
While Fowler would take the victory by almost two minutes, Borich would end up finishing an impressive second overall after racing more than half the race without rear brakes. McGill rounded out the overall podium in third.
“I really couldn’t get it together today,” said McGill. “I really just tried to make a go of it today and charge the whole race. I made a few mistakes and could just never recover from them. This track is hard on me in general just do to the fact that it doesn’t fit my style and I just never have good luck here.”
Overall Podium: (2) Chris Borich, (1) Walker Fowler, (3) Adam McGill.
XC2 Pro-Am Podium: (2) Greg Covert, (1) Marty Christofferson, (3) Cody Collier.
N-Fab/Maxxis/AmPro Yamaha/Lonestar/MXP’s Cole Richardson finished just off the podium in fourth, with JMR/ATVriders.com/DWT’s Jarrod McClure behind him in fifth overall. Precision/Axis/Maxxis’ Jay Shadron had his best ride of the season finishing sixth in XC1 Pro and seventh overall. Coastal Racing/MSR/Maxxis’ Brycen Neal claimed eighth overall and GBC/HMF/FLY Racing/Yamaha’s Johnny Gallagher crossed the line eighth in his respective class and fifteenth overall.
In the XC2 Pro-Am division, Hygear Suspension/Waynesburg Yamaha/FLY Racing/Moto-Xperts/Spider Graphix Greg Covert jumped out to the early lead and claimed the $100 All Balls Racing Holeshot Award, but hometown hero and Dillinger’s Celtic Pub & Eatery/GBC Motorsports/Moose Racing’s Marty Chistofferson would end up taking the coveted win. Covert would follow in second with Pierce Performance’s Cody Collier rounding out the podium in third. ITP/Ye Olde Cycle Barn/Walsh Racecraft’s Westley Wolfe and Independent Cycles/Shockworx Motorsports/Variom’s Matthew Lindle followed in fourth and fifth.
10 a.m. Overall Podium: (2) Bryan Hulsey, (1) John Glauda Jr., (3) Kevin Cunningham.
“I finally got a good start and it’s what I’ve been looking for,” said Christofferson. “I was talking about it in the rider interviews this morning and I knew if I could get a win and that’s what we did today. It feels great to win in front of my friends and family and I just need to keep the momentum going to catch back up in the points. There’s more where this came from.”
Ithaca Recreation Sports/Maxxis/Seat Concepts/Quad Tech/Stormpeak Crossfit’s Hunter Hart took home top amateur honors with twelfth overall and the College A (16-21) victory. Devon Feehan and Thomas Koontz Jr. followed in second and third.
The 10 a.m. overall podium was made up of three different classes with Schoolboy Sr. (14-17) competitor and Pierce Performance/Maxxis/Waynesburg Yamaha/FLY Racing’s John Glauda Jr. taking the overall win along with the $125 GT Thunder Overall Amateur Award. Vee Rubber Tires/Duncan Racing/Maxima Oils’ Bryan Hulsey finished behind Glauda with second overall and the Super Senior (45+) class win. Cunningham Racing/Can-Am/Spider Graphix/Gold Speed’s Kevin Cunningham rounded out the overall podium in third.
Youth Overall Podium: (2) Payton Dalton, (1) Tim Sroka, (3) Dylan Walraven.
Cunningham would make a last lap pass to take the 4×4 Pro win with Can-Am/QuadBoss’ Bryan Buckhannon and Team UXC Racing’s Michael Swift in second and third.
Traci Pickens would end up taking the WXC win followed by Katelyn Osburn in second and Ye Olde Cycle Barn/Maxxis/Fox Shocks’ Alicia McCormick.
Wilson Racing’s Tim Sroka extended his points lead in the Super Mini (12-15) division with another win. This victory marked his fourth consecutive win. Payton Dalton made his first podium appearance of the season in second and Georgia’s Dylan Walraven rounded out the overall ATV youth podium.
The 1 p.m. ATV Pro race was broadcast LIVE in its entirety on RacerTV.com and can be viewed as archived video online by visiting the GNCC LIVE page.
The 2016 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series continues with round nine on June 25 and 26 with the famed AMSOIL Snowshoe GNCC at the Snowshoe Mountain Resort in West Virginia.
For more information on the series, visit the official website at www.gnccracing.comor call (304) 284-0084. Join the conversation on the series Facebook page, follow us on Twitterand Instagram, and be sure to always hashtag #GNCCLIVE.
The Dunlop Tomahawk GNCC
Odessa, NY
Round 8 of 13
Saturday, June 11
XC1 Pro Event Results:
- Walker Fowler (YAM)
- Chris Borich (SUZ)
- Adam McGill (HON)
- Cole Richardson (YAM)
- Jarrod McClure (HON)
- Jay Shadron (YAM)
- Brycen Neal (YAM)
- Johnny Gallagher (YAM)
- Josh Merritt (YAM)
- Landon Wolfe (HON)
*Overall National Championship Standings:
- Walker Fowler (216)
- Adam McGill (188)
- Chris Borich (168)
- Brycen Neal (163)
- Cole Richardson (108)
- Jarrod McClure (105)
- Landon Wolfe (93)
- Greg Covert (89)
- Josh Merritt (76)
- Jay Shadron (76)
*Indicates that the Overall National Championship Standings will determine the 2016 National Champion.
XC2 Pro-Am Event Results:
- Marty Christofferson (HON)
- Greg Covert (YAM)
- Cody Collier (YAM)
- Westley Wolfe (SUZ)
- Mattew Lindle (HON)
- Kevin Yoho (YAM)
- Randy Hamilton (HON)
- Bryson Hoppes (YAM)
- Brian Foltz (HON)
- Dwight Pollard (HON)
XC2 Pro-Am Series Points Standings:
- Greg Covert (192)
- Marty Christofferson (167)
- Westley Wolfe (160)
- Cody Collier (124)
- Randy Hamilton (123)
- Matthew Lindle (112)
- Bryson Hoppes (107)
- James Green (102)
- Kevin Yoho (94)
- Kenny Shick (69)
About GNCC Racing
The AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series presented by Maxxis is America’s premier off-road racing series. Founded in 1975, the 13-round championship is produced exclusively by Racer Productions. Cross-country racing is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world. The grueling three-hour GNCC races lead as many as 2,000 riders through tracks ranging in length from eight to 12 miles. With varied terrain, including hills, woods, mud, dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC events are tests of both survival and speed. The series draws talent from all over the U.S., Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. GNCC Racing is televised weekly on NBC Sports and RacerTV.com. For more information, please visit www.gnccracing.com.
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