GNCC Round 5 2016 Race Report

McGill Takes Home the Inaugural CST Tires
Camp Coker Bullet GNCC Overall Win
Fowler and McGill Round Out Overall Podium

Photos by: Ken Hill

Adam McGill took home an extra $250 courtsey of Wiseco and the XC1 Holeshot Award.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va (April 30, 2016) – The temperatures were not the only thing heating up as the fifth round of the 2016 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series presented by Maxxis, an AMA National Championship, took place today, April 30, at the Moree’s Sportsman’s Preserve in Society Hill, South Carolina. The racing action was nothing short of exciting with heated battles taking place all day long at the Inaugural CST Tires Camp Coker Bullet GNCC. By the time the 1 p.m. pro race had started the overcast skies turned into sunshine and the hot and humid day created a true testament of the racer’s fitness levels, but at the end of the grueling two-hour race it was CST/LSR/Induction Solutions/DeRisi/SG/Tire Blocks’ Adam McGill claiming the Inaugural win in the Palmetto State.

As the green flag dropped it was McGill who jumped out to the early lead and claiming the $250 Wiseco XC1 Holeshot Award. Once they crossed the finish line for the first lap McGill had a nine second lead over N-Fab/Maxxis/AmPro Yamaha/Lonestar/MXP’s Walker Fowler in second.

With McGill and Fowler staying evenly spread in the top two positions, perhaps the best battle of the entire race was for the last podium position. Borich held onto the third place position throughout the second lap with N-Fab/Maxxis/AmPro Yamaha/Lonestar/MXP’s Cole Richardson right behind him.

The defending champion finished a respective second after working through a minor wrist injury.

Meanwhile, Coastal Racing/MSR/Maxxis’ Brycen Neal had his head down and began pushing through the pro field after a mid-pack start. By the end of the first hour Neal found himself in the mix for the third place position with Richardson and Borich.

When McGill came across the white flag he was being pushed by Fowler who was only two seconds behind him. The fight for the lead tightened up once they hit the motocross track and Fowler was able to move past McGill. The lead was short lived once Fowler ran over a berm, but he was able to quickly rebound and still maintain the second place position.

“I had got around him just after the motocross section,” said Fowler. “I had the lead very briefly and made a mistake and blew a berm. It’s a bummer, but I’m happy to be healthy and to go racing after the crash at the last round.”

Adam McGill made it two-in-a-row winning the Inaugural CST Tires Camp Coker Bullet GNCC.

Richardson took advantage of third with Borich and Neal right behind him. Once the group came through the white flag they were all side-by-side heading back into the woods for the last time. Unfortunately Neal would make a race mistake and run into Borich’s back tire while trying to make the pass allowing JMR/ATVriders.com/DWT’s Jarrod McClure to slide by.

The Honda rider, Adam McGill, would see the checkered flag first followed by Fowler and Borich in second and third. McClure would finish an impressive fourth place with Neal following in fifth and Richardson in sixth.

“I got off to a good start and was out there with Adam for a while,” said Borich. “I tagged a tree in a corner on the second lap and fell back to third and had Cole, Brycen and Jarrod right behind me. Brycen actually clipped my back wheel on the last and after that I knew I just had to stay in front of Jarrod to land a podium position.”

XC2 Pro-Am Podium: (2) Randy Hamilton, (1) Westley Wolfe, (3) Matthew Lindle.

Show Hauler/Canyon Motorsports/GBC’s Landon Wolfe worked his way through the entire XC1 Pro division after getting hung up in the first turn for a seventh overall. Precision/Axis/Maxxis-backed Jay Shadron, BNR/Moose Racing/Maxxis-backed Josh Merritt and GBC/HMF/FLY Racing/Yamaha’s Johnny Gallagher rounded out the top ten XC1 Pro class.

The 10 a.m. amateur race had a familiar face on the podium with Schoolboy Sr. (14-17) competitor John Glauda Jr. taking the overall win. This marks Glauda’s third overall win of the season and he remains undefeated in his respective class. The North Carolina native was followed by 4×4 Pro winner Cody Miller in second and Cunningham Racing/Can-Am/Spider Graphix/Gold Speed’s Kevin Cunningham in third. Team UXC Racing’s Michael Swift held the number three spot in the 4×4 Pro class.

10 a.m. Overall Podium: (1) Cody Miller, (1) John Glauda Jr., (3) Kevin Cunningham.

Nine-time Women’s champion Traci Pickens jumped out to the early lead in the WXC division and never looked back taking home her third win of the season. GBC/BNR/Spider Graphix’s Kara Merritt made her first podium appearance in second and Teixeira Tech/KAhart Racing/Yamaha-backed Kylie Ahart rounded out the top three.

The Single Seat UTV race would be once again be dominated by points leader and the defending champion Sam Yokely. Team UXC Racing’s Torey Rush and New Jersey native Robert Boyton finished second and third.

Overall Youth Podium: (2) Mikey Nickels, (1) Tim Sroka, (3) Dylan Walraven.

Wilson Racing’s Tim Sroka took the first ever Camp Coker GNCC overall win in the 8 a.m. youth race with his Super Mini (12-15) class victory. Cobra rider Dylan Walraven followed in second and New York native Mickey Nickels rounded out the top three after recovering from a dead last start.

The 1 p.m. race and the UTV race were broadcast LIVE in their entirety on RacerTV.com and can be viewed as archived video online by visiting the GNCC LIVE page online.

The 2016 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series resumes May 14 and 15 with the Limestone 100 GNCC in Springville, Indiana.

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 Twitter and Instagram, and be sure to always hashtag #GNCCLIVE.

CST Tires Camp Coker Bullet GNCC
Society Hill, South Carolina
Round 5 of 13
Saturday, April 30

XC1 Pro Event Results:

Adam McGill (HON)
Walker Fowler (YAM)
Chris Borich (SUZ)
Jarrod McClure (HON)
Brycen Neal (YAM)
Cole Richardson (YAM)
Landon Wolfe (HON)
Jay Shadron (YAM)
Josh Merritt (YAM)
Johnny Gallagher (YAM)

*Overall National Championship Standings:

Walker Fowler (131)
Adam McGill (119)
Brycen Neal (108)
Chris Borich (100)
Jarrod McClure (73)
Cole Richardson (71)
Josh Merritt (66)
Landon Wolfe (65)
Greg Covert (53)
Jay Shadron (47)

*Indicates that the Overall National Championship Standings will determine the 2016 National Champion.

XC2 Pro-Am Event Results:

Westley Wolfe (SUZ)
Randy Hamilton (HON)
Matthew Lindle (HON)
Greg Covert (YAM)
Marty Christofferson (HON)
Braden Henthorn (HON)
James Green (HON)
Bryson Hoppes (YAM)
Wes Kinsley (SUZ)
Michael Lancaster (HON)

XC2 Pro-Am Series Standings:

Greg Covert (166)
Westley Wolfe (101)
Marty Christofferson (101)
Randy Hamilton (86)
Matthew Lindle (70)
James Green (69)
Bryson Hoppes (66)
Cody Collier (66)
Kevin Yoho (58)
Levi Coen (45)

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.

Tags: 2016, gncc, race report, round 5