GNCC ATV Unadilla Preview

After a more than two-month break, the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series will return for its final four rounds starting with this weekend's Can-Am Unadilla GNCC. Unprecedented changes may come to the ATV side, with Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Chris Borich looking to take home the championship for the first time, marking the first time in nine years that Bill Ballance hasn't been on top of the points at the end of the season.

Borich has a wide points lead over the rest of the pack, after winning the past four races in a row. With Defending Champion's Ballance's mixed results earlier in the season, Borich is poised to take the title. His nearest competition is Yamaha's Taylor Kiser. Kiser took his first and only win at the opening round, the River Ranch GNCC but has stayed in at least the top 5 except for the Snowshoe GNCC, where he finished 9th. With Borich sitting more than 40 points ahead of Kiser however, it will be hard for any others to charge ahead of him and instead creates a tight battle behind the frontrunners.
 
FRE KTM's Adam McGill and Ballance, 3rd and 4th places in the points, are only 6 points apart and Houser Racing's Bryan Cook isn't far behind either. Cook, the winner of the Steele Creek GNCC, has remained relatively consistent through the season and is himself only six points behind Ballance and only one point ahead of Yamaha's Brandon Sommers. Yamaha's Donnie Ockerman, Duane Johnson, Jarrod McClure and Chris Bithell are all just a few points apart as they head into the final four rounds. It's a mixed bag as to who will end up where when the dust settles.
 
In the XC2 class, Brian Wolf is coming off a stellar win at the Snowshoe GNCC, where he took the overall win and the $10,000 purse. But Wolf is only 13 points ahead of his closest competition, FRE KTM's Josh Kirkland, who has stayed in second place or better place except for his round 8 Mountain Ridge ride where he had a 4th place finish. The two are essentially untouched for their class championship as Eric Hoyland is more than 70 points behind the two in third place.

The Unadilla racing facility has been hosting national and international-level competitions for 40 years, and this event routinely draws the largest crowd of the 13-race GNCC series. Over 1700 competitors and several thousand more spectators are expected. Riders will race on a custom-built track, which includes both motocross and woods racing. The combination of the two makes Unadilla a test of both survival and speed. Racers include top international talent, such as U.S. National Champions and World Champions from Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Spectator passes run $12 for the full weekend, with pro pit access and pro autographs at no additional charge. On both Saturday and Sunday, youth riders race at 8 a.m., beginner riders race at 10 a.m., and the top amateurs and the pros race at 1 p.m.

For more information, check out the official series website at www.GNCCRacing.com.