ATVs and UTVs Go head-to-head at New Venue

After nearly a month off, the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series returns to racing this weekend, May 15 and 16, to the newly added Indy 100 location in Gosport, Ind.

This inaugural event will be co-sanctioned with the Mid America Cross Country Series, allowing riders to receive points in both series. New for 2011, the Indy 100 course gives all riders an equal opportunity to master the freshly designed course this weekend.

Can Borich extend his lead this weekend?GNCC points leader Chris Borich is beginning to settle into a groove out front this season but Warnert Racing Can-Am riders Adam McGill and Chris Bithell have been chomping at the Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider every weekend so far.

Deemed “The Borich” method of racing, CB1 typically hangs back for the first hour or so and then turns it on full throttle in the final laps to secure the win almost every time. However, heading to a freshly designed course in Indy may give McGill, Bithell and Kiser the tools they need to hold Borich off in the end.

Greg’s ATV and Cycles’ Gabe Phillips has found that consistency is key in the XC2 class this year with mostly seconds across the board, but DeRisi Racing’s Eric Hoyland sits only four points back heading into the brand new Indy 100 this weekend. Ballance Racing’s Walker Fowler continues to dominate the XC2 field, even breaking into the top five overall last round. Fowler is going to be tough to beat if he keeps the pace he’s been running this far.

This nationally televised event on the VERSUS network will also feature round three of UTV racing on Saturday. The Polaris National Guard team has swept the first two rounds of the Open Modified class and currently holds the points lead heading into round three.

Team Hendershot and Coastal National Guard are tied at 11 points behind the leader, while Can-Am’s Nightkrawler Kustoms sit one point back in fourth. UTV racing action begins at 4:30 p.m., following the ATV afternoon race so be sure to check out the fastest side-by-side vehicles as they blaze through the woods

Kiser has been right there all season long Race fans, friends, families and sponsors are invited to head over to Vendor’s Row Saturday night from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. to celebrate XC2 ATV points leader Walker Fowler’s High School Graduation. The Fowler family will be serving food and drinks under the big tent upon completion of Saturday’s races, so come join the 4.0 student in celebrating an accomplishment even bigger than winning a GNCC Championship!

Spectator passes are $15 for the full weekend, including pro pit access and pro autograph session. On Saturday and Sunday, youth riders race at 8 a.m., amateur riders race at 10 a.m., and the top amateurs and the Pros race at 1 p.m. Saturday’s UTV racing will take place at 4:30 p.m. Local racers are encouraged to participate and may sign up at the event.

To get to the track, take 465 to 67 South. Go 28 miles. Turn right (North) on Drunkards pike. Go 2.5 miles. Location is on the left.

For more information, visit the official series website at www.GNCCRacing.com or call 304-284-0084.

Acorn Woods Communications is pleased to welcome GBC Motorsports to its growing roster of motorsport clientele. GBC Motorsports offers high quality, performance-driven tires to ATV riders of all levels, from professional racer to weekend hobbyist.

GBC Motorsports, a subsidiary of major tire manufacturer and importer Greenball Corporation, provides the highest quality and most innovative performance tires to power sport enthusiasts. GBC produces tires for every environment a rider may face, whether it is mud, sand or hard pack. GBC’s tires are always built with performance in mind, and they offer the traction, puncture resistance and durability that riders look for in tires.

Acorn Woods Communications Vice President Brant Russell looks forward to the relationship. “GBC has a long history in ATV racing and performance. They have some serious credentials in the industry and have assembled a team of legendary individuals such as Tim Farr, Keith Little, and Wes Miller’s Bomb Squad group to help make a great line even stronger.  While others are pulling back – GBC is really going after this segment and we are excited to be a small part of it.”

Newly named GBC Sales Director and former ATV factory racer Kory Ellis is ready for the challenge, “GBC has been in the ATV tire business for years. They have a great product line and I’m looking forward to making it easy for the ATV enthusiast to run our tires.”

Randy Tsai, GBC Director of Motorsports echoes these thoughts, “We at GBC Motorsports are thrilled to partner with Acorn Woods Communications. With their extensive experience in the motorsports industry, we are confident that this relationship will be beneficial for all. We feel that the social media aspects of this arrangement will really enhance the GBC experience for our customers; and that should be a lot of fun.”

The chase for the championship tightened up this weekend at round five of the AMA ATV Motocross National Championship Series presented by DWT. Only four points separate the current points leader from second place, the closest margin yet this season. At almost halfway through the season, the veteran riders are beginning to mark their territory while several Rookie riders are showing flashes of brilliance.

Once again, the Can-Am duo dominated most of the day Although Wienen lined up at his home track, all holeshot advantages were pushed aside as Sunset Ridge debuted a brand new starting structure this weekend, but that’s ok since he grabbed the ATVRiders.com Fastest Qualifier Award earlier in the day.

Makson Construction/JB Racing/Maximum RPM/Hetrick Racing’s Joel Hetrick had no problem adjusting to the changes as he shot out of the hydraulic-powered gates to capture the SSi Decals Holeshot Award. It didn’t take long for Wienen to put the move on Hetrick as the duo went side-by-side over the finish line jump on lap two.

Motoworks Can-Am’s John Natalie spent the first half of moto one chasing the Honda of Hetrick, who rode a tenacious race – even pulling away from the veteran rider at times. Natalie finally made his move about halfway through the race, turning his sights to Can-Am teammate Wienen out front.

The intense racing action actually took place in the battle for fifth between Ballance Racing’s Thomas Brown, SSI Decals/Motoworks/JB Racing/Fox Shox’s Chase Snapp and Walsh Race Craft/Fox Shox/Maxxis/FMF’s Jeremy Lawson. Brown got off to a bad start but hammered his way through the pack and put the pressure on Lawson who was all over Snapp for the fifth spot.

Snapp, Lawson and Brown were in freight train formation heading into the corner – Brown railed the outside while Snapp tucked inside and Lawson followed. Brown swept around Lawson first and then went to work on Snapp, eventually slipping inside on the downhill corner.

Snapp returned the favor the next time around, making contact with Brown and finishing out the race in fifth behind Baldwin Motorsports/JB Racing/PEP’s Upperman. Brown held off Lawson for sixth and the Rookie claimed his first-ever Pro podium behind the Motoworks Can-Am duo of Wienen and Natalie.

Great ride from the Rookie “You had to be really patient out there, the track was only turning a couple fast lines and you really had to pick them right,” Wienen said. “I had to be really safe on the lines I picked and I just all of the sudden turned the light switch and hit it,” he added.

Joel Hetrick was on fire aboard his Honda machine, grabbing yet another SSi Decals Holeshot Award in moto two with fellow Honda rider Josh Upperman close behind. The Can-Am duo of Chad Wienen and John Natalie tucked in behind the Honda riders and immediately began picking away.

Wienen railed the outside line to steal second from Upperman and it wasn’t long before Natalie followed suit. The fans cheered home state rider Chad Wienen hard as he pushed his way past Hetrick for the lead and never looked back. Hetrick lost steam midway through the moto, falling victim to another Can-Am rider for the second position.

“I got a couple blisters on my hands and had real bad arm pump for a while, I couldn’t even push the gas through the turn but that eventually went away and I just cleared my head and calmed down after that,” Hetrick said.

Natalie heightened his pace near the end of the moto, turning lap times nearly two seconds faster than the leader. With two laps to go, Natalie put himself within striking distance of his teammate until his bike started smoking. Natalie lost his momentum as his bike slowly deteriorated, making it as far as the corner before the finish line before it shut off. Natalie pieced together a sixth place overall despite his moto two breakdown.

“It stinks what happened to John out there but I’ll take it,” Upperman said. “That’s all I’m asking, is to be in the top three,” he added.

Honda dominated holeshots all day After battling to the end in moto one, Chase Snapp and Thomas Brown found themselves paired up once again in moto two – this time Brown controlling the fate. Snapp, Lawson and Joe Byrd were close behind but through the rough track conditions couldn’t make the move around Brown. Upperman took home a comfortable third after Natalie dropped out and Brown finished with fourth to take the fourth overall with Snapp going 5-5 for fifth.

Wienen now holds a four-point lead over Natalie in the Championship standings heading into round six. Josh Upperman, who has been consistent all season, holds the third position over Jeremy Lawson and Rookie Chase Snapp bumps out Joe Byrd for the fifth spot.

The AMA ATV Motocross Championship Series heads to Steel City MX in Delmont, Pa., May 21 and 22, with Pro class racing starting at 1 p.m. Saturday, supported by 37 amateur classes throughout Saturday and Sunday. For more information, please visit www.atvmotocross.com.

Polaris RANGER RZRs had another great showing at Best in the Desert’s Bilek Racing Silver State 300 this past weekend, in Henderson, Nevada.

Polaris Regional Sales Manager Matt Parks and his Holz Racing RANGER RZR 4 800 were victorious taking the “Pro UTV” class and the Pro Overall.

The tight and technical terrain of the course mixed with some really fast areas was different than what Parks is use to racing, but when the dust cleared, he crossed the line first.

Jagged X debut their new No. 1919 RANGER RZR XP 900 desert racer and took second in the “Pro UTV” class. The car was completed only hours before the race allowing Jagged X no time for tuning or testing, so the team relied only on our past experience and knowledge to get it right the first time.

The new No. 1919 worked nearly perfectly for the entire 300 mile race, with only a couple small issues, and fought hard in an epic battle with Parks at the end of the race.

The next Best in the Desert race is the Epic Racing Bluewater Gran Prix, May 13-15, in Parker, Arizona.

Parks is sponsored by Holz Racing Products, Walker Evans wheels and shocks, Maxxis Tires, Tire Balls, Kroyer racing engines, Muzzy, Pure Polaris Lubricants, Utendorfer graphics, D.W.O. race prep, UTV Underground and Valley Cycle in Bakersfield, Calif.

Jagged X is sponsored by Polaris Industries, BF Goodrich Tires, CR Designs Custom Painting and design, Cutting Edge Manufacturing- laser cutting and CAD design, OMF Performance- Custom beadlock wheels, Elka Suspension Shocks, Simpson- Harnesses & safety products, Total Auto Pros- equipment for support trucks, Affordable powder coating- durable high quality coatings, Summers Brothers- Axle shafts, Walker Evans-Wheels, Vision X- Off road lighting.