Press Release –

KTM Factory ATV GNCC riders Adam McGill and Taylor Kiser astounded GNCC fans when the teammates finished first and second at the second round of the GNCC series.

McGill who had finished a strong 5th place overall at the first round in Melbourne, FL was prepared to improve upon that finish at the Georgia race.

He was well on his way to his first win as soon as he and his KTM 525 XC Sport ATV pulled the holeshot at the start of the race. His teammate Kiser grabbed a mid-pack start but quickly began to move forward.

McGill started in the lead and intended to finish that way as he continued to charge forward pulling farther ahead of the pack with each lap.

During the two hour race in which McGill got out front and dominated his teammate Kiser was busy battling competitors to catch up to his teammate and move into that second place position.

Near the end of the race he managed to work his way into second; earning his best ever overall finish in a GNCC race.

In a weekend of firsts, McGill was able to hold his lead and take home the win after pulling an impressive six minute lead on the field by the end of the race.

This marked the first GNCC win for McGill and the first ever GNCC win for the KTM 525 XC Sport ATV.

“I am so happy to finish on top! We have a great team this year. My bike is running great and it’s unbelievably smooth. I’m glad to finally be up here; it’s been a long time coming,” commented McGill after the event.

With two rounds down, McGill now holds the overall points lead with Kiser three points behind him in second.

Next Event: Round 3 – Steele Creek, Morganton, NC – March 29-30, 2008

Overall Results – Round 2:

1. Adam McGill – KTM
2. Taylor Kiser – KTM
3. Brandon Sommers
4. Bryan Cook
5. Ryan Lane

Overall Point Standings (after 2 rounds):

1. Adam McGill – 46
2. Taylor Kiser – 43
3. Bryan Cook – 43
4. Brandon Sommers – 36
5. Chris Borich – 30

Press Release –

Adam McGill didn’t just win his first-ever round of Can-Am Grand National Cross Country racing, he dominated, winning by a massive six minutes at the Maxxis General GNCC in Washington, Georgia.

“It feels great,” said McGill. “This is the machine I wanted to race the first time I saw it. I was a little worried on the last lap, because I’ve been there before and it hasn’t worked out. I would get to sections, and it was just unbelievable, just like a bomb went off. There were people everywhere! I’m so glad there were people out there helping, and everyone at KTM, the whole team, I can’t thank them enough.”

Better yet for KTM, McGill’s teammate Taylor Kiser finished second to make it a KTM sweep.

GT Thunder Yamaha’s Brandon Sommers, the 2007 Pro-Am Champion, scored his first XC1 pro podium with third overall.

Kiser’s XC1 runner-up finish came after a big battle.”I didn’t get a good start but I was able to work my way through,” said Kiser. “I feel good now. The sky’s the limit for this team.”

“There were a lot of lines out there and that definitely made it tough,” said Sommers. “Taylor and I hooked up and we really got into a good rhythm out there. On the last lap, I was ahead of him, but I got some water under my goggles, and I had to get rid of them. I was hoping he wouldn’t see it, but I guess he did because he started working to get around me and once he did there was nothing I could do.”

The championship chase took a dramatic turn when both title favorites–GNCC Champion Bill Ballance and runner-up Chris Borich–failed to finish due to mechanic troubles.

Ballance ran into electrical problems in his first-ever DNF in four years on a Yamaha. Borich snapped a chain on his Rockstar/Yoshimura Suzuki.

The third-placed rider in last year’s chase, Warnert Racing Can-Am’s Chris Bithell, was in the battle with Kiser and Sommers until getting stuck in the deep ruts in a bottleneck, and by the time he had dug out, he had dropped out of the top ten.

Fourth went to Team Excell Motorsports’ Bryan Cook, and fifth to new XC1 pro Ryan Lane. McGill now takes the series’ points lead while Kiser and Cook, each with a fourth and second, are tied for second.

The XC2 class offered up another big battle, with GT Thunder Yamaha’s David Crane notching the win as National Guard-backed Mark Nottman got stuck on the last lap. Veteran Curtis Crump finished third.

In the ATV morning race, Team Yamaha’s Traci Cecco took the Women’s class and the overall win over Stephani Parton. Third overall and the top spot in the Open 4×4 Class went to Bryan Buckannon.

The 2008 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series continues with the Steele Creek GNCC in Morganton, NC on March 29 and 30.

Press Release –

ATV motocross racers will be interested to learn that ITP has unveiled the new QuadCross MX PRO tire line.

The QuadCross MX PRO has been tested and developed with the assistance of several factory teams and riders, including Team Yamaha’s Pat Brown, Team Kawasaki’s Josh Creamer and Keith Little, and Team Can-Am’s John Natalie and Cody Miller.

The QuadCross MX PRO has already been a big winner, as Brown rode this tire to the 2007 Steel City AMA Pro Open Championship.

For 2008, the new QuadCross MX PRO has undergone several construction updates that have resulted in significantly better performance than the original QuadCross MX tire on hard-packed, blue-groove type motocross tracks.

Key to this improvement is a scientifically advanced rubber compound that’s been specially formulated to find traction on the slickest of surfaces for excellent acceleration and braking characteristics.

Considerable laboratory time was invested to make this compound possible, with extensive field testing backing up the results.

A revised shoulder profile greatly improves cornering predictability and side bite as well, for unmatched cornering performance. The front QuadCross MX PRO uses a dual-ribbed dimpled knob pattern that steers precisely with a very light feel and reduced lateral roll.

The ITP QuadCross MX PRO is available in front 20×6-10 and rear 18×10-8 sizing. Light, fast and surprisingly durable, it’s the edge every ATV racer is looking for! And we mean every racer!

This is not a limited-production tire available to only select riders at national events. At ITP, we race what we sell, and sell what we race. The QuadCross MX PRO will be found at every ITP dealer in the country!

Press Release –

BRP’s Can-Am Outlander and Renegade ATVs proved to be the machines to beat in the morning session of the Can-Am GNCC opening round of the 2008 season.

The Triton GNCC, held near Melbourne, Fl., saw warm weather and dry conditions – a perfect start to the 13-round GNCC season.

Can-Am ATVs took three of the top-five overall positions in the morning class, and saw the DS 450TM sport ATV makes its XC1 Pro-class debut with a top-10 finish.

“Many of us at BRP Can-Am made the trip down to Florida to watch our racers compete against the best off-road racers in the world,” said Del Bohlman, Product, Media Relation and Racing Manager for Can-Am ATVs. “The racers and teams did not disappoint us, it was great to see a Can-Am ATV on the morning overall podium and we hope too see an overall winner, whether in the morning or afternoon session this GNCC season.”

Making his U2-class debut, Team Warnert Racing / Can-Am’s Rick Cecco rode his Renegade 800 X to third overall and won by nearly 30 minutes in his class.

His teammate Michael Swift finished 29 seconds behind Cecco – and 10 minutes ahead of his nearest class competitor – and won the 4×4 Limited class aboard an Outlander 800 model.

Team Warnert Racing / Can-Am’s Cliff Beasley, aboard an Outlander 500 in the 4×4 Lites class, cruised to the class win and seventh overall, followed by Team Looney Tuned Exhaust’s (LTE) Jerime Dudding, who finished 15th overall.

The DS 450 ATV made its anticipated XC1 Pro-class debut in the afternoon session and saw Team Warnert’s Chris Bithell finish in the top-10 of the class.

Bithell was running as high as third place at one point and was pressuring the eventual winner.

Teammate Chris Jenks had a pin-sized hole in the rear brake line that saw him lose valuable time in the pits to fix it, however he managed to fight back and finish in 17th place. LTE’s Duane Johnson took 13th overall on his DS 450.

The next round in the 2008 GNCC season is on March 8 near Washington, Ga. For more Can Am racing information, visit www.can-amxteam.com.