May 12, 2008
Just as it has during the last several seasons, the YFZ450 is quickly becoming the ATV to beat in the 2008 Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) series. That’s because on Saturday, May 10 in Millfield, Ohio, Bill Ballance and Donnie Ockerman proved it again by winning their respective XC1 Pro and XC2 Pro Am classes on their blue-and-white Yamaha YFZs. Popular Women’s class champion Traci Cecco nearly made it a hat trick, but got caught up in a bottleneck on the final lap of her race and finished third. Ballance’s win moves him into second in the XC1 Pro standings, while Ockerman extends his lead in the XC2 Pro Am class and Cecco maintains control of the Women’s division.
Ballance immediately showed that the YFZ450 engine is more than a match for its larger competitors. After starting third, he charged into the lead by the end of the first of six laps. But the mud was so thick around the seven-mile woods course that he stopped soon thereafter so mechanic Elliott Skaggs could wrap his grips in towels, and then stopped again after two laps for new gloves and goggles. Three miles later he took the lead and held it for most of the race. “I am feeling really good,” Ballance said later. “I am going a lot faster than last year, the bike is working good, and everything is clicking for us.” Added Donnie Luce, Yamaha ATV/Off-Road Coordinator, “Bill's win today continues his legacy on the YFZ450, which is even more impressive when you consider some of the 525cc models he must compete against.”
Ockerman likewise put the power and handling of his Yamaha to good use to earn his fifth XC2 Pro Am race in six events this year. He raced into the woods in second behind David Crane on another Yamaha before losing precious time in another multi-rider bottleneck on the third lap. After breaking free, he made up an astounding five minutes on leader Brian Wolf and passed for the lead toward the end of the final lap. “Yamaha engine technology seems like it’s a step ahead of everybody else in terms of power,” he noted afterwards. “In rough terrain you also have to keep your wheels on the ground, and we’re accelerating better because we’re getting the power down better.”
1
Adam McGill
134
2
Bill Ballance – Yamaha
122
3
Bryan Cook
106
4
Chris Borich
100
5
Brandon Sommers – Yamaha
99
1
Donnie Ockerman – Yamaha
152
2
Brian Wolf
119
3
David Crane – Yamaha
91
4
Mark Notman
90
5
Joshua Kirkland
81
1
Traci Cecco – Yamaha
110
2
Angel Atwell
108
3
Lexie Coulter
100
4
Stefanie Verkade
96
5
Jennifer Albright – Yamaha
90
