Borich Makes Last-Lap Pass To Win Maxxis General GNCC

Chris Borich doesn’t just win with great regularity in the AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series – he seems to do it with a very distinct style. The four-time GNCC champion picked up his second straight win to start the 2013 season this past weekend at the Maxxis General GNCC the same way he usually does – by making a last lap pass for the lead and never looking back. Perhaps we should just call the move “The Borich.”

AmPro Yamaha‘s Walker Fowler and Borich were comfortably in front of the pack on the last lap when Borich made his move. By the time Borich took the checkers with Fowler in tow, the pair had built a five-minute lead o the rest of the field. Johnny Gallagher, who hadn’t made a podium appearance in a decade, finished third.

Johnny Gallagher found the podium for the first time in a decade at the Maxxis General GNCC.

“The General GNCC in 2003 was my last podium finish and I was up here with Bill Ballance and William Yokely,” says Gallagher. “It’s been a long time and the faces have changed a little bit but man it still feels just as good!”

On the opposite end of the age spectrum, 17-year-old rookie Braden Henthorn shot out to capture his second consecutive Team Woodhead/DeRisi Racing Holeshot Award in the XC1 class. However, it was Maxxis-backed Chris Bithell who jumped out to an early lead with Lonestar Racing/Precision/ITP’s Adam McGill and Borich close in tow.

Lap 2 threw a few curve balls in the lead pack, though. First, McGill hit a tree, causing him to spend a substantial amount of time in the pits. And while McGill was in the pits getting his ATV repaired, Bithell came barreling in with a problem of his own. Bithell’s crew fixed the problem and sent him back on the course, causing him to drop from first to eleventh in the matter of minutes.

Chris Borich and Walker Fowler do battle at the front of the pack.

Fowler got a mid-pack jump off the start but eventually made his way into the lead by Lap 3, where the battle with Borich began to take shape. With every lap that passed, Fowler and Borich extended the gap even more between the lead battle and the third place of Gallagher.

“It’s not easy to come from the back at the beginning of a race and I’m in the best shape of my life,” says Fowler. “I’m definitely excited with second place and with second in the points, I just need to start picking up some wins and stop this record breaker over here [Borich].”

JB Offroad/Can-Am‘s Jarrod McClure had his sights set on a podium finish at The Maxxis General and all signs showed that was possible until the Pennsylvania rider experienced problems late in the race that pushed him outside of the top ten overall.

Braden Henthorn jumps off the line to grab the XC1 Holeshot Award.

Despite some issues with oil leakage throughout the afternoon, GT Thunder’s Brian Wolf put in a steady ride to finish fourth for the day. Wolf put a late-in-the-race charge on the pack ahead but spent an extended period of time replenishing his oil during his final pit stop. BNR’s Kevin Yoho put in a solid top-five finish, coming in less than 20 seconds behind Wolf. This marks Yoho’s best career finish in XC1.

Brycen Neal (center) is flanked on the XC2 podium by Landon Wolfe (left) and Patrick McGuire (right).

Waynesburg Yamaha’s Jeff Pickens got off to a back of the pack start but eventually made his way into sixth place where he would finish for the day. Bithell was able to salvage a seventh place in the class after experiencing mid-race issues. Henthorn and Indiana’s Craig Bowman rounded out the top 10.

XC2 Pro Am rookie Brycen Neal finished with a commanding win over the rest of the field for his second consecutive victory this season. Maryland’s Landon Wolfe grabbed another second place finish and defending XC2 Pro Am champ Patrick McGuire rounded out the podium.

The 2013 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series continues April 6 and 7 in Morganton, N.C. with the FMF Steele Creek GNCC.