Can-Am Race Report: Maxxis General GNCC

It may be a new season, but Can-Am 4×4 ATV racers continue to outshine the competition in the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) series. Can-Am machines swept all five 4×4 class and placed two riders on the overall morning podium at the Maxxis General GNCC in Washington, Ga.

In the first round of side-by-side vehicle racing in Georgia, a total of 11 Can-Am Maverick 1000R racers competed with four Can-Am vehicles earning a podium finish in each of the four UTV classes.

“Having Can-Am ATV racers dominate their morning 4×4 classes and to see Kevin Trantham and Robert Smith on the morning podium was great. It was a good weekend in Georgia overall, as we had numerous podiums, including two for the new Can-Am Maverick 1000R in its GNCC side-by-side racing debut,” says Jimmie O’Dell, race manager, Can-Am. “It was a close finish for Kyle Chaney and his Maverick 1000R X rs in its first GNCC side-by-side event, as he narrowly missed taking the overall race win. This was a good debut for the Maverick and we fully expect to improve our results at round two in late April.”

ATV

Trantham, the reigning 4×4 Lites class champion, took the holeshot and raced away to a victory aboard his new 2013 Can-Am Outlander 500. He won the class by more than seven minutes, earned the top spot on the 4×4 podium and also earned second on the overall morning podium. Rounding out the 4×4 Lites podium were Can-Am riders Andrew Langston and Scott Day.

“I got a good start and my Can-Am Outlander worked awesome,” says Trantham. “It sure was good to have a good race today after a bad race in Florida.”

Smith raced his Can-Am Renegade to the U2 class win and third overall in the morning. It was Smith’s second consecutive class win and trip to the overall morning podium. He was joined on the U2 class podium by fellow Renegade ATV racers Jordan Phillips and third-place racer Danny Jessee.

Bryan Buckhannon earned his second win in a row in the 4×4 Open class aboard his Can-Am Outlander 800R. Buckhannon, who was sixth overall in the morning, grabbed the early lead and went on to win by close to 50 seconds. Bo Jones and Sam Williams were second and third, respectively. Other Can-Am ATV racers to notch class wins were 4×4 Senior (40+) racer Terry Whiteside and 4×4 Novice class racer Ryan Smith.

Side-By-Side

Chaney was the top finishing Can-Am Maverick 1000R pilot in the XC1 Modified class in Georgia. Chaney (JB Racing / Can-Am) started on line two and had to race against time to catch the leaders. Early in the race, Chaney was in the top three, but fell to sixth at the midpoint due to a large amount of lapped traffic. However, by lap five Chaney raced to the overall lead based on his adjusted time. However, lapped traffic continued to be a factor and pushed Chaney back to third place by lap seven. He finished the eighth-lap race in third place less than six seconds back from first.

“Can-Am got it right. The Maverick is the best side-by-side I’ve driven,” says Chaney. “I am really picky about my machine and my team worked all night to get it the way I wanted it. I can’t thank them enough.”

In the XC2 Limited class, Can-Am racer Mike Penland put in his best ride in a side-by-side by earning second in the Maverick 1000R X rs. Two other Can-Am side-by-side teams earned podium spots in their class. Team Travalena took second in the XC3 Lites class in its Commander side-by-side. Team Burkey finished third in the UTV Novice Limited class in its Can-Am Commander 1000.