Can-Am Racing Report: NEATV-MX Round 2 and GNCC Round 5

BCS Performance / Can-Am X-Team racer Josh Creamer won the Pro and Pro-Am classes at round two of the 2012 New England ATV Motocross (NEATV-MX) series. In Can-Am / Grand National Cross Country racing action, five Can-Am racers won their classes this past weekend at the inaugural Can-Am Mammoth GNCC event held in Kentucky.

“Josh Creamer continued his Pro and Pro-Am class dominance by winning in the sandy Southwick soil aboard his DS 450. I was thrilled to see Richard Pelchat have such a great showing, challenge Josh and give us two riders on both the Pro and Pro-Am class podiums,” says Jimmie O’Dell, Race Manager, Can-Am. “In GNCC action, our morning Can-Am 4×4 racers keep impressing us with their convincing wins. To have Bryan Buckhannon, Cliff Beasley, Kevin Trantham and Forrest Whorton post victories, and to do it on the brand new Mammoth course, shows a lot of dedication, drive and focus. Unfortunately a badly bent sprocket literally derailed Chris Bithell’s chance to shine in Kentucky, but he’ll be back at round six ready to challenge for the XC1 Pro class overall.”

NEATV-MX

Creamer, riding a BCS Performance-sponsored Can-Am DS 450, tamed the notoriously rough-and-rutted MX338 Raceway (Southwick) sand to win the overall in both the Pro and Pro-Am classes. In the Pro class action, Creamer passed fellow Can-Am X-Team racer Richard Pelchat late in moto No.1 to notch his first moto victory. He followed that up by grabbing the holeshot and the win in moto two for his second straight 1-1 Pro class finish.

Pelchat won the first moto of the Pro-Am class and Creamer took second. However, Creamer charged to the front to start off the second moto and never let off the throttle, tallying a 2-1 moto finishes for the class overall.

“I’ve got all four overall wins so far this year and put BCS Performance / Can-Am on the podium, so I’m pretty happy about that,” says Creamer.

Pelchat, who will be competing on a DS 450 in Canada this season, used Southwick as a preseason warm-up race. “I had a really good first Pro class moto. Josh and I had a tight race and it was fun,” says Pelchat. “This was good practice for me before my season starts and it was good to try out my [ATV] set-up.”

Can-Am DS 450 mounted amateur-class racers, including Travis Spader and Nicole Gates, also accounted for nine class victories and 23 total podium finishes at Southwick.

Can-Am Mammoth GNCC

Park Mammoth Resort in Park City, Ky., hosted round five of the GNCC series. Many touted the all-new facility and its 10-mile racing course as one of the toughest GNCC tracks on the circuit so far during the 2012 season. Racers were greeted with warm, albeit dusty, weather and plenty of obstacles to conquer.

Two Can-Am ATV racers continued their undefeated season with class victories in Kentucky. Reigning U2 Class Champion and current points leader Cliff Beasley won by more than two minutes aboard his UXC Racing / Can-Am Renegade 800R X xc. Fellow Can-Am racer and X-Team member Kevin Trantham also kept his winning streak alive with another 4×4 Lites class win. Riding a 2012 Can-Am Outlander 500 XT, Trantham was the only 4×4 Lites competitor to complete four laps on his way to yet another convincing victory.

In the highly competitive 4×4 Open class, Bryan Buckhannon, the reigning champion and current points leader, outlasted fellow Can-Am Outlander 800R racer Michael Swift. The two riders raced bumper-to-bumper the entire race before lapped riders on the final lap slowed Swift. Buckhannon has a slim seven-point lead in the class standings.

Can-Am X-Team racer Forrest Whorton won his fourth race of the year in the 4×4 Senior class. Another Can-Am 4×4 class racer, Tanner Bowles, won his fourth race of the year in the 4×4 Novice class.

In XC 1 Pro class action, Chris Bithell (Motoworks / Can-Am) put his DS 450 into the top five after the first lap, but due to a bent a sprocket could not make up any ground on the leaders and had to withdraw after just two laps. He’s currently fifth in the Pro class point standings.