Borich Clinches Fifth Straight GNCC Title

Though Chris Bithell managed to hold him off and take the overall victory, Chris Borich’s second-place finish at the inaugural Car-Mate Gusher GNCC was enough to secure his fifth straight AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series championship in Foxburg, Pa.

With a steady rain pouring down, the afternoon race kicked off with Borich claiming the $250 DeRisi Racing/Team Woodhead Holeshot Award. From there, it was a close-knit battle to the woods on the opening lap between BNR’s Kevin Yoho, Borich and DeRisi Racing’s Eric Hoyland. However, it was the Reliable Tool Supply/Maxxis rider Bithell who checked in with the lead on Lap 1, followed by Borich, Hoyland and AmPro Yamaha’s Walker Fowler.

Chris Borich grabbed the holeshot. This would be the last time his ATV would look this nice.

Precision/ITP/Lonestar/Axis/Baldwin Racing’s Adam McGill experienced an issue on the start that caused him to start much behind the rest of the pack. McGill steadily worked his way through the pack where he engaged in battle with Hoyland, Henthorn and Gallagher for a top five position.

Despite the heavy rainfall and muddy conditions, Bithell maintained a comfortable lead over the second place battle of Borich and Fowler throughout the two-hour race. Around the halfway point, Fowler began pushing his way up to Borich and the two dueled for position. The duo flip-flopped positions during the second half of the race but Fowler fell victim to a mud pit near the end, losing almost three minutes on the time clock.

Ample rain and mud made Borich and the other racers all but unrecognizable.

In the meantime, Bithell went on to capture his first overall win since 2010 as he bested the second place of Borich by one minute. Bithell now joins the top three XC ATV racers in the nation as only the fourth GNCC overall winner this season.

“It feels great to get the win today! The Suzuki was working awesome and the Maxxis tires hooked up great,” says Bithell. “It was a slop fest out there but the track wasn’t really that bad once you got into the main line and once I did that, I never let off all day. Everybody was cheering me on and pointing me lines, it was a blast.”

“It was a tough one out there today. It was definitely one of those days where you needed to slow down to go fast and make good line choices and that’s what we were able to do today,” says Borich. “It’s kind of disappointing not winning today but the bigger picture is winning the championship.”

Chris Bithell (center) holds the first place trophy on the podium. Borich (right) and Walker Fowler (left) finished second and third.

Fowler managed to secure the final spot on the podium, while McGill earned a fourth place overall finish, just ahead of Waynesburg Yamaha/GT Thunder’s Gabe Phillips, who secured a season best fifth place finish in XC1. Team Woodhead/DeRisi Racing’s Braden Henthorn came in sixth, while HMF/GBC/Yamaha’s Johnny Gallagher took seventh and Hoyland in eighth. GT Thunder’s Brian Wolf finished ninth in the XC1 Class, while JB Racing/Cheerwine/Can-Am’s Jarrod McClure rounded out the top ten.

In the XC2 Pro Am division, Michael Lancaster grabbed the $100 All Balls Racing Holeshot Award amidst the slick conditions throughout the start-line area. However, Lancaster spun out in the second corner, where majority of the XC2 Class competitors got caught up in the carnage.

Nothing could stop the driving force of Ohio’s Brycen Neal, who put himself into the front of the pack early on. Reigning XC2 Pro Am Champion Patrick McGuire jumped in behind Neal, where he put forth a solid performance to finish second place for the day. After an eighth place start, Indiana’s Fred Marley made his way through the pack where he ultimately finished third.

Brycen Neal clinched the XC2 championship and will try his hand at the XC1 class on October 12.

Neal went on to capture his eighth victory of the year, clinching the XC2 Pro Am title in his rookie season.

“I’m going to try my hand in the XC1 Class next round at Powerline Park to see where I need to be for the 2014 season,” says Neal.

Finishing 11th overall for the day, Indiana’s Marshal Goings earned the Top Amateur Award at the Car-Mate Gusher GNCC. Goings topped his closest competitor, Jay Shadron, in the College A (16-21) Class, capturing his fifth win of the season.

In the 10 a.m. race, Ohio’s Cody Collier claimed the top honors as he secured his second straight GT Thunder Overall Amateur award for besting almost 300 riders to claim the morning overall. In an ongoing battle with Maryland’s Westley Wolfe, Collier also secured the Schoolboy (13-15) class win. Pennsylvania’s Robert Smith captured second overall aboard his BNR Motorsports Can-Am machine, while Can-Am mounted Jordan Phillips rounded out the overall podium with a season best third overall.

The 4×4 overall podium was topped by U2 class winner Robert Smith, with Phillips in second and 4×4 Lites Class winner Kevin Trantham rounded out the podium with a third place finish.

Robert Smith (center) is joined on the podium by Jordan Phillips (left) and Kevin Trantham (right).

In the Youth division, New York’s Hunter Hart captured his ninth overall win of the season en route to his third Youth Overall Championship. Hart topped the 90 Open (12-15) Class, with Kalab Hagan and Seth Wilson rounding out the overall podium.

The 2013 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series heads to St. Clairsville, Ohio October 12 and 13 for the ITP Powerline Park GNCC.