McGill Edges Borich at Mountaineer Run GNCC

Adam McGill got out to a flying start at the Parts Unlimited Mountaineer Run GNCC and kept it up until the checkers, earning his first win of the season. McGill bested current points leader Chris Borich in an exciting battle in Masontown, WV for round 8 of the AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series. McGill began his day on the right foot, taking the $250 Team Woodhead/DeRisi Racing XC1 Holeshot Award in front of his hometown crowd of friends and family. Four-time GNCC Champion Borich jumped into the second place position right away, while JB Racing/Can-Am’s Jarrod McClure began the afternoon in third. Reliable Tool Supply/Maxxis’ Chris Bithell and AmPro Yamaha’s Walker Fowler also put themselves into the top five battle right way and the lead pack rode wheel-to-wheel on the opening lap.

Adam McGill got off to a great start, nailing the holeshot.

Lonestar Racing/Precision/ITP’s McGill put a sizeable gap on the rest of the field by Lap 3, but the Maxxis-backed Suzuki duo of Bithell and Borich closed the gap right away and the three front-runners diced it out for the lead position.

Fowler experienced a crash around the halfway point that caused him to lose sight of the leaders. A second crash set him back a few more positions before eventually making his way into the top five, where he maintained his position throughout the afternoon.

Meanwhile, the three-way battle between McGill, Borich and Bithell began to heat up on the final lap as the trio continued to fight for the lead position. McGill and Borich traded places out front on the last lap but Borich experienced a setback when he got hung up in lapped traffic near the end, losing valuable time to McGill. However, Borich was able to catch the rear wheel of McGill as the duo came into the final turns of the two-hour race side-by-side. In the end, it was McGill who bested Borich in only his second loss of the season.

Chris Borich couldn’t quite make one of his patented last-lap passes as McGill held him off.

Bithell came through the finish only five seconds behind to secure the final spot on the XC1 podium. McClure put in a season-best finish of fourth place just behind Bithell, and Fowler was able to salvage fifth place overall.

Adam McGill (center) celebrates his victory on the XC1 podium.

XC1 class rookie Braden Henthorn matched his season-best finish of sixth overall, while BNR’s Kevin Yoho came in seventh for the day. Waynesburg Yamaha/GT Thunder’s Jeff Pickens secured eighth place, while HMF/GBC/Yamaha’s Johnny Gallagher took ninth and Ohio’s Eric Hoyland rounded out the top 10.

Borich continues to lead the overall standings after eight rounds of racing and McGill has taken over the second place position. Bithell sits in a close third place, with Fowler and Yoho rounding out the top five.

In the XC2 division, rookie Landon Wolfe secured his first career win in the XC2 class following a consistent string of podium finishes this season. It was Indiana’s Fred Marley who took the early lead, grabbing the $100 All Balls Racing Holeshot Award in the XC2 class, but Wolfe was right there from the start.

Fred Marley (left) and Josh Merritt (right) flank Landon Wolfe on the XC2 podium.

Marley maintained a podium contending position, while Michael Lancaster and Josh Merritt charged to the front of the pack. Merritt was able to make his way into the top three, eventually securing his first podium finish of the season.

Lancaster put in a solid performance to capture fourth place in the XC2 class, while Randy Hamilton rounded out the top five.

Pennsylvania’s Cole Richardson was the highest placing amateur of the day, finishing 12th overall to capture the Top Amateur Award. Richardson beat out usual front-runner Marshal Goings and a talented field of young riders in the College A division.

William Yokley pilots his Polaris RZR XP 900 to victory in the UTV class.

In the 10 a.m. race, it was young gun Cody Collier who took his first-ever overall win from the Schoolboy 13-15 class. Super Senior (45+) winner Dave Simmons grabbed second overall, while Team UXC Racing’s Michael Swift rounded out the overall podium. In addition to topping the ultra-competitive U2 division, Swift also grabbed the highest placing 4×4 honor, beating out Can-Am teammate Robert Smith.

Round 4 of the UTV series took place at the Mountaineer Run GNCC, where William Yokley an the defending National Champion Polaris National Guard team took the overall win. Pennsylvania’s Team Jacks grabbed second overall, while the Coastal National Guard team rounded out the overall podium.

The 2013 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series continues June 29 and 30 for the AMSOIL Snowshoe GNCC at Snowshoe Mountain Resort in WV.