All that's left is the Crying

Yadkinville, NC– Round 11 of the Grand National Cross Country series stopped in the Yadkin Valley wine country of North Carolina to determine season championships and define the careers of the future stars of the fastest off road racers in the country. The summer drought in the deep south did not make for the greatest of race conditions. The Racer Productions staff tried their best to design a course that would be challenging, fun, and safe considering the dust fog that the riders would be force to navigate. The course included a new section of virgin single trail which spelled doom for Tim Boryk's championship dreams.

The #237 of Boryk jumps out to a great start at the Yadkin Valley Stomp GNCC Kailub Russell photo

Boryk needed a top three finish to stay in the championship hunt. Unfortunately Tim also needed the number one guy, Michael Lyon to have an off day. The Lyon's camp was looking confident and strong. The taste of a championship was within one more squeeze of a Yadkin Valley grape. At the same time Tim was trying to squeeze his swollen sprain right foot into his boot. After a couple of attempts he finally found the right combination of an AVS foot brace and duct tape to keep his ankle stable. As Tim exited the trailer on his way to the 10 A.M. start we asked him what his game plan was for the upcoming battle. "The ankle was still very much black, blue, yellow, green, red, up until two days ago. Needless to say I didn't get to ride or train for the last two weeks. It feels OK with my boot on but I have no idea how it will feel in the whoops or jumps. Obviously I'll be favoring the foot throughout the race. I just hope we don't have too many right hand corners. It will be really dusty out there so my plan is the get the holeshot and try to sprint for the first lap. Hopefully Mike will get caught up in the pack and the dust will slow him down".

Looking to take a bite out of Mike's rear wheel. Kailub Russell photo

Boryk's race almost started as planned. He was one spot from the holeshot with only Mike in front of him as they headed into the woods for lap one. Two riders snuck by Tim within the first two miles of the 10 mile course but the top four were all wheel to wheel as they headed into the new single track section. The pace slowed to a 1st gear crawl as the fast 45+ class caught up to the slower riders that started in front of them. "The ankle felt fine and the slower tight section gave me chance to calm down and get comfortable with my injured ankle". Unfortunately for the second race in row disaster struck early. "We came to a complete stop in the woods because a rider was having trouble getting around a really tight corner that had a couple of big roots. Mike was two riders ahead of me, close enough that I could see the sweat running down the back of his neck. I had my right foot off the peg and was just starting to inch ahead when the rider behind me decided to jam his way past me. It was a really stupid idea and totally uncalled for. There was no place for him to go! He ran right over my sprain right ankle and drove right through my front wheel. In the process my right foot was twisted 180 degrees back and I was knock over with my bike falling on my right leg. I was in excruciating pain. The 20 other racers behind me didn't seem notice and proceeded to use me and my bike as traction. I finally pulled my leg out from under the bike as the next class of racers approached. I was then knock back down two more times". Essentially the championship was over at that time but the race was far from over. Tim blasted out of the woods and started catching his competitors within a few miles. After lap one Tim was in 17th place. The only choice he had was to charge to the front and hope that Mike would have some unfortunate bad luck of his own.

The checkered flag flew and after two hours and eight minutes of racing, the battle was over. Boryk pulled into the pits in 7th place with Michael Lyon taking the win for the day and securing the 2007 GNCC 45+ class championship. Tim's 7th place finish did secure 2nd place overall for the 2007 season. "Mike did a great job this year. We had some awesome battles throughout the season, I beat him a few times but he definitely had the speed and consistency to win the championship. I'm looking forward to the final two races to continue the battle with Mike for the race wins. I was really hoping to take this championship down to the final race but it didn't quite work out that way". Somewhere down the road these two competitors will once again be fighting for another championship.

The crying has begun Jason Hooper photo

Results
The Yadkin Valley Stomp GNCC
Yadkin Valley, NC September 30, 2007
Place Racer City, State Nbr Brand Laps Elapsed
1 Michael Lyon Statesville, NC 386 KTM 5 1:58:16
2 Jeff Smith Charleston, WV 992 YAM 5 1:59:21
3 Nick Allen King, NC 603 KTM 5 2:05:13
4 Martin Alberti Somers, CT 454 HON 5 2:05:22
5 Gregg Pruss North Little Rock, AR 699 KTM 5 2:06:57
6 Ralph Gundrum Hot Springs, NC 572 KTM 5 2:07:13
7 Tim Boryk St. Petersburg, FL 237 KTM 5 2:08:05
8 William Howard Marietta, SC 275 YAM 5 2:08:59
9 Michael Erdman Cincinnati, OH 575 KTM 5 2:10:39
10 Tony Land Sweden 710 SUZ 5 2:10:48
11 David Bolding High Point, NC 484 KTM 5 2:13:10
12 Timothy Anderson Oxford, MI 986 KTM 5 2:13:42
13 Richard Reid Apollo Beach, FL 306 KTM 5 2:14:44
14 David Chesser Hermitage, TN 524 YAM 5 2:22:26
15 Gerald Phillips Morganton, NC 536 YAM 5 2:23:15
16 Danny Rigsby Asheville, NC 658 HON 5 2:23:59
17 Chris Doran Kingsport, TN 268 HON 4 1:36:38
18 Jay Lagroon Mccormick, SC 656 KAW 4 1:50:21
19 Reginald Watson Yanceyville, NC 674 KTM 4 2:00:04
20 Thomas Alberti Seneca, SC 533 KTM 4 2:00:53
21 Joe Bratton Meadowview, VA 558 SUZ 4 2:01:00
22 Chuck Ackhoff Louisville, KY 282 HON 4 2:31:01
23 Ross Williams Lemont Furance, PA 599 SUZ 3 1:14:44
24 Eddie Greene Boone, NC 621 KTM 2 0:52:03
25 Timothy Hall East Hampton, CT 638 KAW 1 0:32:32

The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series continues in two weeks
with The Powerline Park GNCC in St. Clairsville, OH on October 14th.

About GNCC Racing:

The AMA/ATVA-sanctioned Can-Am Grand National Cross Country series is America’s premier off-road racing series. The 13-round series is produced exclusively by Racer Productions. Cross-country racing is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world. The nearly three-hour long GNCC races lead as many as 1,800 riders through tracks ranging from eight to twelve miles in length. GNCC Racing airs weekly television shows on Versus (formerly Outdoor Life Network) every Saturday at 3 p.m. and Thursday at 4 p.m. beginning on April 14. With varied terrain including hills, woods, mud, dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC events are tests of both survival and speed. GNCC featured sponsors include BRP Can-Am, Parts Unlimited, Moose, Maxxis, Pirelli, Wiseco, Acerbis, Elka, Geico, Klotz, FMF, ITP and Weekend Warrior, and riders compete for over $3 million in series prizes and contingency money. Associate sponsors include Alpinestars, Cometic, EK Chain, HiPer Technology, Laegers, Moose Utility Division, The National Guard, Powersport Grafx, BRP, REM, Scott, Thor, Tire Balls, Twin Air, and MotoTee’s . Media Sponsors include Racer X Illustrated, ATV Rider, ATV Sport, ATVRiders.com, Quadzone.com, Dirt Rider and ATV Insider. For more information log on to www.gnccracing.com.

 

 

- ### -