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The Union Daily Times

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Page 2 FRIDAY9 a.m. Gates open5 p.m. - 8 p.m. ATV Registration — all classes

SATURDAY7 a.m. Youth ATV Registration8 a.m. Youth ATV Race — 1-hour eventRegistration open to Amateur ATV racers10 a.m. Amateur ATV Race — 2-hour eventRegistration open to Pro ATV racers1 p.m. Pro ATV Race — 2-hour event4:30 p.m. UTV Racing2 p.m. - 6 p.m. Registration open to Bikes— all classes

SUNDAY7 a.m. Youth Bike Registration8 a.m. Youth Bike Race — 90-minute event Registration open to Amateur Bike racers10 a.m. Amateur Bike Race — 2-hour eventRegistration open to Pro Bike racers1 p.m. Pro Bike Race — 3-hour event

Pirelli Big BuckWho: The stars of Can-Am GNCC racing,America’s premier off-road racing series,featuring top racers and factory teams.What: 2010 Grand National Cross CountrySeries racing, Round 4.When: Saturday, April 10; Sunday, April 11Where: Cross Keys community of UnionCounty (Hwy. 49).Time: Pro racing at 1 p.m. both daysCost: A weekend pit pass is $15. Childrenunder 6 are admitted free.History: The first Big Buck GNCC was held in1997. This year is the 14th running of the event.

About GNCC racing ...The AMA/ATVA-sanctioned Grand National

Cross Country series is America's premier off-roadracing series. The 13-round race series stretchesthrough the eastern US, starting with the season-opener in Florida in March and concluding with theseason-finale in Indiana in October. The GNCCseries is produced exclusively by RacerProductions, a Morgantown, West Virginia-basedracing production company with over 30 years ofexperience in the industry. Cross-country racing isone of the most physically demanding sports in theworld. The riders must navigate rugged terrainsuch as woods, mud, dirt, rocks and jumps fornearly three hours, while racing against the besttalent in the world.

The GNCC Championship has drawn interestinternationally, as riders from Europe, Africa,Australia and New Zealand compete regularly, usu-ally backed by massive factory teams with an arrayof technicians at their disposal. Upwards of 1500

racers compete at each GNCC round on custom-built high-performance motorcycles and ATVs. Therace action draws several thousand fans eachweekend as well as a loyal following through theseries television show on the Versus Network herein the US, on the Fox Australia network in Australia,and on Motors TV in over 55 different Europeancountries, as well as media coverage in off-roadracing publications around the world. The growth ofthe series makes GNCC big business, but the corevalue of the series remains: easy-access, family-friendly, low-pressure racing.

How GNCC racing works ...Six races are held each weekend. Each race

contains several classes, with each class separat-ed into separate starting-line rows that begin oneminute apart. On ATV day, Youth riders aged 6 - 15race for one hour starting at 8 a.m. A two-hour racefor the Women, Utility, Super Senior and Noviceclasses starts at 10 a.m., and then the Pro, Pro Am,A and B riders race at 1 p.m. On Bike days, Youth

riders aged 7-15 race for 90 minutes at 8 a.m.;Women, Super Senior and Novice riders race fortwo hours at 10 a.m.; and the Pro, A and B ridersrace for three hours starting at 1 p.m.

Each class is scored separately using a com-puterized transponder scoring.

GNCC courses usually run between 10 and 12miles long for adult classes and 3-5 miles for youth.Over 1500 riders will compete during a GNCCweekend, and they hail from all 50 states, as wellas Europe, Asia and Australia. The top pro racersmake a lucrative living racing the series thanks toprize money and sponsorship endorsements.

Big Buck profile ...The Big Buck course presents the standard

GNCC obstacles, everything from tight woods, tofields, creek crossings, rocks and hill climbs. It’s afast, wide-open course, but it's definitely not easy!The field sections are fast, fast, fast and they getchopped up and rough as the weekend goes on, so

you need to have your suspension sorted for that.Usually, course designers Jeff Russell and

Buren Hamrick create a spectacular creek jumpwhere the riders launch off of a bank and over thewater (with a path around the jump for those whoaren’t as comfortable with air time).

The Big Buck facility is owned by Henry Turnerand his family, and they are big fans and support-ers of GNCC Racing. Even the town of Union getsbehind the Big Buck big time.

Since the course gets rough, riders need to besmart. New lines often open up throughout therace, so constantly scanning the terrain for asmoother route can save energy and reduce risks.Most of the tough sections, the hills and mud, arepretty basic, which means the winner will be therider who runs through the trees fastest.

The Big Buck even has its own Web site!www.bigbuckracing.com

2009 Winners: Bike: Joshua Strang ATV: Chris Borich

2010 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series Schedule

Round 1 Feb. 27 - March 2 The Parts Unlimited River Ranch River Ranch, FLRound 2 March 6 - 7 The Maxxis General Washington, GARound 3 March 20 - 21 FMF Steele Creek Morganton, NCRound 4 April 10 - 11 Pirelli Big Buck UnionRound 5 April 24 - 25 Acerbis Loretta Lynn's Hurricane Mills, TNRound 6 May 8 - 9 Yadkin Valley Stomp Yadkinville, NCRound 7 May 22 - 23 Moose Mountain Ridge Somerset, PARound 8 June 5 - 6 Wiseco John Penton Millfield, OHRound 9 June 26 - 27 MotorcycleUSA.com Snowshoe Snowshoe, WVRound 10 Sept. 11 - 12 Can-Am Unadilla New Berlin, NYRound 11 Sept. 25 - 26 MotorcycleUSA.com Titan Lafayette, TNRound 12 Oct. 9 - 10 ITP Power Line Park St. Clairsville, OHRound 13 Oct. 23 - 24 Amsoil Ironman Crawfordsville, IN

One the cover: Bill Balance sails of the creek jumpduring last year’s Big Buck. Photo by Chris Jones.

BurgersChickenPork ChopsHamburger steaksSteaksShrimp

Hot dogsClubsRoast beefPhilliesPrime rib sandwichFlounder

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By CHRIS RASMUSSENcrasmussen@uniondailytimes.com

Jesse Robbins knows every inch ofdirt along the Big Buck trail.

At the age of 10, Robbins and his fami-ly moved into a new home next to the BigBuck property and he quickly became fac-sinated with motorcross racing.

“I had always loved dirt bikes andwhen they were right behind my house Iwas excited and wanted to race too,”said Robins, a 15-year-old student atUnion County High School. “So I gottalking to Buren Hamrick the maker ofthe trails and he was telling me how Icould get started and when.”

So when the next year came, Robbinshad gotten a dirt bike to race and the restis history. So far, Robbins has raced in 37Grand National Cross Country races.

“To race and just hang out with every-body at the races is just so much funbecause it is like we are all a big familyand we all appreciate the love of thesport,” Robbins said.

Robbins, who rides a 2006 Suzuki RM85 L, won his first GNCC race during thelast round in Morganton, N.C. He is alsostarting to race in the mid-east harescramble series.

“I was very excited to win the race upin Morganton. With no sponsors it is

kind of hard to get to the races so I amhappy to go to the cheaper mid-eastraces,” he said.

The teenager has also volunteered

countless hours helping Big Buck landowner Henry Turner clear and maintaintrails.

“Jesse is a great kid and racer. He has

basically grown up out here helping meon Big Buck,” Turner said.

Robbins is hoping his knowledge ofthe Big Buck trail system will payoff atthe winner’s podium.

“Depending on how the weather is BigBuck is one of the best trails on the cir-cuit,” Robbins said. “It’s fun and it hassome tight trails with a few grass sectionsand some high-speed woods sections too.”

In addition to the thrill of racingalong a wooded trail, Robbins appreci-ates the friendly competition he enjoyswith fellow racers.

“To race against other competitors isreally awesome. Because you come into theseason not knowing how you stack upagainst other riders and not knowing whohas been doing their work over the sum-mer to be number one and how competitiveit gets,” he said. “I just love it. It is the bestfeeling in the world and when you comearound through the checkered flag know-ing that you have just won, it feels great!”

As far as turning pro, Robbins, whoraces in the Super Mini 14-15 class, saidhe wants to concentrate on what he isdoing now.

“Right now I want to try a fewmotocross races and I don’t think I woulddo it professionally because I love to raceGNCC and mid-east hare scrambles.”

Local champ grew up at Big Buck

Submitted photoJesse Robbins, of Union County, waits with his family before starting for a recentGrand National Cross Country race.

www.bigbuckracing.com

BIG BUCK RACING WELCOMES THE

RACERS AND RACE FANS TO THE 2010

BIG BUCK GNCC RACE

Bell Petroleum & Exxon

Andy Bailey

427-2050 • 427-8656 • Fax: 427-0347

WELCOMEBig Buck Racers!

Stop by and see us!

Competitive Prices & Coldest Beverages in Town

2009 Big Buck Top 10

ATV Bike1 SUZ Chris Borich 1 SUZ Joshua Strang2 KTM Adam McGill 2 KAW Paul Whibley3 YAM Bill Ballance 3 SUZ Charles Mullins4 HON Bryan Cook 4 KTM Nathan Kanney5 YAM Taylor Kiser 5 YAM Thaddeus DuVall6 YAM Brandon Sommers 6 YAM Barry Hawk Jr.7 YAM Jarrod McClure 7 KTM Kurt Caselli8 HON Duane Johnson 8 KAW Jesse Robinson9 YAM Donald Ockerman 9 HSQ Glenn Kearney10 YAM Johnny Gallagher 10 KAW Jim Jarrett

Chris Borich Joshua Strang

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Big Buck 2009 Pro BikesTop left: Charles Mullins, of Hamilton, Ohio, who placed third last year at Big

Buck, prepares to land a jump. Above: Thaddeus Duvall, No. 7, rounds the open-ing turn to start the race. DuVall placed fifth last year. Bottom: A pair of racers

take a tight turn in the woods. Bottom left: A pro rider rides a banking turn.

Photos by Chris Jones/Newday Photography

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Big Buck 2009 ATVsLeft: Blake Kramer, of Schuylkill Have, Pa., who placed eighth,finishes a climb last year at Big Buck. Center left: Adam McGill,of Smiths Grove, Ky., grabs some air during his second-placeperformance. Top left: A pair of riders race through a woodedportion of the trail. Above: A Big Buck racer covered in mudsails over a jump. Below: Pro ATV racers turn the first bend.

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The Can-Am Grand National CrossCountry Series is pleased to announcethat Can-Am will return with theirhighly popular demo rides for the 2010tour. Can-Am demos will be offered atseven rounds of the 13-stop tour, includ-ing Big Buck in Union.

"The GNCC fan is our customer; arider who wants to have fun out on thetrail, and he or she appreciates the com-fort and performance the Can-Ambrand delivers," said Chaz Rice, Can-Am's Manager of Media and PublicRelations. "That is why we enjoy bring-ing our demo tour to GNCC events. Wewant GNCC fans to see why Can-AmATVs are successful out on the courseand how we bring that success to theATV enthusiast on the trails."

Demo rides will be offered at the BigBuck, Loretta Lynn's, Snowshoe, Unadilla,The Titan, Power Line Park and theIronman events. Several products from

the 2010 Can-Am line will be representedat the demo, from accessories and cloth-ing, to Renegades,Outlanders and the DS450. For each demo, the GNCC track crewwill also construct a track that will show-case the capabilities and characteristics ofeach machine. In addition, before each ofthe seven demo events, Can-Am's will beshowcased on the starting line during thenational anthem.

"We're excited to welcome back Can-Am Demos for another year," said JeffRussell, GNCC Trail Boss. "Can-Amalways brings out a great setup for theirdemos and in return, our track crewwill make sure to build a track that willshowcase all the performance capabili-ties of the 2010 Can-Am line."

Log on to www.theridesaysitall.comfor more information on the demo rides.

The first demo ride will be held at thePirelli Big Buck GNCC in Union, SouthCarolina on April 10-11.

Can-Am demo rides willbe available at Big Buck

Morgantown, W.Va. — Competitors will be try-ing to knock off defending GNCC Champion PaulWhibley when they start Saturday during thePirelli Big Buck in Union.

Whibley has switched to the Am-Pro Yamahateam for 2010, setting off speculation on whetherthe New Zealander can change teams for thefourth time in as many years and still claim thetitle.

Whibley spent the winter back in New Zealandadjusting to a Yamaha, and logged more testingon his new WR450F after returning to the U.S. lastmonth. He will have to contend with the sandyconditions as well as with a full cast of talentedriders ready to unseat him. Last year's runner up,Josh Strang will return on the FMF MakitaSuzuki team after a rigorous off-season trainingprogram in California.

Last year's number-three, Mullins, has joinedObermeyer Yamaha with help from Am-Pro, andhas been flying in off-season races. JG OffRoad/GEICO Powersports Jimmy Jarrett,Factory FMF/KTM Off-Road Team's NathanKanney, Am-Pro Yamaha's Barry Hawk andThad DuVall, Jesse Robinson and Husqvarna'sGlenn Kearney will also be ready to fight for thewin.

The Westgate River Ranch is hosting the open-

ing round for the second time and the course is astough as before, with sandy whoops and palmettoroots scattered throughout the course.

In the XC2 Lites Class, Factory FMF/KTM Off-Road Team's Kailub Russell will defend his cham-pionship, while his teammate Cory Buttrick, whofinished second in the class in 2009, will move upto the XC1 ranks. That leaves Russell to do battlewith FAR Racing/Yamaha's Jason Thomas andJG Off Road/ GEICO Powersports ScottyWatkins.

Thrown into the mix are some of the top ridersof the Japan National Cross Country Series.Takeshi Koikeda, Masahiro Kobayashi andKousuke Mori are all seasoned off-road racersand will be making their way to Florida for theMarch 2nd bike race, continuing the tradition ofJNCC riders competing in the GNCC opener inexchange for GNCC riders competing in theJNCC finale in November.

And you never know who else might show upin Florida, as the fast, rough terrain often drawswell-known motocross talent and fast off-roadriders from the Western U.S. The Florida racehas hosted wild upsets before, such as DougHenry's incredible win over Juha Salminen in2005, and Travis Pastrana dropping by to lead alap in 2008.

Whibley to defendagainst deep field

Submitted photoDefending GNCC Champion Paul Whibley storms down the trail onhis way to a first-place finish during last year’s Grand NationalCross Country Series.

Racer Productions and BRP are excit-ed to announce the return of Can-Am astitle sponsor of the 13-stop Can-AmGrand National Cross Country Series(GNCC) series for another three years.

"Our relationship with GNCC racingis quite important for BRP," commentedYves Leduc, vice president and generalmanager, North American division forBRP. "BRP's Can-Am ATV brand conveysa strong performance and passion mes-sage in the off-road world and we seeboth those attributes out on the racecourse at each Grand National CrossCountry Series event. We are excited tocontinue to be a part of the GNCC racercommunity."

GNCC racing has seen exceptionalgrowth in both the number of racerentries and fan base during the pastthree years with the Can-Am title spon-sorship. From the opening round inFlorida to the concluding race inIndiana, race fans and racers activelysupport the series.

"The past three years have seenunprecedented growth in our sport duein large part to our relationship withBRP and the Can-Am team," said JeffRussell, GNCC Trail Boss. "Can-Am

sponsorship enables us to continue toinvest in our series. Our team has cometo depend on BRP's Can-Am ATVs tobuild and navigate the course; they areGNCC tested for sure."

Along with the renewal of BRP'ssponsorship through its Can-Am brand,several new and exciting additions willbe made to the GNCC Sponsor Village aspart of this new agreement. A Can-AmZone - where fans and racers can getinformation and an up-close view of sev-eral Can-Am products - will be availableat each of the 13 rounds. Can-Am alsobecomes the feature sponsor of GNCCLive Timing and Scoring over theInternet. Finally, Can-Am remains thetitle sponsor of the Can-Am UnadillaGNCC event held in New Berlin, N.Y.and will continue to support RacerTV.

"We are so fortunate to have a titlesponsor that understands the value ofhaving a solid television broadcastschedule like Can-Am," said JasonHooper, Producer of RacerTV. "WithoutCan-Am, it would be nearly impossibleto get the series on a network of caliberlike VERSUS and into over 50 millionhomes across the U.S."

Can-Am to sponsor GNCC series

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GNCC series so far...

Borich wins 2nd of early seasonMorganton, N.C. — Chris Borich

claimed his second win of the 2010 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country sea-son and extended his lead in the champi-onship standings with a gritty perform-ance at round three of the series at SteeleCreek in Morganton, North Carolina.

The Yoshimura Suzuki rider trailedYamaha teammates Bill Ballance andTaylor Kiser on the narrow and undu-lating 11.2-mile circuit, the three ridersrunning nose-to-tail for much of therace. Borich finally found his way intothe lead on the final lap, beating Kiser tothe finish by just over a second after twohours of racing. Ballance held on forthird ahead of FRE KTM's Bryan Cookand Yamaha rider Jeffrey Pickens.

Ballance claimed the $250 Motorcycle-USA.com holeshot award by narrowlyedging Yamaha-mounted Don Ockermanacross the holeshot stripe to start theday's premier race. Kiser moved into for-mation with Ballance midway into theopening lap, and the duo extended theirlead over the field until lappers held themup on lap two, allowing Borich and Can-

Am's Adam McGill to close in.For the remainder of the race,

Ballance, Kiser, Borich and McGill ranin a tight formation, until McGilldropped out, leaving Ballance, Kiser andBorich to battle for the lead.

With a lap-and-a-half to go, Ballancemade a mistake in a critical section,allowing Kiser and Borich to go by. Ahalf lap later, Borich took advantage ofa lapper to pass Kiser for the lead. Fromthere Borich was able to hold off Kiserto the checkered flag.

"This was a tough one, the lapperswere brutal and I knew this track wasgoing to be hard to pass on so I wanted toget a good start," said Borich, who wasin fifth when the pack rolled into thewoods for the first time. "I saw Ballancegetting away, but I was basically hangingout and checking out the track."

"Once I caught up, it was a three orfour rider battle, kind of a freight trainout there, and then Taylor bobbled witha lapper and I was able to make a moveon him. I just paced myself after thatand things just worked out for us."

Strang wins third straight GNCCMorganton, N.C. — Josh Strang fend-

ed off intense race-long pressure fromFMF/KTM young-gun Cory Buttrick towin a muddy FMF Steele Creek GNCC -his third-straight victory of the 2010Can-Am Grand National Cross Countryseason.

A record crowd turned out to watchnearly 1500 competitors go at it in a driv-ing rainstorm in Morganton, NorthCarolina, where Strang proved he canwin in all conditions, having won theopening round in Florida in the sand,round two of the series in the Georgiaclay, and then round three's rain andmud. The conditions at the Steele Creekcampgrounds were perfect when therace got underway, but a steady rainmoved into the area just as the flagdropped to start the 3-hour race. Fromthere, conditions deteriorated quicklyas the rain got harder, and in fact, therace had to be shortened after a gnarlyhill at the 8-mile mark became so muddynearing the three-hour mark that nearly40 riders were stranded on it, forcingorganizers to pull the plug and revert

the scoring to the previous lap.But the going was good when Strang

grabbed a rare holeshot to start the race,pocketing the $250 Motorcycle-USA.comHoleshot Award in the process.Meanwhile, Buttrick quickly found hisway to Strang's rear fender and the tworiders proceeded to pull away with Am-Pro Yamaha's Paul Whibley, Buttrick'sFMF/KTM teammate Nate Kanney andGEICO/JG Racing/Monster Kawasaki'sJimmy Jarrett in pursuit.

At the two-hour mark, the Strang-Buttrick battle had intensified as thetwo pulled nearly a minute gap overKanney, Whibley and Mullins, who werelocked in their own separate battle overthird.

However, XC2 rider Kailub Russellwas starting to make waves of his own,and on the third lap he turned thefastest lap of the race, and by the end ofthe lap he had moved into third placeoverall. Russell would turn the fastestlap again on lap four, but could still notcatch the two leaders, Strang andButtrick.

Submitted photoChris Borich rounds the corner for a first-place finish at SteeleCreek in Morganton, N.C. during round three of the Grand NationalCross Country series.

Submitted photoJosh Strang crosses the finishing line for his third-straight victory this season dur-ing the Grand National Cross Country series.

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GOOD LUCK RACERS!

UNION WELCOMES BIG BUCK!

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