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Hawk, Cecco Win at GNCC Steele Creek
Category: Racing News
Date: 31 Mar 2007
Time: 19:41:45 -0500
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Traci Cecco and Barry Hawk each earned wins in their respective classes at the third round of the 2007 Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series in Morganton, No. Carolina on Mar. 24-25. Aboard her Yamaha YFZ450, Cecco’s win was her third straight both in the Women’s division and in Saturday morning’s mixed-class event. Later in the day, Bill Ballance finished a close second to Chris Borich to maintain the points lead in the XC1 Pro class on his own YFZ450. Then on Sunday Barry Hawk rode his YZ250 to one of the closest race wins in GNCC history – just a half second ahead of Glenn Kearney after nearly three hours of racing. When Cecco lined up for her four-lap race on Saturday morning, half of her competitors were on Yamahas. She got the holeshot and quickly built up a lead, only to become lost due to missing course markers. Turning back, she reencountered the pack, rejoined the fray in 10th place and spent the next two laps picking off riders to regain the lead. “The women’s class is growing and a lot of the girls are on Yamahas,” she noted later. “I like the fact that the YFZ450 has a narrow tank and seat, along with a shorter seat height to peg height, and I think other women do too. When I’m riding it I never feel like I’m fighting the bike.” On Sunday YZ250-mounted Barry Hawk and Charlie Mullins engaged in a terrific dogfight over six laps of the 11 ?-mile mountain course. David Knight led early with Mullins in second and Hawk back in seventh. But creative pit-stop strategy by mechanic Doug Whitmer vaulted Hawk to second at the halfway point. The fireworks really started on the last lap as Hawk chased down leader Kearney and the two battled bar-to-bar through the final half mile, with Hawk literally snatching the win with a late inside pass. “I have been doing this since 1986 and have seen some close ones – but I have never seen one like that,” recounted an amazed Whitmer afterwards.