Taylor Kiser
XC1 Pro #6
GNCC Round #7 Race Report

May 16, 2009 - Mountain Ridge - Somerset, Pennsylvania

Somerset Pennsylvania is the home of Round seven of the GNCC series. In past years the Somerset track has been known to be extremely rocky in sections yet wide open and fast in others.

Saturday morning we arrived to track early and with no rain I prepared for a tough dusty race. When the 10 second call was made I focused on putting in a smooth ride. My reaction to the green flag was great but I stalled the bike which landed me in the back of the pack heading into corner number one. As the class headed onto the course I was calm and began making passes in the dusty conditions.

The leaders were able to charge forward with no dust and no traffic on the first lap but I pushed forward in hopes of making up as much ground in as little time as I possibly could. At the end of lap one I had worked myself into the tenth place position and continued to charge for the leaders. As I made passes I just focused on being smooth and mistake free. It paid off and as Lap three commenced I had worked my way into the top five.

I pitted for gas and headed back on the track to battle with fellow Yamaha rider Brandon Sommers. It was a lot of fun but as my handlebars became loose I knew I would have my work cut out for me to take third spot. As I took the white flag in fifth, a mere thirteen seconds behind Sommers, I charged forward. I was able to take the third spot over but that was short lived due to the issue with my bars. They got increasingly worse as the lap wore on; I had to tighten the nut by hand several times to ensure I would be able to finish the race. I took the checkered flag, placing fourth in the Pro class.

This finish was another consistent finish towards my championship chase; I am currently sitting in third place in the Pro class point's standing's, only six points out of second. I have a lot of great sponsors and supporters and I thank them for their continued support; Yamaha, Houser, Ohlins, HMF, Maxxis, Mike Kiser Welding, Raber Industries, T&K Cycles, HiPer, Moto X Nutrition, Fly, Powermadd, Fasst, Ballance Racing, Precision Racing, Rath Racing, GT Thunder, DP Brakes, G4 graphics, Derek Tremain- ARS Powersports, Baldwin Motorsports, Big Nutz Racing, Chester Vet Clinic, Jason Lyons - Mona Vie, Spectro Oils, Tire Balls, ATV Exposed, Albright Motorsports, IMS and Eden Winery.