The Off-Season Is Winding Down (Jared Bolton)

So as I drove to the office this morning I got to thinking about what I wanted to talk about for this week’s edition of Quick Fill. It really hit me that, well, there just is not a whole lot to talk about right now because everything has been pretty darn quiet. With all the racing attention on Supercross right now, there’s not much going on but that’s about to change.

There are already a fair amount of riders who have been riding down south. I spoke with 4-Stroke A Lites champ Alex Teagarden for Tuesday Toolbox this week and he’s been riding with guys like Kailub Russell and Layne Michael down in Florida, so it’s nice to see a sign that some riding is happening again. KTM also posted a photo earlier this week from some suspension testing that was going on with KR and Russell Bobbitt in Georgia.

As I’ve mentioned a few times over the winter, the popular Burnt Gin Hare Scramble is coming up this weekend in South Carolina. In years past it served as the opener of the National Hare Scramble series but even now that it’s just a round of SETRA hare scrambles, it still draws a pretty huge turnout. In fact, it’s one of the larger pro class rows you’ll see, as it draws GNCC and National Enduro pro riders, as well as local pros from a number of different series.

Unfortunately, I’ll be missing the race for the first time in probably six years but there are always folks like Off-Road Viking and others that make the trip out for the race so hopefully someone will have a cool video to share next week.

Yellow or Blue? (Rodney Tomblin)

Anyone that follows GNCC very closely may think I am beating a dead horse on this next issue. But as a true fan of the sport, the fact that Chris Borich is rumored-and now confirmed-to be looking at a possible brand switch in the upcoming season is really hard to ignore. We have all seen the pictures. We have read about it, talked about and even debated about it across the social media outlets and news sources. However, Chris is the only one that will give the final answer.

I talked with the six-time GNCC Champ this morning from his Daytona Beach training compound where he has been working with AMA Pro ATVMX Champ Chad Wienen and a few others, including Yamaha’s Johnny G, this pre-season. Not really big news there as this happened last year but the big news is that Chris has been testing the Yamaha and is seriously contemplating making the change. Chris told me he has not made his mind up yet but he does like the Yamaha. He said he is still talking with the folks at Suzuki to see what kind of a deal they work up for him and he will make the final call.

Now the question of if Chris does make a brand switch to Yamaha or any other, what does this mean? The answer to that is one that can only come if and when it actually happens. But speculations would certainly be mixed.

The good news for Chris is that although he may not know the brand as well, the machine has been proven to be virtually bulletproof. Fowler, Gallagher, Richardson, Ballance, Kiser and several others have shown that. Most recently, the best news for a switch for Borich came when ATVMX Champ Chad Wienen performed well with a quickly built woods version of his MX bike at the Ironman GNCC finale.

Another positive is that all Chris’ sponsors are all on board and have shown him what they can do with the test quad they have built. It’s an all hands on deck operation and it appears everyone is ready to go with the switch if it comes and the transition will most likely be smooth with very little friction and might be what will bring us an even better season than last if that is even possible.

I spoke with Walker Fowler about the possibility of Borich making the switch. Walker said it’s actually kind of exciting. “Regardless if Chris makes the move to Yamaha or Honda or Kawasaki or whatever it means I have done my job.” He said that by Chris even contemplating a move it proves that he has shown Chris and the rest of the world what the machine is capable of and to make a 6 time champ even consider it was a good boost for him and the brand.

More Off-Season Racing (Jared Bolton)

I already mentioned the Burnt Gin but that’s just the tip of the iceberg for the guys with the SERMA club that puts on the race. The following weekend they host round one of the National Enduros, which also tends to draw a good turnout of pro riders and even a few riders who don’t typically turn up for a National Enduro.

Sumter hasn’t been a National Enduro round the past couple of seasons but has still drawn a pretty big turnout. This year that big turnout will be even bigger as they met their 600-rider limit within the first 30 minutes of online entries being open. They then allowed a few more riders enter, which has upped them to just over 700.

This should make for some pretty good racing come next weekend. These two races always serve as a little bit of a teaser of what to expect for the upcoming season. While the National Enduro is a lot different animal than what we’re used to, we still see some GNCC front-runners excel there as well.

Of course last season Andrew Delong came away with the National Enduro title. Steward Baylor and Charlie Mullins have both claimed National Enduro titles as well, and Grant Baylor snagged his first-ever National Enduro win last year at the Little Brown Jug.

However, it still stands that no rider has ever claimed a GNCC and National Enduro title in the same year. Many expected Mullins to have a shot at it in 2013, and again in 2014 before injuring his wrist. Could this be the year that it happens?

Regardless of what happens, we know that we’re in for an excellent season in 2015. Actually, it has the potential to go down as one of the best seasons in the history of off-road racing. Only time will tell, but that time will be here before we know it!

Fowler’s Fire Still Burning (Rodney Tomblin)

The 2014 GNCC ATV Championship was undoubtedly one of the greatest in the history of our sport. The final round drew what is believed to have been the largest off-road race of its kind in the history of our sport. A record crowd and record rider turnout culminated to the wheel-to-wheel duel for the championship between Borich and Fowler. Where Kailub Russell also won the Pro bike race on a 150cc KTM, which is another record of sorts.

Amidst all the history being written was also the escalation of a true rivalry that at the time was in its infancy, but quickly became possibly one of the greatest in over two decades. How long will this rivalry last and how big will it get? I for one hope it is only the tip of the iceberg and signs certainly point to a few years of fuel for this fire and right now Fowler is blazing hot.

In a conversation with Walker earlier today he said that he was shocked honestly the way things finished this past season. He said though that’s where all the hard work paid off in the end because though he had a good season, it wasn’t until after the summer break when he took 3 straight wins and closed the championship to a tie heading into the final round. Some may have said he got lucky and he may have on some occasions but he also had as much bad luck as good luck. In the end both riders had their share of ups and downs and the last race showdown gave us a glimpse of the true talent of both riders and what the future has in store in 2015.

Fowler is currently training at the Richardson Family compound in south Florida. He said that he and his teammate Cole Richardson along with Landon Wolfe, Josh Merritt, Brett Covert and Luke Parker have a buffet of tracks to ride and train on. There are five tracks within an hour drive and three actually within 20 minutes. So training doesn’t seem to be an issue with warm sunny weather prevailing. Walker said they have a great balance of training and good times. Plus, he is still very focused on winning the championship this year! Look for Walker's full interview on Quad-Radio.com to be posted later today.

#ThrowbackThursday (Jared Bolton)

I've been having an awesome time sorting through the GNCC Racing archives and finding so many #ThrowBackThursday photos to share. I also want to thank all of you who have shared throwback photos of your own. There haven't been a ton, but the ones that have been sent in have been pretty cool and I plan to share those in a few weeks. But I got some special ones sent in this week from Geoff Ballard.

Now that may not be a name some of you immediate recognize but Geoff is undoubtedly off-road royalty. Ballard was the first Australian superstar to come have a crack at the American off-road scene. Geoff claimed the 1984 AMA National Hare Scramble championship and even rode for the American ISDE team in 1984, 85 and 86.

Geoff actually came back in 2013 and raced a few GNCCs with the help of RidePG’s Bart Hayes, which is where I met Geoff for the first time. I knew a bit about his background as a racer and managing the Ballard’s Yamaha team in Australia for a long time but after hearing some of his stories first hand, no doubt the guy is a true off-road legend

As always, if anyone has some cool old school photos to share, feel free to drop me a line at [email protected]. Here’s this week’s photo!

Headlines

Revised GNCC UTV Rules

Women’s ATV Rider, Jesi Stracham involved in motorcycle accident

Tuesday Toolbox with Alex Teagarden 

GNCC Racers earn highest competitive honors at the 2014 AMA Championship Banquet