After a bottlenecked section of course developed at the John Penton GNCC over the weekend, a course re-route affected the results of four riders in the ATV XC1 class. GNCC Racing has made a ruling on the results, the explanation is below.
Morgantown, W.Va. (June 9, 2010) - Racer Productions, producers of the Can-Am GNCC Racing Series, announced today that it has issued a ruling on the protest filed following the John Penton GNCC ATV Pro race, held this past Saturday, June 5th in Millfield, Ohio. As a result of deteriorating track conditions due to severe rain and flooding, a track change was made on the third lap of the ATV Pro race, shortening the track by an estimated 15 seconds. Although course changes in off-road racing are not uncommon when conditions require, the preferred procedure is to make such changes with the overall leader, so as not to interfere with current rider positions. Unfortunately, at the John Penton event, the overall leader at the time was not readily apparent to the official making the course change. As a result, the change was made after the leaders passed by. The two pro riders adversely impacted were Brent Sturdivant, the overall leader at the time, and Taylor Kiser. The change was made with Chris Borich, who was in third.
At the completion of the race, the top eight overall finishers in order were: 1) Chris Borich, 2) Adam McGill, 3) Donald Ockerman, 4) Taylor Kiser, 5) Bryan Cook, 6) Chris Bithell, 7) Brandon Sommers, and 8) Brent Sturdivant. As a result of the failure to re-direct Sturdivant and Kiser, 15 seconds were deducted from their overall race time to reflect the time lost by not taking the course re-route. The result of this time adjustment placed Kiser in 2nd position and Sturdivant in 7th, and the results were revised accordingly.
However, upon further review and consideration, it is apparent that although adjustments for Kiser and Sturdivant were warranted, the original race results should not have been altered. In situations where a race is adversely affected through no fault of any rider, GNCC Racing allows the race results at the finish line to stand, but the rider(s) affected compensated by other means, such as the award of points, will stand as well. In this case, Kiser will now be given a fourth-place finish in the results, but will still receive second-place points. Sturdivant will be given an eighth-place finish, but will still receive seventh-place points. Accordingly, Adam McGill moves from third to second in the results, and Brandon Sommers from eighth to seventh in the results.
Accordingly, the original race results have been reinstated, and the class and championship points standings recalculated to reflect this decision. Riders adversely affected by this decision may appeal to the AMA in writing within 5 business days of this decision.
In cases of severe weather and quickly deteriorating track conditions, a course re-route is unavoidable. Events can be brought to a stand-still unless course accommodations are made. Invariably there are those riders who do not get the benefit of the course re-route, having found themselves lodged in the deteriorating section that necessitated the course change. Although GNCC Racing makes every effort to avoid re-routes, there are those instances when no other solution is available, short of stopping the race. We empathize with those riders adversely impacted, and hope they understand that such possibilities exist in off-road racing.
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