Yamaha Racing’s Walker Fowler Earns 50th GNCC Overall
Business as usual.
Yamaha Motor Corp., USA, factory-supported racer, Walker Fowler, won his 50th XC1 Pro ATV race aboard his Mark Notman prepared Yamaha YFZ450R this past weekend at round seven of the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) series in New York.
“We’ve been involved with Fowler’s racing career from the beginning, and it has been an incredible journey seeing him become the third ATV racer in GNCC history to reach this monumental milestone,” said Donnie Luce, Yamaha’s off-road racing coordinator. “It’s fitting Walker earned this feat while chasing his fifth-straight title, further solidifying his place in history among past GNCC and Yamaha champions alike.”
The 26-year-old Rogers, Ohio native earned his 50th win, passing Barry Hawk Jr. for third in overall GNCC ATV wins. This places Fowler behind Yamaha racing legend Bill Ballance who sits in second with 67 overall ATV wins, and concurrently holds the ATV title for most GNCC championship wins at nine total, since the series began in 1975. In recognition of the 50th win at the Tomahawk GNCC in Alpine, New York, Yamaha presented Fowler with an award, t-shirts for the team, and a banner. Furthermore, Racer Productions honored the occasion with limited edition poker chips handed out to the attending “Fowler Fanatics”.
“Fifty wins is an unbelievable achievement – especially in this sport – and it was great to celebrate with a crowd of such passionate racing fans,” Fowler said. “I never would’ve been able to do this without my entire team and racing family behind me throughout the years, along with the reliability of the YFZ450R, and I’m looking forward to keeping this momentum going for many seasons to come.”
As Fowler pursues his fifth-straight XC1 Pro ATV championship in 2019 with his WFR / GBC / Fly Racing-backed YFZ450R, the most technologically advanced sport ATV in the market, he currently leads the series with 196 points, finishing first in five of seven races this season. The final GNCC round will take place October 26 at the Ironman in Crawfordsville, Indiana, where Fowler hopes to earn his fifth GNCC championship and Yamaha’s $10,000 bLU cRU bonus. Before round eight of the series, Fowler will join Randy Hawkins, Johnny Gallagher, Traci Pickens, and other GNCC racing legends as an instructor for Yamaha’s GNCC University at Snowshoe Mountain Resort from June 19 to 21. Visit GNCCracing.com or call Snowshoe Mountain Resort at 877-441-4386 for details.
Every Yamaha Side-by-Side (SxS) and full-size ATV is assembled at Yamaha’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Newnan, Georgia, for worldwide distribution.
For more information on Yamaha’s bLU cRU program, including all guidelines and requirements, visit YamahabLUcRU.com. REALize Your Adventure and view additional details on Yamaha’s entire Proven Off-Road ATV and SxS lineup at YamahaOutdoors.com.