GNC MX Round 8 High Point
Mt. Morris, PA
June 21-22, 2003

Alba/ATV Scene.com's Kory Ellis podiums with new Yamaha and wins pro class

Pro Production


ATV Scene.com was not only on hand reporting on the biggest news of the weekend, we were the reason for it. Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA recently loaned a brand new Yamaha YFZ450 production number 000000026 to us for long term testing. We quickly went into action and sent the new YFZ, or what we like to call the ATV that changes everything, to Lone Star Racing in Phoenix, AZ for some quick bolt on parts to make the machine wider for motocross racing. Then, thanks to Gilbert, Arizona's Skyler Stewart, the machine was hand delivered to us at High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, PA. ATV Scene's test quad was the first and only YFZ to reach the national ATV racing circuit, and because of it, for the first time since ATV racing's three-wheeler days, the big-four (Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki) were all represented behind the gate of a pro ATV national! It was an instrumental day for the sport of ATV racing. Of all the machines lined up ready for battle only our Yamaha loaner remained bone stock (except for Lone Star's wider A-arms and axle, PEP front shocks and a GYTR slip on titanium race pipe).






All eyes were focused on Kory Ellis and the lone blue Alba Action backed Yamaha. Everyone had heard all the hype about the new Yamaha and couldn't wait to see if it was as good as Yamaha claimed it was. Yamaha's entry was made especially for racing, while all the other brands being represented were built more in the order of sport-performance. Could Ellis and a stock ATV with only minor modifications be competitive with multi-time national champions Tim Farr and Doug Gust on their Suzuki Z450s, which boast lists of modifications costing well over $20,000 each? It appeared so in Friday's practice. Ellis felt extremely comfortable on the new machine and was confident he could win on it the following day.






Rain fell overnight and into the morning, making Saturday's first pro production moto a messy one. Farr (Baldwin/DG/Maxxis) found traction and pulled the holeshot. Gust (Nac's/TC/Hinson/Yosh) followed. Jason Luburgh tucked in behind the bright yellow Suzukis on his Nac's Racing Cannondale with Ellis eating roost behind. Farr held off charges from Gust in yet another bumper to bumper pro production classic. Meanwhile, Luburgh did the same to Ellis. Farr and Gust put about 15 seconds between them and the Luburgh/Ellis duo. Both Farr and Luburgh made it tough to pass as Gust dealt with Farr's heavy mud roost and Ellis with Luburgh's. A lap after the halfway point, Ellis and the ATV Scene.com YFZ loaner found a spot to pass. Ellis and Yamaha's come from behind race was on! Mt. Morris fans were abundant, and everyone of their eyes were glued to Ellis as he started to reel in Farr and Gust. Soon the deficit was down to only seven seconds, the next lap; five, then only two seconds separated him from Gust's rear grab bar! He was within striking distance and logging the fastest lap times of the day. With a lap and a half left, the heroic come from behind victory didn't happen for Ellis and Yamaha, instead he bounced off a berm and temporally got stuck in the mud. Farr went on to win, while Gust backed off and limped his badly overheating Suzuki across the checkers for second. Ellis finished third. "I'm really excited about the future of ATV racing. This Yamaha is pretty much stock, we widened it and slipped on a GYTR pipe and they tell me I just posted the fastest lap times of the day with it. That was unheard of until today", said Ellis while scooping pounds of mud off of his chest protector as hundreds of people flocked around the new YFZ to get a closer look.






By the time moto two came around, the light rain had stopped and conditions weren't as muddy. Moto two was far less dramatic, Gust quickly got out front, buckled down and checked out for the lead, the victory and the 2-1 overall. Farr finished second. Ellis was forced to deal with another come from behind chase in order to earn Yamaha's podium debut. He did just that. From ninth to third to be exact. "Kory proved today that Yamaha has a serious ATV available and it doesn't take a whole lot to make it a pro caliber machine. This is really good for the sport. I think this was the first time we've ever had this many brands represented out there. It's really nice to see", remarked Farr from his two spot on the podium.

After talking about how he managed to pass his way to his 3-3 third place podium position and thanking his sponsors Kory had this to say, "I'm really happy to be up here. I can't say enough for Yamaha, they really did a good job with this thing. I want to especially thank ATV Scene.com, Scott Butler and everyone at Lone Star, in a matter of a few days Lone Star built the parts we needed and got it here for us just in time to race it today. They did an outstanding job in such a short time."

 

ya i read that ... not bad for the limited experience he probable had on it

 

And the fact it was basically stock

 

Cool right up! Thank Pelt. Sounds like the quad is a winner..

RoostKing...

 

hey Cory, when you get yours Alan and I are coming up there to try it out! right Alan? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img] hey Alan, with the "Spike" hairdo, why arent you suing TNN as well? HAHA

 

I know i called them and they said its a network For me so i cant sue them..yeah i would like to ride one,the second i get out of basic training im heading to the ford dealership and the yamaha dealership and see which is more important(probably the 450)!

 

The yfz sounded like it did great. Kory Ellis is a great racer, sounds like a good match. I know the yfz is close to stock except for the pipe, wider a-arms, axle, and pep shocks. How would these mods cost? I'm just trying to get an idea to see how much is in the yfz. I would guess the yfz is what, about $7500 and guestimating the mods about $3500. So maybe about $11,000 in the yamaha. I might be way off but if we paid for that it would probably be just a little higher. So it's considerably less than the z's with their mods if they are $20,000 bikes. That sounds good especially for his first race on the yamaha. I noticed you kept saying it was basically stock, well the motor of course is but it did have some pretty good mods to help the handling and jumping. I just thought the yfz was made to be competitive out of the shop, I know, I know it is competitive but I guess you're thinking against the best of the best (talking about the riders) it still needs some help.

 

raptor8 yah don't worry i'm sure someone will buy one in your area....hopefully he's your friend...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

i wood say for those mods it would probably be between 3000 and 2500 somewhere in there...It still is really basically stock i mean when is the last time you heard of someone on a <7000 dollar quad running the pro class with a stock engine and rear shock,etc.?

 

I am willing to bet that the only mods for a competitive GNCC racer will be:

Engine - slip-on exhaust, filter, rejet

Chassis - skidplates, tires, and rims

Suspension - shock revalve and conversion to sag suspension

That shouldn't be much more than $1200 for all of it, I would think.