strong run but ellis comes up short at high point

JUN 18 , 2005
GNC Round 9 - High Point
Mt. Morris, PA

Race Report by: Chris Conrady
Photos: Chuck DeBault, John Pellan atvriders.com
Kory Ellis has been on a bit of a comeback on the second half of the season. The conditions at High Point were great - the weather was perfect, just slightly warm. The track conditions were perfect, High Point added a new triple-jump that was a cool addition to one of the best tracks in the series. Ellis called it probably the best High Point has ever been. And, as a past track champion, Ellis was poised for his best finish of the year.

Moto 1

Ellis' Alba Factory Yamaha YFZ was running very well this weekend. In practice sessions, he was very happy with the power and performance. Ellis came out of the gates in the front half of the pack. Not a great start, but not bad either. Fairly quickly he had passed his way up to 3rd position and began challenging Joe Byrd.

He stayed right on Byrd and kept pushing him, trying to get him to open the door for a pass. They ran hard over the triple and put on a great show. Meanwhile, race leader John Natalie, distanced himself from the field. Ellis finished moto 1 in 3rd, behind Natalie and Byrd.

The last race for Ellis's Chief Mechanic Rob Vegter - who is leaving ATV racing to pursue his dream of dancing on Soul Train. Photo Harlen Foley ATVriders.com

Changing of the Guard

One additional challenge for Kory Ellis at High Point was the departure of his chief mechanic. Rob Vegter, who's been pitting with and supporting Ellis for two years. Vegter is moving on to a life away from ATV racing, so together with Allen White of Precision Concepts, they worked on breaking in Jody Earnst as the new chief for Ellis's ALBA/Factory Yamaha YFZ - seeing if he's up for the challenge.

Turning Point

Moto 2 started off about the same as moto 1 - with Ellis as about 7th off the line, he quickly passed his way up to 5th behind Travis Kane. Kory knew that if he could get past Kane, he would end up with 2nd overall. So he put the pressure on and had a great battle on the heels of Kane.

Mid race, Kane came up a bit short on one of the jumps, causing Ellis to back off a bit to avoid landing on top of him. Ellis then cased the jump and was pitched over the bars - and his Alba Factory Yamaha YFZ rolled off the track and down an embankment. Ellis doesn't get thrown from his ride very often, but was, for the most part, unfazed and quickly got up to get going again, trying to save as many positions as possible. His quad was still wheel-side down, but he had a tough time pulling it back up on the track. By the time he had pulled it up on the track and got it running, he had fallen to 17th place.

So with one bad landing, in trying to avoid landing on top of Travis Kane, Ellis had fallen to the back of the pack. That didn't stop him. Ellis focused on one rider, got passed him then worked on the next. By the end of the race, Ellis had passed his way back up to 13th. John Natalie had swept High Point with wins in both motos and Joe Byrd coming in second.

Ellis was bummed. The mishap in Moto 2 sent him back to 8th overall. Despite a good moto 1 run, and a hard charge in the first half of moto 2, This was not the result he was hoping for on one of his better tracks. But he looks forward to "training" his new mechanic and getting ready for the ESPN Great Outdoor Games July 7th.

Pro Am Sage Baker
Sage Baker, has had an up and down year - his first with Team Alba Racing. He's been riding hard and training hard and has done pretty well out on the road.

Right now he's running 3rd in the overall points for the Pro Am Production class, and 5th in Pro Am Unlimited and he's been a regular force to be reckoned with.

Unfortunately High Point wasn't a high point for Baker's '05 GNC run. It wasn't that bad either. In fact, considering he blew his main race motor on Saturday, he ended up making the best of a bad situation.

With the help of departing ALBA Factory Yamaha mechanic, Rob Vegter, and his own personal crew chief, his Dad, Sage swapped his blown motor for his practice bike motor just in time for his first set of motos on Saturday.

Additional Race Info at ATVriders.com
Additional Race Report at ATVSCENE.COM
Official Results at: ATVA Online