What happens when you place a top ATV Pro motocross talent in the middle of the woods? You will find a rider that will have a lot of fun, but find that being out of his element can be tougher than it seems. Last Saturday, Golden West Cycle/Factory Yamaha rider Pat Brown entered in the ITP Power Line Park GNCC to try his hand at some Grand National Cross Country series action. As the winner of the 2007 ATV Open at Steel City, and a podium finisher in the 2008 ITP Tires/Moose Racing AMA ATV Motocross Nationals, a lot of folks were wondering how Pat would fare. At the end of the day, Pat finished out of the top ten, but he isn’t giving up. We dialed his cell today and spoke with him about Power Line Park, and how he plans to do a little better at the Klotz Ironman GNCC coming up in two weeks in Indiana.

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When did you become interested in GNCC racing?

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I raced a GNCC at Roush Creek back in 2004, but before that I spent a lot of time in the woods since I began riding ATVs. I go riding in the woods all the time.

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What do your sponsors think about you racing in a different discipline?

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They support me. They know how good it is for my conditioning and the more I’m out there racing in front of fans the better. Racing is racing, you know?

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What are some of the areas where your motocross skills help and hurt you?

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The hardest thing to get past is the ““sprint” mentality. In motocross you have to sprint as hard as you can the entire time and that is impossible to do in a two-hour GNCC event. I mean, the good guys seem like they go wide open the whole time, but it’s different. Riding is riding for the most part, but it takes a special skill to go hauling off wide open through the tight trails and trees. The key to woods racing is to get through the tights sections as quickly and smoothly as you can without making any mistakes ¯¿½““ or hitting any trees [laughs]

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Your Yamaha teammate, Bill Ballance, seems to have it dialed in pretty well. Where do you place him in the grand scheme of ATV racing?

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There is nobody better at riding an ATV, period. Guys have won championships in motocross and off-road, but nobody has even been as dominate as Bill. There is a lot of competition in both disciplines, too. Bill races and wins against some unbelievably fast riders, and to do what he has done is pretty much untouchable.

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(At this point in the conversation I heard some laughing and jeering in the background. The voice in the background was none other than 9-time champion, Ballance himself. Pat was in Bill’s garage at his Kentucky home.)

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How do you think Bill would do if he showed up to an ATV Motocross National?

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Brown yells over to his teammate: ““Hey Bill how would you do racing with us?”

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Bill just reminded me that the last time he raced us was the ESPN Outdoor Games and he almost smoked all of us! He got 2^nd at that race. No, I know how fast he is. He has top-five and pretty close to podium speed.

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The word on the street is you are coming back for more at the Klotz Ironman in two weeks. What are you going to do differently to try to get in the top five?

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I just need to be smooth at the beginning of the race and try not to hit any trees. My first lap at Power Line Park was terrible. I was almost last and had to ride in the dust in the back the whole race. A big key to success in those long races in putting yourself near the front early on. It’s a lot easier to finish in the front if you can start in the front.

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I’m actually going to do some training this time too. I’m in good shape, but I wasn’t ready for two hours of racing! I’ll be better prepared next time and hopefully I’ll do a lot better.

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Right on, Pat. Thanks for your time, we’ll see you in Indiana!

Thanks, Andy.

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