America’s largest off-road dirt bike and ATV racing series stopped in Union County this past weekend for the 16th annual Pirelli Big Buck Grand National Cross Country event, featuring more than 1,000 racers and drawing several thousand spectators.

A field that featured U.S. Championship racers and drivers from eight countries including 38 states and a host of Union County drivers, this event is arguably Union County’s most diverse weekend.

Big Buck owner Henry Turner III purchased the propery in 1973 and said that after years of hunting on the property and hearing the question, “Who saw the big buck?,” that he decided the name Big Buck would be appropriate for the track.

This weekend, those woods offered the chance for racers to claim the prize of a GNCC victory at Pirelli Big Buck.

As the racers hit the course, fans lobbied for the best viewing spots, with most opting, at one point or another, to make the half mile treck to the creek jump.

This is the area of the track where racers have the opportunity to get a “little” air time, while spectators inevitably get a “little” muddy and love every minute of it.

The Big Buck course is a challenging one and is known to be one of the most rugged stops on the 13-race circuit. The course offers field sections for high speeds and engine cooling, pastures are terraced and there are plenty of smaller creeks along with gullies, rocks, vines and an abundance of red clay soil.

Last year’s overall Big Buck ATV winner and XCI Pro Champ, Chris Borich found himself in victory circle once again at Big Buck while Kailub Russell locked down his third consecutive XC1 Pro class victory on Sunday in the bike race, defeating former GNCC champs Charlie Mullins (2011) and Paul Whibley (2010).

The event was monumental, with loads of excitement on the track along with numerous vendors offering games, food, beverages and prizes for fans, making this year’s Big Buck event a success, for the sixteenth year in a row.

Local racers results:

Cameron Abee, of Union, finished 32nd overall in the youth division of the ATV race with a time of 1:08:07.578.

Robert Harris, of Union, finished 193rd overall in the ATV a.m race with a time of 1:12:57.890.

Timothy Seymore, of Jonesville, finished 5th in First Year ATV race with a time of 1:38:23.968.

Hunter Petty, of Buffalo, finished 126th overall in the a.m. Bike race with a time of 1:00:04.093.

Michael Burns, of Union, finished 192nd overall in the p.m. Bike race with a time of 2:44:33.812.