Cycle News Staff | March 11, 2024
Enduro Engineering’s Josh Toth (Honda) etched his name in the record books by becoming the first person to win a Grand National Cross-Country Series round starting from the XC2 250 Pro-class row. Though FMF/KTM Factory Racing’s Johnny Girroir crossed the finish line ahead of Toth at the GNCC’s The General on the March 9-10 weekend in Washington, Georgia, Toth claimed the overall win on adjusted time since Toth, who was riding in the XC2 250 Pro class, started 10 seconds behind Girroir, who was riding in the XC1 class.
Josh Toth is the first person ever to overall a GNCC race starting from the second row in the XC2 class. Photos: Ken Hill
Toth’s historic ride comes one week after Babbitt’s Online Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Craig Davis finished second overall from the XC2 250 Pro-class wave.
“I’m a dirt-bike racer. I just want to race everything. It’s paying off,” Toth said.
“It feels unreal, really,” said Toth. “It’s just a dream right now. I just put in my own race; I just put my head down. I knew I was going to come for Johnny today. I was fired up all week. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be fighting with those guys. I just rode my own race and tried not to make mistakes and made it happen. I just want to build my own program and have fun. I’ve raced a bunch of hard enduros, and I think it showed today. I’m a dirt-bike racer. I just want to race everything. It’s paying off. I’m getting better and better. It’s not the last one.”
Overall podium.
AmPro Yamaha’s Ricky Russell continued his string of great starts by grabbing the holeshot in the two-and-a-half-hour event. The race was shortened by three hours due to rain and track conditions.
Ricky Russell (212) leads the start of the XC1 class.
After a midpack start, Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki’s Steward Baylor took over the lead near the end of lap one, only to hand it over to Toth in the woods. From then on, Toth tried to keep the hounds at bay for the remainder of the race.
Steward Baylor led early on lap one.
Girroir jockeyed back and forth with Baylor but, in the end, wound up finishing second overall for the day; Girroir is still undefeated in the XC1 division, having won all three rounds so far.
Girroir finished second overall.
“It was pretty gnarly out there,” said Girroir. “I got a pretty decent start and was just following the leaders. I found myself in the lead. Stew had some good lines and went blowing by me. I was just tagging along with him, learning. He went down a couple of times. I was able to get around him. Then Ricky and [Jordan] Ashburn challenged me again. Me and Ricky came together. It was just chaos out there. I just kept getting a pit board, ‘Toth’s in the lead, Toth’s the lead.’ It’s hard to keep track of the XC2 guys. I was charging that last lap as hard as I could. I ended up making a mistake and going over the bars. I think it was down to five or 10 seconds, and then I think that’s all it took. Hats off to Josh. That’s awesome. Of course, I wanted to win, but it was good for him to make history and do it in the second round. That’s awesome, so hats off.”
Jordan Ashburn playing in the mud.
With two laps to go, GasGas Factory Racing’s Jordan Ashburn was locked in a battle with Toth physically on the track. “I saw a pit board, ‘Plus three on Toth.’ I was like, man, he’s coming, said Ashburn. “I kind of latched onto him when he got around me, and he was just sending it and riding so good. I just latched on and went straight to the front. We made up a little ground on Johnny that last lap and I was trying to get around Toth just in case we got up to Johnny. Hats off to Toth for that overall. That’s awesome.”
Angus Riordon (35) gets off the line at the start of the XC2 race.
Baylor spent most of the day hanging out in the top five, although he did lead a few times. At the finish, Baylor just missed the podium with a fourth overall.
WXC Start.
“If there was an award for most people passed, I definitely got that,” said Baylor. “I was making mistake after mistake and just trying to break away, but it was really tough. When you were riding your lines, you were good, but as soon as we got in that group of guys just mixing it up, it was tough. Just trying to make a pass and trying to stick it on the inside and hit those deep spots. Just made a lot of stupid mistakes. But then I came across a waterhole, and they had some logs laid in it, and I couldn’t see what was under there, but a log jumped up and went right in between my fork and my tire and locked the bike up. It cost me a lot of time. Then, somehow, I caught back up. All the guys were stuck in a ditch except Johnny. From there, everybody was going for it. So, the last lap and a half was good. I would have liked that extra lap. I’m one of the guys that likes to get moving there at the end. I just felt like I finally found my own there about halfway through that last lap and just nailed my marks and did what I needed to. I don’t like having to push off the start. I like three hours.”
GasGas’ Shelby Turner led from start to finish in the WXC division.
Ricky Russell had his share of problems. After claiming his second holeshot of the three races held so far this season, he ended up with a fifth overall. After running as high as third at one point, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong dropped off the pace to finish sixth.
250 A rider Nicolas DeFeo (Kawasaki) had the performance of a lifetime, finishing seventh overall and first in the 250 A class. Grant Davis built on the impressive second-overall finish he turned in last week in Florida with an eighth overall and second in the XC2 250 Pro Division in Georgia.
Turner crossing the line.
Still getting used to riding a 450, AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper grabbed the holeshot to start the race and settled into ninth overall by the end of the race. Landers Racing KTM’s Angus Riordan rounded out the top 10 with a third in the XC2 250 Pro Division.
In the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class, Beta USA’s Jhak Walker took another win, followed by Dustin Simpson (Yamaha) and Zachary Davidson (Husqvarna).
Enduro Engineering/GasGas/FXR Moto’s Shelby Turner led every lap to top the WXC Women’s Pro Division. Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki’s Rachael Archer was three seconds back in second with Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Korie Steede another two minutes back in third.
Shan Moore
OVERALL RESULTS
- Josh Toth (Hon)
- Johnny Girroir (KTM)
- Jordan Ashburn (GG)
- Steward Baylor (Kaw)
- Ricky Russell (Yam)
- Craig DeLong (Hus)
- Nicolas DeFeo (Kaw)
- Grant Davis (KTM)
- Liam Draper (Yam)
- Angus Riordan (KTM)
