Shan Moore | March 5, 2024
It might be too early to speculate, but judging from the first two rounds, Johnny Girroir is already trying to stamp his name on this year’s Grand National Cross-Country Series, having won the first two rounds despite suffering get-offs and hardships in both races. A big change from last year’s series, which saw seven winners in the first seven rounds.
Johnny Girroir made it two GNCC wins in a row.
Words by Shan Moore | Photography by Ken Hill
Girroir’s main rival in the series, Steward Baylor, could have had two wins to his credit as well, had it not been for some unusual hardships on his part.
This year’s Wild Boar GNCC was wet, muddy, and deeply rutted. Still, FMF/KTM’s Girroir, FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Grant Davis, and Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki’s Baylor managed the conditions better than the rest and went 1-2-3 to fill the podium, with Davis turning in a particularly surprising ride since he was in the XC2 250 Pro class.
Girroir took the lead midway into lap one ahead of holeshotter AmPro Yamaha’s Ricky Russell, despite falling in the first turn and starting last. Meanwhile, Baylor clipped a branch, knocking him into a rider and costing him two places.
Grant Davis captured his first XC2 Pro victory and was second overall.
Girroir gained the lead ahead of Russell, with Baylor continuing to work his way to the front.
“This is perhaps the roughest track we ride, but we are all getting more fit and have more endurance,” said Girroir. “We are getting faster. Not just overall speed, but faster over the full three hours. We aren’t pacing ourselves anymore. It’s full-on from the start.
“I put it down in the first corner and started at the back of the pack. I kind of just picked my way through those guys. I got in a battle with Stew, and we were going at it for a while there. He tucked the front end a couple of times. I found myself in the lead, and I said, ‘It’s time to go.’ It was war.”
In the end, Baylor lost to Girroir by 2:35.00 seconds, and 35 seconds to Davis on adjusted time.
“This course is brutal,” said Steward Baylor. “Three-quarters of it was sand, whoops, and then this last part was like survival mode. There were holes out there with bikes buried everywhere. It was a survival kind of day. The rain came and made it worse. It was gnarly.”
Steward Baylor had his share of troubles but still managed third overall.
In addition to his earlier crash, Baylor knocked the bead off his rim and had to pit to replace the rear wheel.
“Man, that was a rough day,” said Baylor. “Wish my guys would have let me know that we had somebody sneaking up on the overall. All I was getting was, ‘Save the bike.’ I didn’t get any pit board. So, it’s kind of tough when people aren’t giving you what you need out there, but I knew we were going to have a tough day right there off lap one. Just right off the start, I saw my bike start smoking, and I knew we were losing coolant. So, it’s all I could do just to try to stay off the clutch, keep the temperatures down. I was literally aiming for water holes and trying to cool that bike off.
“Looking towards championship, I’m trying to get as much points as we can. Then we broke a bead midway through the race and I just couldn’t hold Johnny off anymore. I was making a lot of mistakes. That back end was all over the place. Then it got to the point where the bike wouldn’t move. I had to do that wheel swap, and it was a little longer than it should have been, but for everything that happened today, I guess it’s okay. I’ll take it. But pretty bummed.”
Russell lost his front end and ended up landing on his bad shoulder, forcing him to retire.
The 2024 season is Davis’ first in the Pro class. His second overall was his best finish ever.
“It was a tough one, especially when it started raining,” said Davis. “I couldn’t see anything, and then I got new goggles, and I was behind Jordan [Ashburn], I think. As soon as I got my new goggles, he dumped the clutch and covered them and destroyed them. So, I rode a whole lap without goggles. Then Kailub [Russell, KTM crew] was telling me that I was third overall, then he said [by] five seconds [over Baylor] before the finish, and I was just holding it wide open, and I got it. My first XC2 win and to be on the overall podium—I don’t even know what to say right now, honestly. It feels like a dream.
Babbitt’s Online Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Lyndon Snodgrass just missed his first overall podium on a big bike with a fourth. “It feels awesome,” said Snodgrass, who was third in class. “I’ve been trying to get another podium [overall] here for the last 12 months, basically. I just rode a solid round. Just clicked off the laps. Everyone took off so quick with the start and I was struggling to keep up. I just kept my pace. The track kind of formed up a little better. I was able to ride the sand whoops a little better lap two or three, and I started catching everyone back and was just able to keep clicking off passes. A couple guys dropped out and then we got up into third. I just cruised the last lap and made sure I got it to the finish.
“The line selection was crazy today. I just tried to look up ahead and see where people were pointing us and see where everyone else was sort of going. I just kind of picked my way through, but it was brutal. There were a lot of holes.
Jhak Walker won the XC3 125cc Pro-Am division.
FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Angus Riordan was fifth, nearly a minute ahead of Coastal GasGas Factory Racing’s Jordan Ashburn. Riordan also took second in the XC2 250 Pro class and maintains the class points lead.
JS Sherco’s Josh Strang finished just 11 seconds ahead of MAX Motorsports’ Evan Smith, Phoenix Honda’s Mike Witkowski and 250cc A rider Nicholas DeFeo (Kawasaki) rounded out the top 10 overall.
Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Trevor Bollinger was 11th overall after dealing with brake issues.
Beta USA’s Jhak Walker took a big win over Canada’s Phillippe Chaine in the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class, with Dustin Simpson (Yamaha), Zachary Davidson (Husqvarna) and Sawyer Carratura (Yamaha) going 3-5.
Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki Team Green’s Grant Baylor was running third after five laps of racing but had his bike lock up during the last lap and was unable to finish out the lap.
Former GNCC champ Kailub Russell competed in the morning Sportsman A class and was the overall winner.
Girroir continues to head the overall championship leaderboard with 60 points, followed by Steward Baylor with 46. Davis is third (37), followed by Ashburn (33) and Riordan (31).
In Sunday’s morning race, it was Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Korie Steede jumping off the line first. Steede would hold the lead position for the first lap of the race, but FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Brandy Richards was right behind her, looking for a chance to make a pass stick.
Brandy Richards (198) won the WXC class. Korie Steede (444) was the early leader but ended up second.
Richards had that opportunity on the second lap, making her way into the WXC lead as they came around. Richards continued to hold the lead for the rest of the race, coming through to earn her first-ever WXC class win in GNCC by over a minute. Steede continued to push but was unable to battle back against Richards. She would come across the finish line second in WXC. Sherco USA/Moose/Rachel Gutish Racing’s Rachel Gutish made her way into third on the second lap, and she pushed for the remaining laps of the race, crossing the finish line third in class. CN
OVERALL
- Jonathan Girroir (KTM) XC1
- Grant Davis (KTM) XC2
- Steward Baylor (Kaw) XC1
- Lyndon Snodgrass (Kaw) XC1
- Angus Riordan (KTM) XC2
- Jordan Ashburn (GG) XC1
- Josh Strang (She) XC1
- Evan Smith (Hus) XC1
- Michael Witkowski (Hon) XC1
- Nicholas DeFeo (Kaw) 250A
