Shan Moore | April 17, 2024
Coming into the 2024 Grand National Cross Country Series season, a handful of riders were tabbed to be the top contenders for this year’s title. After winning the first two rounds, FMF/KTM Factory rider Johnny Girroir established himself early as the man to beat. However, Red Bear Rocky Mountain Kawasaki’s Steward Baylor, who has narrowly missed the title the past few years, proved that he is in the running by coming from last place at the start of this weekend’s race to win round five of the Grand National Cross Country Series (his first win of the year), the inaugural round of the Old Gray GNCC, held at a brand-new venue in Monterey, Tennessee, on April 13.
Steward Baylor finally nabbed his first GNCC win of the year.
Photos by Ken Hill
Baylor made an impressive run through the pack to take the lead on lap three and then pull away to a 34-second lead at one point. Despite going down a half mile from the finish, Baylor still took the victory by two seconds ahead of local boy, Coastal Racing GasGas’ Jordan Ashburn.
“There was a little mishap at the start, and then later, I went down again right there inside of scoring and lost another position,” said Baylor. “After that, you know, I knew I just wanted to be in the fight and be consistent and then try to drop the hammer on lap three and make the passes, and that’s what we did. I was kind of playing before, and I knew I could throw out one heater and control the race from there, so from there, I just tried to make sure that I didn’t make mistakes. Man, it was weird. The slower I went, the more mistakes I made, so I had to pick up the pace. There, on the last lap, I flamed the bike out a half mile from the finish, and I had 10-12 seconds on Jordan, but then he was right on me. I mean, it was a dog fight there to the end. And you know, when the blood is in the water, it’s easy to follow, and I was waiting for him to pull to the inside on one of these corners. Luckily, it was pretty one-lined out there. Good racing for the most part, but it’s good to be back in the center of the box.”
Johnny Girroir maintain his points lead with third place on the podium at the Old Gray GNCC
Phoenix Honda Racing’s Mike Witkowski grabbed the holeshot at the start of the race, coming out of the fray with Ashburn and AmPro Yamaha’s Ricky Russell on his tail. Girroir got a little throttle happy and nudged Coastal Racing GasGas’ Ryder Lafferty into Baylor, putting both on the ground.
The $250 Steel City Medical Center holeshot award went to Michael Witkowski (Phoenix Racing Honda) to start the day
Jason Tino was the top A-class rider in ninth overall.
Witkowski washed out his front wheel in a sandy area and dropped back to fifth behind Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong. Meanwhile, Russell dropped out on lap two when he fell and reinjured his shoulder.
“We were running well, and the track was really fun; it really suited my style,” said Russell. It was rocky and narrow, and I could see the leaders; we were just all kind of close there. You get a little gap here and there, and then you catch back up or vice versa. It’s kind of like playing the yo-yo game, and unfortunately, I went down and hurt the same shoulder I injured before. So, we will just have to see how it goes.”
Jordan Ashburn (Coastal GASGAS Factory Racing) had a great battle all day, and would finish second overall in his home state of Tennessee.
Ashburn took command of second and held it to the finish.
“You know, today was a good day,” said Ashburn. “This being a hometown track kind of put a lot of pressure on me; everybody you know wants to see a win, and I put out the best I could today. I felt like I rode good. I kind of had a little error in the middle, but we kind of regrouped and put down a hard charge toward the end, and we made a charge. Hat’s off to all the fans out here. They just urged me on the last lap, and that got me going. I kind of reeled him in at the end but just came up short. I’m just happy to be on the box.”
Rachael Archer took the WXC-class win with little room to spare.
Girroir came down with a stomach bug on Saturday but hung in there to finish third. With the finish, the KTM rider remains atop of the standings.
“I got on the track, and I knew it was going to be a long day, so I gave it hell, and I’m on the podium,” said Girroir. “So, I’m happy as it’s a win for today, so it’s all good, and I’m still in the points lead going to the next one.”
Witkowski ended up in a two-way battle with DeLong for fourth, with each rider leading the way.
DeLong got the best of Witkowski, which kept his title hopes alive. Witkowski’s fifth was his best finish in the XC1 class so far.
FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Grant Davis turned in a stellar performance to win the XC2 250 Pro division with a solid sixth overall.
Having won the overall at The General GNCC in March in the XC2 250 Pro class, Josh Toth has been one to keep an eye on. The Enduro Engineering Honda rider battled with Davis for sixth but, in the end, settled for second in the XC2 250 Pro division and seventh overall.
Grant Davis celebrates the XC2 Pro-class win.
Babbitt’s Online Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Grant Baylor had a rough day. He started next to last ahead of his brother, Steward, and then struggled to work his way up to eighth.
Husqvarna-mounted Jason Tino claimed his best overall finish to date and won the 250A division with a ninth overall, while Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Racing’s Trevor Bollinger rounded out the top 10.
In the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class, Dakoda Devore (KTM) topped Sawyer Carratura (Yamaha) by a full minute to take the win, while series point leader Jhak Walker (Beta) rounded out the top three.
Dakoda Devore (526) won the XC3 class.
Red Bear Rocky Mountain Kawasaki’s Rachael Archer topped GasGas rider Shelby Turner of Canada by 41 seconds to win the WMX Women’s Pro Division. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Kori Steede and FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Brandy Richards rounded out the top five.
Jimmy Wathen was awarded the AMSOIL Moto Hero at The Old Gray GNCC.
The Amsoil Moto Hero was awarded to Jimmy Wathen of Clinton, Tennessee, who raced in the Masters B (50+) class. Jimmy served as a Sergeant First Class in the seventh enlisted rank in the United States Army. In 2008, Sergeant Wathen received a Bronze Star for overseeing a police platoon in Iraq. During his deployment to Amarah, Iraq, Sergeant Wathen was injured by enemy gunfire on December 30, 2008. Wathen received two gunshot wounds during that time. This weekend Wathen received a $250 AMSOIL Shopping Spree, a $500 Kanati Performance Tires gift certificate as well as a commemorative American flag courtesy of Columbia Flag and Sign Co along with a $200 gift certificate for their online store.
- Steward Baylor (Kaw)
- Jordan Ashburn (GG)
- Johnny Girroir (KTM)
- Craig DeLong (Hus)
- Mike Witkowski (Hon)
- Grant Davis (KTM)
- Josh Toth (Hon)
- Grant Baylor (Kaw)
- Jason Tino (Hus)
- Trevor Bollinger (Hus)
