Shan Moore | April 1, 2024
It wasn’t easy, especially on Saturday, but Johnny Girroir remained undefeated in the 2024 U.S. Sprint Enduro Series after the FMF KTM Factory racer won both days of the Warrior U.S. Sprint Enduro on a beautiful Easter weekend in Semora, North Carolina.
Johnny Girroir kept his winning streak alive in the U.S. Sprint Enduro Series.
Photography by Shan Moore
With AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper nipping at his heels and FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers’ Angus Riordan waiting in the wings, Girroir eked out Saturday’s Pro 1 win by 16 seconds over Draper.
“Yesterday was a little rough,” said Girroir. “A couple of crashes and stuff set me back. I think everyone was crashing. It was slick and very unpredictable. Last night, I went to bed a little frustrated and told myself, ‘I really need to hit my marks tomorrow.’ I felt like I did that today. It was a good weekend.”
Girroir nearly threw it away on a G-out in Sunday’s opening enduro test, but amazingly, he was able to save it and still win the test.
“I was sweating that one,” said Girroir. “I thought I was a goner.”
In all, Girroir won 11 of the 14 tests and topped Draper, who had two test wins, by 16 seconds on Saturday. Meanwhile, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong was third on Saturday, another six seconds back, while Riordan was fourth, having won the final cross test on Saturday.
Liam Draper kept Girroir honest all weekend en route to second overall.
Giroir swept Sunday’s event and beat Enduro Engineering’s Josh Toth by 27 seconds, with Pro 2 riders Gus Riordan, Jason Tino and Pro 1 rider Draper rounding out the top five.
Draper was particularly fast on the cross test, winning two of four on Saturday.
“Saturday was really good,” said Draper. “I was the closest I think I’ve ever been to Johnny for most of the day.”
Draper, who is still getting used to the 450, had a big get-off on Saturday. “In cross test four, I hit the dirt hard,” said Draper. “That kind of threw me back. Other than that, I’m super happy with my riding. I’m just learning this 450. Today, I struggled a lot. Just the dry slick. With that much horsepower, you have to ride it a lot differently than a little bike. So, it showed today.”
Riordan pushed Draper and Girroir before settling for third overall. He also won the Pro 2 class.
“I started off a bit rough,” said Riordan. “On Saturday’s test one, in the first turn, I laid her down. Sort of set the tone for the day. I was able to sneak in front of Tino there for the last test. Today, I just kept chipping away [while] trying to keep Tino off my ass.”
Angus Riordan was third overall and the Pro 2-class winner.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong rode a clean race all weekend and never once hit the ground. However, he struggled to get comfortable in the North Carolina terrain.
“These things are tough for me,” said DeLong. “I have good days and bad days. I’ll start slow on Saturday, and then on Sunday, I’m in a hole. I struggle at these things; I guess it’s just something I have to figure out.”
Hot off a big GNCC win, Josh Toth struggled to a sixth on Saturday but made up for it with a brilliant runner-up behind Girroir, leaving him fifth overall.
Mousse Elite/Husqvarna rider Jason Tino celebrated his birthday with a solid sixth overall and second place in the Pro 2 class.
“This weekend was pretty similar to a round of golf,” said Tino. “There were a couple of birdies, a couple of pars, and two triple bogies on the cross-test today, but overall, it was a good weekend.
Craig DeLong was fourth overall.
Phoenix Honda Racing’s Cody Barnes was seventh overall. “The weekend was up and down for me,” said Barnes. “Just struggled when the tracks got rough. Just needed to find a lot more speed in that enduro test. The guys were rolling this weekend. I have two weekends off before the GNCC, so [I will] go to work and get prepared for that one and the next Sprint. I’m riding my 250 and I’ve won days on the 250 before. Some of the cross tests and stuff, I think I’m at an advantage, actually, when they’re kind of tighter, trickier cross tests. It’s like any bike. There are advantages and disadvantages. I don’t think I’m at a disadvantage, but maybe I must work a little bit harder.”
GasGas-supported Jack Edmondson of England was eighth. “Definitely improving each time, which is nice,” said Edmondson. “Just kept trying to get closer to these two. It’s my goal, really, and staying quite consistent this weekend. It’s been a good one.”
Morgantown Powersports/Tely Energy’s Layne Michael showed up on a Yamaha, which he is still adjusting to, and came away with ninth overall.
“I’m feeling good; it’s just taking me some time to adjust to the bike,” said Michael. “My best two times were in the last two tests, so I feel good about that.”
Jason Tino was second in Pro 2 in sixth overall.
Babbitt’s Off-Road Kawasaki’s JoJo Cunningham rounded out the top 10 and finished first in the ProAm division.
“I felt really good yesterday coming into today,” said Cunningham. “I knew that Coop [Cooper Jones], he’s always faster on day two when it’s a little bit rougher. So, I didn’t push it a whole lot, but I still didn’t want Coop beating me because I knew he was going to give me crap about it for the next couple of weeks. I just had a couple of little things go bad. I locked up the rear wheel in the cross-test and rode the majority of it with no rear brakes. Then I wrecked one time in the enduro chasing down Coop. I still barely edged him out on that, so I’m going to give him crap if he’s giving me crap the next couple weeks. Other than that, it was good. The track got pretty dry today, but all in all, it was a good weekend.”
FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers’ rider Brandy Richards dominated the Pro Women’s division, winning all but one test, a cross test, which was won by Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Korie Steede.
“The cross test was tricky because it was super slick, and the enduro test was even trickier because of all the roots,” said Richards. “I think this is the first time I’ve actually felt comfortable in the enduro test, so that’s a big improvement.
Brandy Richards topped the Women’s Pro class with a few minutes to spare.
Counting her cross-test win combined with several other solid finishes, Steede came home in second. Third went to Ava Silvestri, while fourth place was Carly Lee.
Trevor Jones returned to win the Pro Electric class on his Stark Varg.CN
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Johnny Girroir (KTM)
- Liam Draper (Yam)
- Gus Riordan (KTM)
- Craig DeLong (Hus)
- Josh Toth (Hon)
- Jason Tino (Hus)
- Cody Barnes (Hon)
- Jack Edmondson (GG)
- Layne Michael (Yam)
- JoJo Cunningham (Kaw)
