Shan Moore | August 28, 2024
In tricky and technical conditions, FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Johnny Girroir remained perfect for the season, picking up his seventh-straight overall victory in the 2024 U.S. Sprint Enduro Series, presented by Moose Racing, after winning both days of this weekend’s hot and dusty event at the Marvin’s Mountain Sprint Enduro in Masontown, West Virginia, August 24-25. In all, Girroir won 11 of the 12 tests during the weekend and wrapped up the series title one race early in the process.
Jonathan Girroir capped off a perfect U.S. Sprint Enduro season with another victory, this time at the Marvin’s Mountain Sprint Enduro in West Virginia.
Photography by Art Pepin
Girroir won all but one test on Saturday, finishing the day 11.6 seconds ahead of AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper, who topped Girroir in the second enduro test, Girroir’s only defeat.
“Saturday went well,” said Girroir. “I won the first three tests, and then the fourth test, I got caught sleeping, and Liam got me by about 11 seconds. I tightened it back up and crushed the last Cross test and rode smooth in the last Enduro test. It was a solid first day.”
Meanwhile, Draper finished a little over a minute ahead of Phoenix Honda’s Cody Barnes, with FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Angus Riordan another 30 seconds back in fourth. Riordan was also the top Pro 2 rider.
Liam Draper showed no signs of slowing after returning from injury. He won the second Enduro test en route to second overall.
One of the top contenders in the Pro 1 class, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Racing’s Craig DeLong, went down in the second Enduro test on Saturday, costing him over a minute, which dropped the Pennsylvania rider considerably down in the standings.
Girroir crushed it on Sunday, sweeping all six tests to top Draper by 58 seconds for the day. Barnes was 13 seconds back in third, while Riordan edged out Husqvarna rider Jason Tino for fourth and top Pro 2 rider.
As far as the overall results, Girroir left no doubts, finishing the two-day event 1:07 seconds ahead of Draper, with Barnes another 1:17 second back.
“I never really change tires, but for this track I brought a gummy, and we ran an 81 on the Cross test and after Liam blew my doors off in the second enduro test on Saturday, we started running a gummy tire on the Enduro test since it was so slick and silty,” said Girroir. “It got super rocky out there, and it kept you on your toes. I think it tried to bite each of us at one point or another. This is the first time I’ve changed tires all year between the Cross test and the Enduro test, so it kept you on your toes all the time. I’m just happy to get it done and wrap up the championship.”
Draper gave Girroir a good run for his money on Saturday, despite coming back from surgery to have some hardware removed from his knee.
“It was just nice to be back racing,” said Draper. “It’s always a little worrying when you come back from an injury about how you’re going to do it, and this weekend, I felt like I was straight back to where I was before and super close with Johnny all weekend.”
Cody Barnes was third overall. Photo by Jade Casey
Barnes was not comfortable with the rocky and silty terrain but still managed an impressive third overall.
“I had a third overall both days, so I’m happy with that,” said Barnes. “The track conditions were super tough, definitely not my strong suit, but I was able to make the most of it and just stay off the ground, that was my main goal this weekend. The Enduro test had just a bunch of silt and a ton of loose rocks, and I’m not very comfortable in those conditions, so to be able to keep it on two wheels and be somewhat competitive with those guys was good.”
Riordan topped the Pro 2 class and was fourth overall after a tight battle with Tino.
“Yeah, me and Tino went back and forth, and since it was a tight battle, any mistake could mess up your day, so you had to be careful out there,” said Riordan. “There was a lot of silt, and underneath the silt were rocks, so you didn’t know what was coming up.”
Angus Riordan topped the Pro 2 class by just a few seconds.
Tino was second in the Pro 2 class and fifth overall.
“The racing was very tight, and it made it very stressful, especially on a track like this,” said Tino. “It could bite you if you weren’t careful, so I just put my head down and went as fast as I could in the conditions.”
Dominick Morse (Husqvarna) was sixth overall and third in the Pro 2 division.
Gavin Simon (Husqvarna) was the top Pro-Am rider in seventh overall, with Babbitt’s Online Monster Energy Kawasaki’s JoJo Cunningham hot on his heels in eighth overall and second Pro-Am rider. Meanwhile, Cooper Jones (KTM) finished ninth overall and third in the Pro-Am Division.
Gavin Simon (Husqvarna) was the top Pro-Am rider in seventh overall.
DeLong never regained his pace after his crash on Saturday and finished 10th.
FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers rider Brandy Richards continued her undefeated streak in the Women’s Pro class ahead of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Korie Steede and Jocelyn Barnes by topping all 12 tests.
Brandy Richards also had a perfect record in the Women’s Pro division.
“This was different from the other races we’ve had this year,” said Richards. “Just because of the drastic differences between the Cross and the Enduro tests. The Cross test was tight and, as the race developed, you start getting braking bumps, so we would stiffen up the suspension for the Cross test and then soften it up for the Enduro test since it was so slippery. Once we started doing that, it was a lot easier.”
Korie Steede finished second on both Saturday and Sunday in the Pro Women class. Photo: Art Pepin
OVERALL
- Johnny Girroir (KTM)
- Liam Draper (Yam)
- Cody Barnes (Hon)
- Angus Riordan (KTM)
- Jason Tino (Hus)
- Dominick Morse (Hus)
- Gavin Simon (Hus)
- JoJo Cunningham (Kaw)
- Cooper Jones (KTM)
- Craig DeLong (Hus)
