Cycle News Staff | November 12, 2024
FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Johnny Girroir completed a clean sweep of the 2024 AMA U.S. Sprint Enduro Series, winning all eight rounds on the eight-round schedule, after winning both days of competition at this weekend’s double points-paying season finale at Roger’s Farm Sprint Enduro in Ninety Six, South Carolina, November 9-10.
Johnny Girroir was the overall winner at the AMA U.S. Sprint Enduro final in South Carolina, completing the sweep of the series.
Photos: Shan Moore
Girroir set the tone for Saturday’s round by winning the first cross test of the day by a seven-second margin over Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Racing’s Craig DeLong. Fellow Husqvarna riders Toby Cleveland and Jason Tino, both Pro 2 riders, were third and fourth. Meanwhile, AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper rounded out the top five ahead of FMF KTM Factory Racing Lander’s Angus Riordan.
Despite his disappointing ride in the opening test of the day, which was 10 seconds adrift of Girroir, Draper was able to move up into second behind Girroir with a solid win in the second test, which was the first enduro test of the day.
At the end of the day, Girroir and Draper each won three of the six tests, although Girroir had the advantage in overall time, winning the day by 10 seconds over Draper, thanks to Draper’s off performance in test one.
“For some reason, I struggled with arm pump in the first test, and that’s not like me; I rarely do that,” said Draper. “That might have cost me the win today, because Johnny beat me out at the end of the day by 10 seconds.”
Bell’s Electric Toby Cleveland (Husqvarna) surprised the field by finishing third for the day and first in the Pro 2 class, beating out Husqvarna-mounted Jason Tino by just over a second in one of the best battles of the day.
Liam Draper was second overall.
DeLong rounded out the top five, followed by Babbitt’s Online Monster Energy Kawasaki’s JoJo Cunningham, who finished sixth, which also made him the top Pro-Am rider for the day.
Girroir rode with cautious determination on Sunday, knowing his streak was on the line. At the end of the day, Girroir won five of the six tests to claim Sunday’s win, with Draper taking a lone victory in the final enduro test for second on the day.
Cleveland also continued his battle with Tino, topping the New Jersey rider by a margin of 4.5 seconds for third on the day.
“I was making my time up in the cross test to kind of keep the gap between us,” said Cleveland. “I’ve been out in Illinois training, and I’ve been doing different stuff, like I would actually do cycling and running instead of just riding, so I’ve been kind of spacing my riding out more and I feel better every time.”
Riordan snuck in for fifth, while Cunningham won the Pro-Am class again with a sixth overall finish.
In all, Girroir won eight of 12 tests during the two-day event, with Draper accounting for the remaining four wins.
Toby Cleveland was third overall and first in the Pro 2 class.
In the overall standings, Girroir took the overall win with a total elapsed time of 1:12:23.390 seconds, followed by Draper in second at 1:12:52.642 seconds. Third overall went to Cleveland (1:13.34.472), while Tino pushed Cleveland all weekend but came up just short with a total time of 1:13:42.086. Meanwhile, DeLong (1:14:09.397) finished out the top five.
After the race, Girroir commented on winning all eight rounds. “I had a great year and I’m pretty stoked about it,” said Girroir. “Yesterday was kind of tight, Liam is running well and he gave me a run on Saturday. I had a lead over Liam all day, and then today, I had some really good tests, and the last test, I just kind of cruised. I didn’t have to do anything special, but I didn’t want to do anything stupid. So, it feels great to sweep the series. It’s been a good year.”
In addition to his third overall finish, Cleveland topped the Pro 2 class, with Tino and Riordan in second and third overall in the class.
JoJo Cunningham and Cooper Jones had a great battle for the top spot in the Pro-Am class, with Cunningham taking the class overall win ahead of Jones and Michael Delosa.
The top Amateur for the weekend was Tyler DiBartolo, who won the Open A class.
Brandy Richards also completed an undefeated season in the Women’s Pro class.
FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers’ rider Brandy Richards continued her undefeated streak in the Women’s Pro class by defeating Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki’s Rachael Archer on both days.
“It was a great time out there,” said Richards. “I’m stoked Rachael came out, it’s always good to have some competition out here and this was honestly one of my favorite rounds. The cross test flowed super good, and the dirt was perfect. The enduro test was kind of flowy and then also tight and you had to know where you were going and line choice and stuff, but I had a great time all weekend.” CN
OVERALL
- Johnny Girroir (KTM)
- Liam Draper (Yam)
- Toby Cleveland (Hus)
- Jason Tino (Hus)
- Craig DeLong (Hus)
- JoJo Cunningham (Kaw)
- Angus Riordan (KTM)
- Cooper Jones (KTM)
- Tyler DiBartolo (Hon)
- Michael Delosa (Yam)
