Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1471824
Russell's last GNCC win was at Snowshoe in 2017. "I felt like I had this one," said Russell. "That last lap I just made stupid mistakes and fell and couldn't hold on anymore. My hands were just slipping off the bars. We were on one clay hill paddling up it and me and Jordan collided. I was stuck on top of him. I got off of him but fell down the other side and he took off. From there. I had to recover. I was kind of smoked just from paddling and struggling with the wet hands. Unfortunately, I let it slip away." Coastal Racing GasGas' Johnny Girroir was making his first GNCC start since breaking his pelvis in March, and turned in an impressive ride, moving up from a sixth-row start and passing Steward Baylor and Craig DeLong on Power Point Hill to finish third overall. Girroir was also the top- finishing XC2 250 Pro class rider. Despite starting on row five, AmPro Yamaha's Steward Baylor managed a credible fourth overall on adjusted time. "I think there were a lot of places I gave up a lot of time, just not having people in the right places to show me the good lines," said Baylor. "I was never able to get up to those front guys, and that's tough. It's almost essentially like you're riding a different track, even though the line they were taking may just be three feet over, just little lines here and there picking up with that lead group. I put my head down and tried to make a charge there mid-race." Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's Craig DeLong grabbed the holeshot to start the race and ran second for a while, before drop- ping to third. On the final lap, DeLong gave way to Girroir and Steward to finish fifth overall. REV Motorsports GasGas' Grant Baylor worked his way up from ninth on the first lap to grab sixth. Phoenix Honda Racing team- mates Ruy Barbosa and Cody Barnes were seventh and eighth overall, respectively. The two were second and third in the XC2 250 Pro class. Coastal Racing GasGas' Ryder Lafferty finished ninth overall and fourth XC2, while Benjamin Her- rera (Kawasaki), of Chile, rounded out the top 10 and was fifth in XC2. AmPro Yamaha's Rachael Archer took the win in the WXC class ahead of KTM's Brandy Richards with Trail Jesters Rac- ing KTM's Korie Steede in third. "The track was super rough and I was just trying to get a flow going and find the good lines," said Archer. "After that I started flowing and built a good lead, but I crashed on the last lap three times and Korie was right behind me, but luckily I was able to get going each time and stay ahead." Magna1 Motorsports/Husqvar- na's Brody Johnson claimed his sixth win of the season, topping XC/Moose Racing/XC Gear's Zack Hayes and Beta's Jason Lipscomb for the win in the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class. Shan Moore OVERALL 1. Jordan Ashburn (Hus) 2. Ricky Russell (GG) 3. Johnny Girroir (GG) XC2 250 4. Steward Baylor (Yam) 5. Craig DeLong (Hus) 6. Grant Baylor (GG) 7. Ruy Barbosa (Hon) XC2 250 8. Cody Barnes (Hon) XC2 250 9. Ryder Lafferty (GG) XC2 250 10. Ben Herrera (Kaw) XC2 250 IN THE WIND P26 Rachael Archer topped the Women's Pro class.