than anybody out there. The guys
in the pits told me I was running
about half a minute faster lap
times than the leaders. So, I knew
I was just on it and feeling good
out there. Just needed a better
start to get up there and run with
these top guys."
Ashburn held onto Grant's rear
fender to finish fourth overall,
with Smith staying in the mix
with a fifth.
Sixth overall went to Team
Landers KTM's Angus Riordan,
who also took first in the XC2
250 Pro class, although AmPro
Yamaha's Liam Draper spotted
the class two full turns when his
bike wouldn't start and had to
be bump-started. Draper later
caught up and passed Riordan
for first in the class, but on the
final lap, Riordan was able to
wrestle back the lead and take
the class win and sixth overall.
"I'm stoked," said Riordan.
"The bike is like a dream to ride.
My mechanic did an unreal job.
I hopped on it yesterday for the
first time, and I was like, I just
want to sit on this thing all day. It
felt that good.
"I think I was about a third-,
fourth-place start, and then I was
able to make the lead halfway
around. Then, I went all the way
up until the fuel stop, and then
me and Liam kept swapping
leads all the way until about two
miles to go. Then the last lap, I
was able to get a pass to stick
and brought her in."
Draper was seventh overall
and second XC2 250 Pro class,
while Ricky Russell managed to
salvage eighth overall, despite
his crash.
Team Landers KTM's Grant
Davis was third in the XC2 250 Pro
class and ninth overall, with Rock
-
star Energy Husqvarna's Trevor
Bollinger
rounding out the top 10.
Bollinger said, "I actually got
off to a good start, but a couple
of turns in, I came together with
somebody and that pretty much
set the tone for my day. I felt good
on the bike; it was working well,
and once I moved forward, luckily,
I was able to get pretty much the
ROUND 1 / FEBRUARY 18, 2024
BIG BUCK FARM / UNION, SOUTH CAROLINA
OFF-ROAD I THE PROGRESSIVE GRAND NATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY SERIES, PRESENTED BY SPECIALIZED
P54
Angus Riordan was the XC2
Pro winner and sixth overall.
