When the green flag dropped,
Draper took the early lead, fol-
lowed by Girroir, Ashburn and
defending champion Rockstar En-
ergy Husqvarna's Craig DeLong.
Girroir blasted around the
outside of Draper to take the lead
on lap two and physically led the
event until the finish, although he
was aware that the XC2 riders
were on the move and that FMF
KTM Factory Racing Team Land
-
ers' teammates Gus Riordan and
Davis were ahead of him on time.
The final lap was thrilling, as
Draper closed to Girroir's rear
fender and attempted a pass, but
Girroir held him off and crossed
the finish line 6.5-seconds ahead
of the Yamaha rider, as the two
waited at the finish area to see if
they gained on the top XC2 riders.
When Davis crossed the finish,
the electronic scoring showed
that he had indeed won the over
-
all by two seconds, with Girroir
second and Draper third.
Davis' win was not as easy
as it looked. "I actually came
into this race with a third-degree
separation and a pinched nerve
in my shoulder," said Davis. "I
was struggling the last two laps;
I couldn't even hang on, and I just
kept falling over, and I was like,
'You got to be kidding me,' but
I kept getting pit boards saying
I was right there, but I was so
squirrely those last couple of
sections. I had no rear brakes
the whole race, and then I was
definitely on the edge."
Girroir had a few problems on
the final lap that cost him valu
-
able time. "I got a good holeshot,
second place behind Draper and
we were just cruising," said Gir
-
roir. "I had some pressure from
Ashburn, but I was able to ride
out front. With two laps to go,
I found myself first overall and
then I guess made a couple mis-
takes that last lap. I got sweat
in my goggles and I had to rip
them off, and I kind of squirreled
on that last lap, almost falling.
But no excuses, Grant Davis rode
sick, but I gave it all I had out
there, so it was a good day."
Draper has been riding the
450 in the U.S. Sprint Series and
matching some of Girroir's times,
but this was his first ride in the
XC1 class at a GNCC.
"It's pretty cool to be on the
WIND
IN THE
P60
Johnny Girroir was
first across the finish
line but missed out
on the overall win by
just a few seconds on
adjusted time. He still
won the XC1 class
and extended his
points lead.
KTM's Brandy Richards won
the WXC class for the third
time this season.
