Ashburn Wins the Battle, Girroir Wins the War
F
MF KTM Factory Racing's
Johnny Girroir came into
Mountaineer GNCC at Summit
Bechtel Reserve in Beckley, West
Virginia, September 15, with a
53-point lead in the title chase
over Red Bear Rocky Mountain
Kawasaki's Steward Baylor Jr
and a mathematical chance of
wrapping up the title with two
rounds remaining on the sched-
ule. In the end, Girroir succeed-
ed. However, Girroir's champion-
ship win and the race were not
without a lot of suspense and a
bit of chaos.
After making an unscheduled
pitstop for repairs, Girroir finished
12th overall, which was just
enough to crown him the 2024
Grand National Cross Country
Series Champion. Meanwhile,
Baylor suffered a DNF. Much of
the chaos was due to the rugged,
hard-packed and dusty track,
and those who persevered were
rewarded. That's off-road racing.
"It was hectic to say the least,
but it feels awesome," said
Girroir. "I was super consistent
all year and never missed the
podium until today with that
freak mechanical, so yeah, I had
a super consistent year. I put a
lot of hard work in and obviously
it paid off."
Meanwhile, Coastal Racing
GasGas' Jordan Ashburn rode a
flawless race, passing Phoenix
Honda Racing's Mike Witkowski
on the second lap and pulling
away to a 42-second margin of
victory at the finish ahead of Am
-
Pro Yamaha's Liam Draper, who
was making just his second start
in the XC1 class.
The chaos began from the
very start of the race, when Am
Pro Yamaha's Ricky Russell
went down in the first turn, and
then dropped the bike again in
turn three. Baylor was off to a
bad start, as well, rounding the
first turn in last. Midway into the
WIND
IN THE
P32
Johnny Girroir clinched
the 2024 GNCC
Championship two
rounds early at the
Mountaineer GNCC in
West Virginia.
PHOTOS: KEN HILL
