Cycle News

Cycle News 2024 Issue 50 December 17

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/1530649

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 76 of 213

him and his brother to local and regional races until Johnny found sponsors and was old enough to travel on his own. But his rise to the top was not without struggles. "I started out racing moto - cross at Southwick, Maine, New England, New Hampshire, all over, before getting into off-road," Girroir said. "My dad raced a little bit with me and my brother. A little bit of motocross, but he was more into off-road, while me and my brother were more into motocross, like 65s and 85s. We raced a lot of motocross in different regional series. P76 INTERVIEW I 2024 GNCC & U.S. SPRINT ENDURO CHAMPION JOHNNY GIRROIR sprint series, winning all eight rounds (16 separate day-wins), plus all three days of the Sprint Enduro World Championships. And we can't forget that Johnny was also a member of last year's winning U.S. World Trophy Team in Argentina in 2023. For Johnny, it all started as many dirt bike careers start, with a Yamaha PW 50. Geogra - phy might have played a part in Johnny's enthusiasm for racing at an early age since he grew up in Southwick, Massachusetts, just about a mile from The Wick 338 (aka Southwick) motocross track, where, as a young teenag - er, he watched names like Car- michael, Stewart, Dungey and the like do battle in the sand. Johnny's father rode dirt bikes throughout his life, although in his youth, his mother wouldn't let him race until he was 19 and had a job so he could buy his own bike. This is probably the reason the Sr. Girroir started Johnny at a young age, taking "It's good to practice both moto and off-road. It's good to go in the woods a little bit for technical stuff, and it's good for sprint speed to ride moto. I think they translate very well." Girroir's specialty is going fast! Real fast.

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Cycle News - Cycle News 2024 Issue 50 December 17