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
P82 INTERVIEW I 2024 GNCC & U.S. SPRINT ENDURO CHAMPION JOHNNY GIRROIR take two different types of tech- niques. You're definitely riding on the edge in a sprint race." Kailub Russell, the most dominant figure in all of GNCC racing, once described sprint racing as "10 minutes of white- knuckling it." Girroir talked about his thoughts on the two forms of racing. "The lines are just different in GNCC; you're just trying to save energy and go anywhere as smooth as you can; you're just trying to make it the fastest if it's the rough line or the smooth line," said Girroir. "At the sprint races, you have to be more pre - cise with hitting your marks and riding a smart line. "Some races at GNCC, I feel that some people get up front and just cruise, but at other races, it's full bore from the start. I feel it depends on the track or how I'm feeling, how other people are feeling, or who gets the holeshot, or it depends on what rider is out front. There are certain riders that will just sprint right off the get-go, and there are certain riders that hold people up and trail ride. I think they're all different depending on who's up front. And the tracks have been tougher to pass on this year, too, with all the white string. There's a big difference in line selection between the two. On a grass, you pretty much have to use a little bit different technique." U.S. ISDE Team Manager Antti Kallonen utilizes the sprint series to prepare his team riders for ISDE competition. Johnny wasn't exactly keen on riding the event his first year in 2023, but now he is looking forward to the 2025 event." "Argentina was something that wasn't even on my mind," said Girroir. "I was a little bit out of place; it was just my second time in the desert, but it turned out to be a special accomplishment, and I enjoyed it. I got fifth overall individually, so it was cool to be on the winning team and finish where I did. We got second this year, and I was 12th indi - "Some races at GNCC, I feel that some people get up front and just cruise, but at other races, it's full bore from the start."