2021 The Mountaineer GNCC Results

Shan Moore | September 13, 2021

With just three rounds remaining in the 2021 season, this year’s Grand National Cross Country Series Championship chase is going to be a nail-biter.

After missing the opening round due to injury, AmPro Yamaha’s Steward Baylor slowly clawed his way back into championship contention and tightened the points race this weekend by claiming his sixth win in 10 rounds at the Mountaineer GNCC at Summit Bechtel Reserve in Beckley, West Virginia, as the series returned from its usual summer break.

Baylor came into the West Virginia round sitting nine points behind FMF/KTM’s Ben Kelley, but with the win has pulled to just four points out of the lead.

2021 The Mountaineer GNCC Results Steward Baylor — GNCC racing returned after the summer break, and Steward Baylor came away with the win at The Mountaineer GNCC in West Virginia, putting himself in strong contention for the championship with three races left. Photos: Ken Hill

Baylor dominated the tough and technical race, taking the lead midway into the opening lap and pulling away to a 1:17.4-second lead at the finish.

“I really like this course because of how technical it is—it’s like Snowshoe,” said Baylor. “I got off to a mediocre start, but I bullied my way through and was able to get up front pretty quick. From there, I just kind of paid attention to the pit boards and maintained my lead. The track was demanding. You could push on it, but you could push too far. So, there was a lot of times I found myself saying, ‘slow down, get a breath, attack this next section.’ That’s what we did. We just controlled the race.”

Jordan Ashburn, who claimed the holeshot to start the race, ran in second behind Baylor for most of the three-hour race. The Magna1 Motorsports/Husqvarna rider appeared to have the runner-up slot all nailed down when Kelley caught him in the final stretch and made a bold pass to snatch second away at the finish, preserving his point lead. Had Kelley finished third it would have handed the points lead to Baylor.

“Literally, I caught him a quarter mile from the finish,” said Kelley. “I took an outside line to try to pass him, and we jumped into each other and slammed, but then he stayed ahead. Then I had no front brake because my rotor hit his bars. You really need that front brake out there, but I was going for it. I was able to roll through the last bit of woods and square him up on a different line and just take his line away coming into the finish. I was determined to get second.”

Ashburn was visibly upset at losing second so close to the finish, but maintained a solid grip on third overall in the series with his finish.

“We got out front and led about half the first lap, but then Stew got around me and he was cooking. I just tried to latch onto him for I guess four laps,” said Ashburn. “That last lap, I think I had a minute on Ben. In the last hard section back there, I didn’t end up making the hill and lost some time, and he kind of closed up real close and then it was a battle. I was pretty gassed after I didn’t make it and had to flip around. He got me right here before the finish, just a split line choice. I gave it all I had.”

FMF/KTM’s Josh Toth pushed Kelley for the last half of the race, crossing the finish less than a minute behind in fourth.

“I kind of struggled, honestly, to make passes early in the race,” said Toth. “Midway into the race I was able to grab another gear in this one gnarly rock garden and pass, I think, three riders. And then didn’t hear anybody for another good bit, but then out of nowhere, Ben dove in on me and I made a mistake. I latched right on and we picked our way back up through another couple guys, I think. It was kind of cat and mouse with him all day, pushing him along.”

Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Thad Duvall improved on a spotty year with a solid fifth-place finish, crossing the line some three minutes behind Toth.

Coastal Racing GasGas’ Johnny Girroir was the first of the XC2 250 Pro class riders, winning the class with a sixth-overall finish, despite nailing a tree in the FMF Power Point section of the course.

2021 The Mountaineer GNCC Results Jonathan Girroir — **Jonathan Girroir won the XC2 250 Pro class for the sixth time this season.**

Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Craig DeLong led the XC2 250 Pro class early after grabbing the holeshot, as he and AmPro Yamaha’s Mike Witkowski battled with Girroir over the class win.

DeLong finished second in the class and seventh overall, while Witkowski finished eighth overall and third in the XC2 250 Pro class.

“Definitely a rough year for me in general, just dealing with a lot of things,” said Witkowski. “I needed this ride so bad. I worked really hard after I got everything sorted with my body for a solid month before this race. So, I’m just honestly so blessed to be up here and see all the hard work and just everything come into action.”

Phoenix Honda’s Ruy Barbosa was ninth overall, while Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Trevor Bollinger rounded out the top 10.

Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Team Green Kawasaki’s Josh Strang crashed early and damaged a radiator, making just four of the six laps.

Coastal Racing GasGas’ Ricky Russell missed the race due to Covid protocols.

KLM/GasGas’ Grant Baylor also skipped the race due to injury.

Jonathan Johnson (Magna1 Motorsports/Husqvarna) claimed his eighth win of the season in the FMF XC3 125cc Pro-Am class, finishing over four minutes ahead of Chase Colville (Yamaha), with Jason Lipscomb (KTM) in third.

AmPro Yamaha’s Rachael Archer ran away with the XCW class, taking a dominating win over Babs Racing Yamaha/Fly/Maxxis/Pro Circuit’s Becca Sheets.

Archer led from the second turn of the race and finished with over five minutes to spare at the finish.

2021 The Mountaineer GNCC Results Rachael Archer — **Rachel Archer ran away with the Women’s Pro class.**

“I was third around the first corner and Kori and McKenzie went real wide and I got into the lead,” said Archer. “Then rode by myself the whole race, basically. I had a 35-second lead on the first lap. Then this last section from the eight to the ten, I pulled another minute and just kept making the gap bigger and bigger and managed to win by five minutes. I think I was riding a bit better in the really technical rocky sections. I had a couple of run-ins with a lapper, but other than that, I had a perfect race.”

Sheets finished second with Enduro Engineering/Fly Racing KTM’s Mackenzie Tricker in third.