Shan Moore | February 14, 2022
Just when Coastal Racing GasGas’ Johnny Girroir appeared to be running away with the 2022 U.S. Sprint Enduro Series, AmPro Yamaha’s Layne Michael caught fire and put an end to the New Jersey rider’s short three-day win steak.
After winning both days of the series opener in Sellers, South Carolina, in January, it was business as usual for Girroir, who was en route to a 17-second win on day one at the South of the Border MX complex in Hamer, South Carolina. However, Michael found a way to match Girroir’s speed on Sunday and ripped the win out from under him, coming from behind to beat the 2021 Pro 2 Champion, Girroir, by a mere three seconds.
Girroir, however, still managed the overall victory on combined elapsed time, but Michael had served notice that there is a championship battle to come.
Three hundred riders (221 adult and 79 youth riders) enjoyed excellent conditions on both days of the race, which also doubled as an ISDE Qualifier, with 21 Letter of Intent (LOI) riders signed up.
Girroir won two of the six tests on Saturday, as did Michael. But a mishap by Michael in the first enduro test left him playing catch up for the rest of the day.
Pro 2 rider Cody Barnes wedged his way between the top two pros by winning the final cross test of the day outright on his Phoenix Honda, in addition to winning all six tests in the Pro 2 division.
At the end of Saturday’s event, Girroir finished on top of the time sheets for the win with Barnes in second and Michael in third.
Girroir opened with wins in the first two tests on Sunday; however, Michael started to match Girroir’s pace starting with the second set of tests, although it was Barnes getting another test win in the second cross test.
After trading wins in the next few tests, Michael entered the sixth and final test of the day leading Girroir by a mere 10th of a second. After turning in one of his best performances of the day, Michael emerged from the final test with the fastest time and Sunday’s win.
Girroir posted the second-fastest time in the test and was second on the day, but his 1-2 performance earned him first overall for the weekend.
“Today, I started off firing out of the gate with the first two tests and got a comfy lead, then it was a battle from there,” said Girroir. “Everyone’s really close. Layne is riding really good, and Cody Barnes is riding really good from the Pro 2 class. So, it’s been good competition. I had the lead over Layne by just a second or two the whole day, and then that last one he took it away from me. Layne rode good all day today and he got the win for the day by just about three seconds on me. I got the overall for the weekend, so it was good. Good racing. It’s going to be a good season.”
Michael was pleased at having turned the page on the season. “I was able to squeeze out the win there in the last test,” said Michael. “Obviously, we didn’t get the overall win, but to at least split days with Johnny was a huge step in the right direction. Yesterday was a bit disappointing, but today I felt really good. I knew I had to try to start limiting the damage. He’s won every day so far, until today. Yesterday, I had a fall in the first enduro test and kind of lost the majority of that time, but it was still 17 seconds. Today we were pretty even. I was able to nip him a couple times and on that last test I think it was the furthest gap we had all day. It was a good weekend for me. It’s definitely going to be an exciting year with Johnny and I going at it. It’s good to stop some bleeding and carry this momentum into the next one.”
Barnes was third overall for the weekend with a 2-3 performance and first in the Pro 2 class with a class win on each day. In addition to his two outright test wins, Barnes also won all 12 tests in the Pro 2 class.
“I kind of struggled a little bit in the first cross test. It was really hard-packed and slick, but I kind of got a good feel for it and ended up winning one of the next two,” said Barnes. “The enduro test was challenging. There were a lot of tree roots, a lot of chop, so you had to ride smart and not make a lot of mistakes. I was able to do that and have some really good times. Overall, it was a really good weekend. I didn’t crash and I’m really happy with how my bike is working.”
FMF/KTM’s Josh Toth won the final enduro test on Saturday and came away with fourth overall (third Pro rider) for the weekend, despite a huge mistake in the first test on Saturday that cost him considerable time.
“I just started off on the wrong foot,” said Toth. “Nothing serious, but just jumped off the track and got in the soft stuff and went down. Just lost a ton of time, and here there’s really no time to make it up. The racing is so tight and there are so many guys riding really good here. I just need to get back up to the sprint speed and I got some good seat time here.”
Seven-Sixty Husqvarna’s Thorn Devlin topped all of the LOI riders and finished second in the Pro 2 division with a fifth-overall finish.
Devlin was all set to compete in the 2019 Six Days in Portugal, but a crash two weeks before the event kept him from competing.
“In 2019, I qualified for my first ISDE,” said Devlin. “I did the whole nine yards, I qualified, I paid the whole thing, and the bike was already over there. Two weeks before, I crashed, and it put me out of my Six Days. So, I went there and watched. Since then, I’ve been bugging to get back. I’ve got a good bike. I’ve got a team behind me who wants to go to Six Days. So, I’m hoping I can make it this year.”
Tely Racing KTM’s Liam Draper, who is still recovering from knee surgery, went 8-7 for the two days and finished sixth overall.
AmPro Yamaha’s Mike Witkowski, also an LOI rider, finished third in the Pro 2 class and seventh overall, despite being out of his comfort zone.
“This was definitely a big learning experience,” said Witkowski. “I don’t really do these sprint enduros, but honestly I kind of told myself this year I’d do the stuff I’m uncomfortable with or not so good at. I think it was a positive for myself and just a big learning thing. Hopefully, I can make the ISDE team, the junior team, this year and go over there and really experience that. That’s why I’m here today, really.”
Trail Jesters Racing KTM’s Mason Semmens ran as high as second in the Pro 2 division, but a crash in the final test that injured his collar bone knocked him down to fourth in the Pro 2 class and eighth overall.
“I had really good tests right up to this last one, but for some reason, I don’t know, I had one decent crash and I got up from that and I was still moving along,” said Semmens. “I was a little bit dazzled, and then I hit a tree. I’ve done a little bit of damage, but just hit my head a little bit and my shoulder and things like that. So, we’ll get fixed up and we’ll come back.”
RPM Racing KTM’s Angus Riordan finished fifth in Pro 2 and ninth overall just eight seconds behind Semmens.
Boston, Massachusetts rider Bubz Tasha (KTM) was 10th overall and top Pro-Am rider. Tasha built a 22-second lead on Saturday and then just held on for the class win on Sunday.
Tayla Jones won the Women’s Pro class. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider has won every test so far this year.
“It ended up being a good weekend in the end,” said Jones. “My shoulder wasn’t great coming into this round, so we didn’t know how it would hold up. But I had some good tests, a few crashes here and there, but overall, I had a good weekend. The tracks are fun and we got the win.”
Trail Jesters Racing KTM’s Kori Steede was second overall, with FXR Racing KTM’s Shelby Turner in third. CN
- Johnny Girroir (GG)
- Layne Michael (Yam)
- Cody Barnes (Hon) Pro 2
- Josh Toth (KTM)
- Thorn Devlin (Hus) Pro 2
- Liam Draper (KTM)
- Mike Witkowski (Yam) Pro 2
- Mason Semmens (KTM) Pro 2
- Angus Riordan (KTM) Pro 2
- Bubz Tasha (KTM) Pro-Am