Shan Moore | June 27, 2022
After crossing the finish line first at the Snowshoe GNCC at Snowshoe Mountain Resort, June 26, Jordan Ashburn had to wait 25 agonizing seconds to learn if he had won this year’s race.
Steward Baylor started the race on row five (since he had missed several races after breaking a vertebra in his neck at the opening round of the series in March), and the AmPro Yamaha rider still had a chance for the win after the time difference was adjusted. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, it was confirmed—Ashburn had taken his first-ever GNCC overall win.
“I’ve come up short so many times before,” said Ashburn.
Indeed, the Magna1 Motorsports/Husqvarna rider has been so close many times, even losing one race last year in the final three turns. But this day, Ashburn was in his element and got the job done. Ashburn was comfortable in the technical and slippery rocks of Snowshoe Mountain Resort, which had been made even more treacherous from off-and-on rain all weekend, and his consistency and determination paid off.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Ashburn. “This is my 10th year in XC1. We really put it together this year and just been clicking off podiums. We’ve been close so many times. It just feels so good to get it, especially at this venue. Conditions were unreal and really technical and slick, and I knew if I rode the way I could, I could be in the front of the pack and that’s what we did today.”
Jordan Ashburn finally claimed his first XC-1 victory. Photos: Ken Hill
With the win, Ashburn passed Ben Kelley for the series points lead in the overall championship heading into the summer break.
“It’s so unfortunate for Ben to get hurt like he did earlier in the year,” said Ashburn. “But we knew what we could do. These last four races we just knew we needed to be on the podium. Coming in today, I needed a first or a second to take the points lead going into the rest of the season. It feels so good to get the win and do that.”
Ricky Russell had the lead going into the sixth and final lap of the race and looked to have the win locked up, but he crashed and then came together with Ashburn on the infamous Power Point Hill. It was Ashburn who got away first, allowing the Tennessee rider to take the win.
Russell had also led early in the race, holding the lead spot from lap one until the halfway mark on lap three when his team decided to do a rear tire change. He and FMF/KTM’s Josh Toth were one of the few riders to select soft “gummy” tires due to the conditions, and the Coastal Racing team made the call to change tires when they saw Russell’s knobs were considerably worn, while Toth’s team did not. The move allowed Toth to take the lead, which he held until lap five. The gamble didn’t pay off, however, and Toth dropped off the pace when his rear tire deteriorated to the point that he had to ride back to the pits on a fire road to get a new tire just to finish the race.
Ricky Russell led most of the race but eventually finished second.
“I felt really strong on the bike and was leading but right about halfway into the race, I could feel my rear tire deteriorate really badly,” said Toth. “It just happened pretty quick and once I got to the muddy side of the mountain it was really hard to get back up the hill. I wasn’t sure if I was even going to be able to make it back up to the pits.”
Toth ended up 15th overall and seventh in the XC1 class.
Russell’s pit stop may have cost him 30 extra seconds, but it ended up being the right decision and allowed him to finish second overall.
“We practiced changing rear wheels quite a bit before the race,” said Russell. “We only lost 30 seconds, and on a track like this, that’s easy to make up when you have good rubber. When I caught up to Toth, I knew he was struggling with some of the hills. So, that was huge.”
Ashburn and team were visibly elated.
“I felt like I had this one,” said Russell. “That last lap I just made stupid mistakes and fell and couldn’t hold on anymore. My hands were just slipping off the bars. We were on one clay hill paddling up it and me and Jordan collided. I was stuck on top of him. I got off of him but fell down the other side and he took off. From there. I had to recover. I was kind of smoked just from paddling and struggling with the wet hands. Unfortunately, I let it slip away.”
Johnny Girror returned to racing, winning XC-2 and finishing third overall.
Coastal Racing GasGas’ Johnny Girroir was making his first GNCC start since breaking his pelvis in March, and turned in an impressive ride, moving up from a sixth-row start and passing Steward Baylor and Craig DeLong on Power Point Hill to finish third overall. Girroir was also the top-finishing XC2 250 Pro class rider.
Despite starting on row five, AmPro Yamaha’s Steward Baylor managed a credible fourth overall on adjusted time.
XC-1 Podium
“I think there were a lot of places I gave up a lot of time, just not having people in the right places to show me the good lines,” said Baylor. “I was never able to get up to those front guys, and that’s tough. It’s almost essentially like you’re riding a different track, even though the line they were taking may just be three feet over, just little lines here and there picking up with that lead group. I put my head down and tried to make a charge there mid-race.”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong grabbed the holeshot to start the race and ran second for a while, before dropping to third. On the final lap, DeLong gave way to Girroir and Steward to finish fifth overall.
XC-2 Podium
REV Motorsports GasGas’ Grant Baylor worked his way up from ninth on the first lap to grab sixth.
Phoenix Honda Racing teammates Ruy Barbosa and Cody Barnes were seventh and eighth overall, respectively. The two were second and third in the XC2 250 Pro class.
Coastal Racing GasGas’ Ryder Lafferty finished ninth overall and fourth XC2, while Benjamin Herrera (Kawasaki), of Chile, rounded out the top 10 and was fifth in XC2.
AmPro Yamaha’s Rachael Archer took the win in the WXC class ahead of KTM’s Brandy Richards with Trail Jesters Racing KTM’s Korie Steede in third.
Rachel Archer won the WXC division as the rain came down.
“The track was super rough and I was just trying to get a flow going and find the good lines,” said Archer. “After that I started flowing and built a good lead, but I crashed on the last lap three times and Korie was right behind me, but luckily I was able to get going each time and stay ahead.”
Magna1 Motorsports/Husqvarna’s Brody Johnson claimed his sixth win of the season, topping XC/Moose Racing/XC Gear’s Zack Hayes and Beta’s Jason Lipscomb for the win in the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class.
WXC Podium
OVERALL RESULTS
- Jordan Ashburn (Hus)
- Ricky Russell (GG)
- Johnny Girroir (GG) XC2 250
- Steward Baylor (Yam)
- Craig DeLong (Hus)
- Grant Baylor (GG)
- Ruy Barbosa (Hon) XC2 250
- Cody Barnes (Hon) XC2 250
- Ryder Lafferty (GG) XC2 250
- Ben Herrera (Kaw) XC2 250
