Shan Moore | May 26, 2023
Catch up on all the action in the latest Between The Arrows episode, which features highlights from the recent Wiseco John Penton GNCC in Millfield, Ohio.
Between the Arrows: 2023 Wiseco John Penton GNCC
GNCC Racing Round 7 Motorcycle Highlights
GNCC
Race report from May 23, 2023:
The unthinkable happened when a seventh new winner in the first seven rounds of the 2023 Grand National Cross-Country Series stood atop the middle step of the podium at this weekend’s John Penton GNCC in Millfield, Ohio, speaking to the depth of this year’s class. The final two laps of the race came down to a battle between Magna1 Racing Husqvarna’s Jordan Ashburn and Tely Energy Racing/ Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM Racing’s Steward Baylor with Ashburn, the defending champion, coming out the victor. Never has there been seven winners in the first seven rounds. With his second-place finish, Baylor took over the points lead in the series standings and will carry the white number plate at the next round in Pennsylvania.
The action heated up early as popping out of the John Penton section on lap one, AmPro Yamaha’s Ricky Russell led the way followed by FMF/KTM’s Johnny Girroir, Ashburn, Babbitt’s Online Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Josh Strang, and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong heading into the final third of the lap. Liam Draper led the XC2 250 Pro-Am class with Cody Barnes in second. Tely Energy Racing/ Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM Racing’s Steward Baylor followed but was on the move.
Ashburn moved into second on lap two when Girroir stopped in the pits to get water and he set his sights on the leader, Russell. In the meantime, series points leader FMF/KTM’s Ben Kelley, coming back from his leg injury, moved up to fourth ahead of Babbitt’s Online Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Josh Strang and Delong. After lap one, Russell led the way with Ashburn in second and Girroir and Kelley rounding out the top five.
By lap two, Ashburn had taken over the lead ahead of Russell with Steward Baylor moving up through the pack after running ninth in lap one, a considerable change from the previous lap. On adjusted time, however, XC2 250 Pro riders Cody Barnes and Liam Draper held the overall lead, but that would be short lived.
Baylor used a one-stop pit strategy and would lead at the two-lap board, but he and Ashburn would battle back and forth for the final two laps with Girroir in third, while Russell dropped off the pace.
On the final lap, Ashburn was able to pass Baylor in the John Penton section and he held the lead to the finish.
“It means so much,” said Ashburn. “This was where my first XC2 win was and last year we ended up winning the championship here. It’s just awesome. I’m at a loss for words right now. It was an absolutely epic day. Steward had the heat on me, and the pressure was insane. But I’m so pumped to get a win. All these guys are so fast right now. The level is just intense. It’s so difficult to be in the front all day here, but we got it done. I’m looking forward to hopefully getting another one before the year is out and land on the podium the rest of the races.”
Baylor led going into the final lap but lost the lead in the John Penton section when a spectator directed him to take the long way around a mudhole.
“It was a good day, all in all,” said Baylor. “I lost my rear brakes with two laps to go. It was gnarly. I ran over more stuff than I needed to just to get myself slowed down out there. It was one of those tracks where riding without rear brakes wasn’t crazy, but it definitely played an advantage in some of the stuff. Part of it. We train that every week and I’m prepared for it. We’ve got that white plate back and at the end, consistency is paying off. I felt like I rode a winning race again. I lost the lead on the last lap and I dug deep and rode as best as I could. I put a lot of pressure on Jordan and almost made the pass a couple times the last couple miles. I got pointed around the hillclimb by somebody. That gnarly Penton section, you see somebody pointing and you automatically just go that way. Just the first guy I picked up and went around and Ashburn made that pass. It was a way long line to go around.”
Johnny Girroir wrestled away the final podium spot, making passes on Strang and DeLong in the final miles of the course to do so.
“It feels great to finish on the podium here in Ohio,” said Girroir. “I made a few mistakes and really had to put the hammer down on the final lap to get by Strang. To be on the box is awesome, as we’re building momentum, which feels good. Getting closer to 100 percent, so I’m excited to keep moving forward and finishing out the championship strong.”
Strang, who won the last two John Penton races, was a strong fourth overall, only 1.6 seconds behind Girroir. Meanwhile, XC2 250 Pro rider Phoenix Honda Racing’s Cody Barnes was first in class with a fifth overall, battling down to the wire with AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper and winning by 1.07 seconds.
“Liam passed me with about a mile to go and then I passed and got him back three corners later,” said Barnes. “So, it was less than a mile. It was a hard-fought day, but it was a good day for me. We got a decent start and kind of just tagged along with those front guys. The Penton section was gnarly and there were a couple people that made mistakes and stuff. I kind of just tag-teamed with Liam the whole day. He would make a mistake and then I would get in the lead, and then I would make a mistake and he would get in the lead. Me and him just kind of went back and forth. Then last lap, it was a dogfight between me and him. It was gnarly.
Draper came home in sixth overall and second XC2 250 Pro rider.
Seventh overall and fifth XC1 rider was DeLong. “It was a mediocre day here in Ohio, nothing overly special,” said DeLong. “I sat in the midfield for most of the day, then made a good charge to third on the last lap. It felt good that I was charging, but I just ended up stuck on the hill at the end and lost touch with those other guys. I’m disappointed with the end result, as I was feeling strong at that stage of the race, but we’ll regroup and be ready for the next round.”
DeLong is now second in series standings, 10 points behind Baylor (148-138), with Kelley another nine points back (129).
Babbitt’s Online Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Grant Baylor was eighth overall, ahead of XC2 250 Pro riders Phoenix Racing Honda’s Mike Witkowski (class winner of the last round) and RPM Racing KTM’s Angus Riordan.
Kelley, the points leader heading into the event, started off strong in third, before getting stuck in the hills and losing a considerable amount of time. He worked his way back up to the leaders twice, before an issue signaled the end of his run toward the front, leaving him with 33rd overall and eighth in the XC1 class.
“Tough day,” said Kelley. “I felt super comfortable all day, just a couple of big mistakes cost me where I lost a lot of time, especially getting stuck on a couple of those hills. I charged back to the leaders twice, then ran into some difficulties, which put us at the back. Rough day, but it is what it is.”
AmPro Yamaha’s Rachael Archer took the win in the WXC class by 17 seconds over Trail Jesters Racing KTM’s Korie Steede. Raines Racing Yamaha’s Prestin Raines was third.
In the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class, Dakota Devore (KTM) took a 19-second win over Beta USA’s Jason Lipscomb with class points leader Toby Cleveland (Husqvarna) in third. CN
OVERALL
- Jordan Ashburn (Hus)
- Steward Baylor (KTM)
- Johnny Girroir (KTM)
- Josh Strang (Kaw)
- Cody Barnes (Hon)
- Liam Draper (Yam)
- Craig DeLong (Hus)
- Grant Baylor (Kaw)
- Mike Witkowski (Hon)
- Angus Riordan (KTM)