Shan Moore | February 19, 2024
There couldn’t have been more anticipation preceding the start of this year’s Big Buck GNCC, the opening round of the Grand National Cross-Country Series, in Union, South Carolina, February 17-18. New bikes, new teams, and riders on new teams—the atmosphere was electric. There were eight different winners during last year’s series, and this year’s series looks to be just as competitive and exciting.
Photography by Ken Hill
In the end, positions second through 10th were tight battles. However, leading from just a few miles after the start until the finish was FMF/Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jonathan Girroir, who put on a spectacular display of riding, taking the win by 11 seconds ahead of Steward Baylor, who worked his way up from a poor start to move into view of Girroir at the finish.
“I feel awesome,” said Girroir. “That was great. I felt good the whole race. Couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Girroir was injured at the start of last year but came into this year healthy and ready to go.
“Yeah, I felt good,” added Girroir. “I went to ISDE after the season was over and didn’t have much of an off-season. I was right back down in Florida. I kind of never skipped a beat this off-season. I guess it shows and paid off. I feel good for this season. I love Florida. Sand whoops are next, so let’s get it.
“I felt good right from the start,” the winner said. “I kind of just maintained the gap at the front; I was hitting my marks from start to finish, didn’t make many mistakes, and it was a good race. I learned a lot last year and have been working hard with the team, learning when to go fast and when to back it down, which paid off today. I feel fit and strong, had a really good off-season, so I’m excited to keep this going.”
Most of the pre-race hype centered around Steward Baylor and his new team, Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki. Steward appears due for a championship and has missed out on a few due to bad luck and other difficulties. At Big Buck, Steward got off to a poor start but was able to work his way within sight of the winner, Girroir, by the finish. Steward was up to second by lap three but lost two places during a slow gas stop.
“I made it tough on myself,” said Steward. “My bad start didn’t do me any favors. Mid-part of the race, I kind of took a little breather, and then we had the slow pit stop. Basically, I was wanting to make that charge after the pits. I knew I needed a lot of time to get up there. Man, it was so tough to pass. What few lines there were out there that were left made just a few passing places. We had made it to where it was just stop-and-go, and you had to slam somebody to make a pass. It was getting ugly out there. I didn’t make any friends.
“As much as the track got slowed down, it was ridiculous that we couldn’t make any moves. I was thoroughly upset with that. But too little, too late. I knew I was the fastest guy on the track, so we’re ready for the next ones.”
AmPro Yamaha’s Ricky Russell grabbed the holeshot at the start of the race, leading the XC1 class into the woods for the first lap. Russell looked fast, and even when passed by Girroir in the woods, latched onto the KTM rider and kept the pace, along with defending series champ Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong following in third. Russell went down midway into the race, eventually finishing eighth, while DeLong messed with a tree, and he and his mangled bike finished outside the top 10 overall.
“With two laps to go,” DeLong said, “I was pressuring second and made a little mistake—I wasn’t riding over my head but had a big crash. The bike took a big impact, so I did what I could for the last lap and a half, but my bike was twisted up, and I fell right back. It was a frustrating day in the end to start my title defense the way that I did, but it was just one of those days.”
Grant Baylor, third overall finisher, had a similar story as his brother, Steward. The Babbitt’s Racing Online Monster Energy Team Green Kawasaki rider got off to a slow start.
“It was a crazy day out there for me,” said Grant. “I just got a little nervous there on the starting line and chopped the throttle before the bike fired. It took probably five seconds for the bike to fire up. I was dead last off the start. I just started picking my way through the pack. Me and Evan Smith (Husqvarna) actually rode together for almost the whole race, until about the last lap there. I caught up to Jordan Ashburn (Coastal GasGas Factory Racing) and made a move on him. I had to thread the needle to get by him. Partway through that last lap, I knew I was rolling faster than anybody out there. The guys in the pits told me I was running about half a minute faster lap times than the leaders. So, I knew I was just on it and feeling good out there. Just needed a better start to get up there and run with these top guys.”
Ashburn held onto Grant’s rear fender to finish fourth overall, with Smith staying in the mix with a fifth.
Sixth overall went to Team Landers KTM’s Angus Riordan, who also took first in the XC2 250 Pro class, although AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper spotted the class two full turns when his bike wouldn’t start and had to be bump-started. Draper later caught up and passed Riordan for first in the class, but on the final lap, Riordan was able to wrestle back the lead and take the class win and sixth overall.
“I’m stoked,” said Riordan. “The bike is like a dream to ride. My mechanic did an unreal job. I hopped on it yesterday for the first time, and I was like, I just want to sit on this thing all day. It felt that good.
“I think I was about a third-, fourth-place start, and then I was able to make the lead halfway around. Then, I went all the way up until the fuel stop, and then me and Liam kept swapping leads all the way until about two miles to go. Then the last lap, I was able to get a pass to stick and brought her in.”
Draper was seventh overall and second XC2 250 Pro class, while Ricky Russell managed to salvage eighth overall, despite his crash.
Team Landers KTM’s Grant Davis was third in the XC2 250 Pro class and ninth overall, with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Trevor Bollinger rounding out the top 10.
Bollinger said, “I actually got off to a good start, but a couple of turns in, I came together with somebody and that pretty much set the tone for my day. I felt good on the bike; it was working well, and once I moved forward, luckily, I was able to get pretty much the best finish I could with the guys.”
Finishing 11th was NGPC Champion Dante Oliveira, who is a late fill-in for the injured Ben Kelley. Oliveira has limited experience racing in the woods.
“Today was a decent start,” Oliveira said. “I started off around fourth and got into the tighter stuff, pushed the front in the roots, and dropped back before I got to find a few more lines and was able to pick it up. It’s a different beast out here, but I’m in one piece, learned a lot, and had fun. I know what I need to work on and had a great time racing in GNCC again.”
A newly signed member of Steward Baylor’s Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki team, Rachael Archer, won the WXC class, topping FMF/KTM’s Korie Steede by just five seconds in a titanic battle.
“Coming into today was pretty stressful for me after I picked up a virus on Friday,” Steede said. “I came in with an open mind, just to ride my dirt bike the best that I could today, and it definitely paid off in the race.”
Team Landers KTM’s Brandy Richards rounded out the podium, with GasGas rider Shelby Turner fourth and Sherco’s Rachel Gutish in fifth.
“I got off to a great start, and I just tried to stay smooth and consistent,” Richards said. “On the second lap, I tried to pick it up, but the roots were slick out there, and I went down. These girls were ripping, and I had a good time—it was a great race!”
Dakoda Devore (KTM) topped the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class, ahead of Beta USA’s Jhak Walker and Dustin Simpson (Yam).
OVERALL
- Johnny Girroir (KTM)
- Steward Baylor (Kaw)
- Grant Baylor (Kaw)
- Jordan Ashburn (GG)
- Evan Smith (Hus)
- Angus Riordan (KTM)
- Liam Draper (Yam)
- Ricky Russell (Yam)
- Grant Davis (KTM)
- Trevor Bollinger (Hus)