2024 GNCC Round 11 Results

Shan Moore | September 17, 2024

FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Johnny Girroir came into Mountaineer GNCC at Summit Bechtel Reserve in Beckley, West Virginia, September 15, with a 53-point lead in the title chase over Red Bear Rocky Mountain Kawasaki’s Steward Baylor Jr and a mathematical chance of wrapping up the title with two rounds remaining on the schedule. In the end, Girroir succeeded. However, Girroir’s championship win and the race were not without a lot of suspense and a bit of chaos.

Johnny Girroir at 2024 Mountaineer GNCC. Photo: Ken Hill — **Johnny Girroir clinched the 2024 GNCC Championship two rounds early at the Mountaineer GNCC in West Virginia. Photo: Ken Hill**

After making an unscheduled pitstop for repairs, Girroir finished 12th overall, which was just enough to crown him the 2024 Grand National Cross Country Series Champion. Meanwhile, Baylor suffered a DNF. Much of the chaos was due to the rugged, hard-packed and dusty track, and those who persevered were rewarded. That’s off-road racing.

“It was hectic to say the least, but it feels awesome,” said Girroir. “I was super consistent all year and never missed the podium until today with that freak mechanical, so yeah, I had a super consistent year. I put a lot of hard work in and obviously it paid off.”

Meanwhile, Coastal Racing GasGas’ Jordan Ashburn rode a flawless race, passing Phoenix Honda Racing’s Mike Witkowski on the second lap and pulling away to a 42-second margin of victory at the finish ahead of AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper, who was making just his second start in the XC1 class.

Jordan Ashburn at 2024 Mountaineer GNCC. Photo: Ken Hill — **Jordan Ashburn ran off with the overall win. Photo: Ken Hill**

The chaos began from the very start of the race, when Am Pro Yamaha’s Ricky Russell went down in the first turn, and then dropped the bike again in turn three. Baylor was off to a bad start, as well, rounding the first turn in last. Midway into the lap, Russell, just returning from a shoulder injury, pulled to the side of the trail when his knee popped out of place, forcing him to pull out of the race.

Later in the lap, Girroir hit a tree and was forced to pit early to repair the damage. Girroir dropped outside of the top 30 after the repairs and things were looking dire for his bid for an early championship.

“I put myself in a good spot near the front at the start, but in the first mile everything came undone when I tagged a tree and broke the clutch line,” said Girroir. “I had no clutch the whole first lap. I don’t know how I made it up some of those hills and through the tight rocky sections. I pulled in the pits to get it fixed, and I watched everyone go by me. I was melting down, and I just went out there and just put my head down and that’s all I can say. I was in the dust crashing off the rocks getting up getting madder and madder and madder, and I guess that’s what it took. I never gave up and I rode my heart out. That last lap I had no idea if I got the job done, so I came off the track a little upset.”

For Ashburn, the 2022 series champ, and a rider who looks forward to difficult conditions, the win was his first of the season.

“I got a good start and kind of got bumped by Mike Witkowski a little bit, and I was dropped back to fourth,” said Ashburn. “I made a quick pass on Craig DeLong [Rockstar Energy Husqvarna] going down the hill, and then I was behind Johnny G and Witkowski. I was probably already 15 seconds back, and you couldn’t see anything, but I wanted to get out front and just charge and lead the day and that’s what we did. I was comfortable with the conditions, and it ended up being a good day.”

After entering the woods in last place, Baylor started the difficult task of working his way to the front. When he got the news that Girroir was in the pits, Baylor knew he had a good chance to make up ground on the points leader. But lady luck was not on his side, and he suffered a DNF.

“I got off on the wrong foot by getting a last-place start, and it went downhill from there,” said Baylor. “We had our bikes dialed in all week, but I guess I blew it. I was last place into the woods, and I could just see a pileup of XC1 guys. I couldn’t stop and I joined them on the ground. You couldn’t see what was going on the track; it was deadly out there. Finally, I was, like ‘You know what, change your mindset.’ I was thinking about my kid, like, I didn’t want to send it, but at the end of the day, this is my job; this will pay the bills; turn that brain off, and it was time to go to work. The last couple of laps, and I gave it everything I had and made three or four passes on the last lap. I just got into a bad situation trying to pass a slower rider, and I ended up catching a rock, and it pushed my clutch cover into the basket.”

Draper, who claimed his second-in-a-row runner-up finish in the XC1 class, is looking like a legitimate contender for the 2025 season.

“I got a pretty decent start; I was about five or six going into the woods,” said Draper. “We were at a standstill because of the dust not even a mile into the woods, so I knew it was going to be tough to pass all day. On the last lap, me and Witkowski went at it, and I just really wanted to get him. I was revving my bike and trying to make him make a mistake, but he rode good all day.”

Trevor Bollinger The-Mountaineer GNCC — **In the XC1 Open Pro class, Trevor Bollinger raced to his first podium of the year.**

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Trevor Bollinger claimed his best finish of the season, with a third overall.

“I don’t know where I started, but it wasn’t good,” said Bollinger. “It was just so hard-packed and dusty, and you had to trust your machine and just have faith in God going through that dust. I trusted Him today. It’s been tough; I’ve had a lot of injuries the past couple of years, and it seems like everyone’s kind of giving up on me, but it feels good to finally prove everybody wrong and land on the podium.”

FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Grant Davis, the overall winner of the previous round from the XC2 class, was fourth overall and first in the XC2 Pro 250 class.

Grant Davis at 2024 Mountaineer GNCC. Photo: Ken Hill — **Grant Davis took the XC2 win and fourth overall. Photo: Ken Hill**

Mike Witkowski led close to two laps of the race after getting squeezed by Ashburn in the first turn. However, Ashburn was able to pass the Phoenix Honda rider in a rocky technical section. From there, Witkowski held down second until a couple of miles from the finish when dust in his engine caused his bike to slow, allowing Draper and Bollinger to go by.

“On the start, I just swept outside and there was like a small little gap, and I just went for it because I knew the start was super important,” said Witkowski. “Jordan and I are good friends, and I hate it, but we came together, and I came out with the lead. Almost two laps in, I crashed, and my throttle stuck wide open. I lost like 20-25 seconds right there, and then I got up and I still had 20 seconds on Jordan. I just played the dust [to] my advantage, but near the end of the second lap, there was a section that was rocky, and Jordan was good in that. That’s where he ended up getting around me. During the race, I must have sucked too much dust into my engine. I lost a lot of power on the last lap and got passed by Liam and Trevor, so I’m not happy about that, but I had a good ride.”

2024 Mountaineer-GNCC podium. Photo Ken Hill — **The Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Mountaineer Top Three Overall: Jordan Ashburn (center), Liam Draper (right) and Trevor Bollinger (left). Photo: Ken Hill**

Last year’s series winner, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong walked back to the pits after the first lap, after running with the front-runners, no doubt a victim of the dust, as well.

Craig DeLong at 2024 Mountaineer GNCC — **Defending champion Craig DeLong was an unfortunate non-finisher on Sunday,**

FXR/Husqvarna’s Evan Smith managed the dust well and was rewarded with a solid sixth-place finish, while 250A rider Nicholas DeFeo (Kawasaki) had the ride of a lifetime, finishing seventh overall and winning the 250A class.

Phoenix Honda Racing teammates Cody Barnes and Ruy Barbosa finished eighth and ninth, respectively. Barnes was also second in the XC2 250 Pro class.

Josh Strang (Beta) rounded out the top 10, with fellow Beta rider Jonathon Johnson finishing 11th overall and third in the XC2 250 Pro class.

Jonathan Johnson at-2024-Mountaineer-GNCC-Photo-Beta — **Jonathon Johnson finished 11th overall and third in the XC2 250 Pro class.**

Jhak Walker at 2024 Mountaineer GNCC. Photo Ken Hill — **Jhak Walker earned the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class win. Photo: Ken Hill**

Jhak Walker (Beta) claimed his fourth win of the season in the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class, topping Dakoda Devore (KTM) by over 11 minutes.

Devore now sits just seven points behind Walker in XC3 championship points. Dustin Simpson (Yamaha) was third.

Brandy Richards at 2024 Mountaineer GNCC. Photo: Ken Hill — **Brandy Richards collected her third WXC win of the year. Photo: Ken Hill**

In the WXC division, KTM’s Brandy Richards grabbed her third win of the season, as she and class points leader Kawasaki-mounted Rachael Archer ran away from the field. Prestin Raines (Sherco) finished third, with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Korie Steede in fourth.

“It was a great race today,” Richards said. “I was second off the start, made a few mistakes, but I was able to sprint to the end and brought it home on the last lap.”