Cycle News Staff | February 3, 2025
Fans of sprint enduro knew it was just a matter of time before AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper would get his overall win in the U.S. Sprint Enduro Series. But most didn’t expect it to come at the expense of FMF KTM Factory rider Johnny Girroir, who, up until this race, had amassed 22 straight day wins going back to his defeat by Zach Osborne in 2023 at South of the Border MX in South Carolina.
AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper did what no one has been able to do in a long, long time—beat Johnny Girroir in a U.S. Sprint Enduro race.
Photos: Art Pepin
Though it was by the narrowest of margins, Draper won both days of the event to take the overall by 6.394 seconds after two days of racing at Outback Raceway in Laurinburg, North Carolina. Sunday’s win came by a whisker—by just over one second.
In all, each rider won six tests over the two days. However, it was Draper’s brilliant ride in Saturday’s final test that made the difference.
“That last enduro test, I did the best I could and laid it all out there,” said Draper. “I was going to die trying to beat Johnny. It was some of the closest racing I think I’ve ever had. We went into the last test seven-tenths of a second apart, so super close, and I got into the lead at one point, and then he got it back from me. But, yeah, I just rode the last test the best I could and laid it all out there.”
Girroir was disappointed at his streak coming to an end, but the practical KTM rider knows that all things must come to an end.
Phoenix Honda’s Cody Barnes battled FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ rising star, Grant Davis. In the end, Davis came out on the final step of the podium, proving the 19-year-old’s recent successes in U.S. Sprint Enduro and GNCC weren’t just flukes. Davis also won the Pro 2 class.
Grant Davis won the Pro 2 class.
“I’m happy with how I rode,” said Davis. “The entire course was deep sand, and I need to fix some mistakes and I’ll be better. I lost the front end twice, and that’s what kind of did me in for the overall on Saturday.”
Barnes, riding a 450 this year instead of his usual 250, missed the podium by four seconds, although he topped Davis in four tests.
Cody talked about how rough the sandy course got. “It got really chewed up, and a lot of tree roots got exposed and crossed us up,” said Barnes. “We ended up getting a lot of big braking bumps, and it ended up being a super fun track. [I] like big sandy corners, so the track was a lot of fun. The track definitely got really chewed up and a lot of tree roots exposed.”
Johnny Girroir 22-race win streak came to an end, but he still finished a close second.
FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Cooper Jones came out on top of a monumental battle with Red Bear Team Green Kawasaki’s Collier Martinez. The two were separated by less than two minutes by the end of the weekend.
Toby Cleveland (Husqvarna) was seven seconds back in ninth, while Colton Shields (Husqvarna) won the Pro-Am class with 20th overall.
KTM’s Brandy Richards dominated the Pro Women’s division by winning all 12 tests.
KTM’s Brandy Richards dominated the Pro Women’s division, winning all 12 tests of the weekend. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Korie Steed, around three minutes back, was second.
“The only crash I had was in the first test of the first day,” said Richards. “I just kind of lost the front end, and then after that, I kind of just stayed up pretty much full time and just flowed. The enduro test, I would say, was like 70 percent sandy, and then there was also some hard-packed black dirt there with a bunch of nasty tree roots. But it was mostly sand.”
Phoenix Honda Racing’s Tayla Jones came home with third, while Rachel Gutish (Sherco) and Ellie Winland (Yamaha) rounded out the top five. CN
OVERALL
- Liam Draper (Yam)
- Johnny Girroir (KTM)
- Grant Davis (KTM)
4 Cody Barnes (Hon)
- Craig Delong (Hus)
- Cooper Jones (KTM)
- Collier Martinez (Kaw)
- Gavin Simon (Hus)
- Toby Cleveland (Hus)
- Colton Shields (Hus)