After Johnny Girroir totally dominated last year’s Wild Boar GNCC in relentlessly rough, muddy and sandy conditions, was there any reason to believe that this year’s event would be any different? Girroir grew up in Southwick, Massachusetts, a mile from The Wick 338, the national motocross track dubbed “the world’s fastest sandbox.”
Photos by Mack Faint
Last year, the FMF KTM Factory rider fell in the first turn, restarting the race in last place, but worked his way through the pack to take the overall win by a two-minute margin over second place on one of the most physically demanding courses of the year.
Things weren’t as cut and dried this year as many people thought, though. There was a wild-card entry—multi-time GNCC champ Kailub Russell. Even though Russell has been retired for four years, he’s been riding every day and running an off-road training camp, so it was anyone’s guess where KR, who is now riding for AmPro Yamaha, fit into the mix.
Flatrock Motorclub GasGas Factory Racing’s Jordan Ashburn grabbed the holeshot ahead of Phoenix Honda Racing’s Mike Witkowski at the start of this year’s race, although Russell was quickly into the lead ahead of Ashburn, Witkowski and Girroir less than three miles into the race.
Girroir was on a mission and steadily worked his way up and around Russell to take the lead on lap two. For the next three laps, it was pretty much the Girroir/Russell show.
Russell retook the lead when Girroir chose to pit at the end of the second lap, while Russell rode by, opting to pit at the end of lap four, obviously on a one-stop strategy for the six-lap race.
Girroir did, indeed, retake the lead when Russell pitted for fuel at the end of lap two. From there, Girroir began to pull a gap over Russell. He needed a gap so he would still have the lead when he took his second pit stop.
Girroir pitted again at the end of lap four and exited the pits about 27 seconds ahead of Russell, with FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Ben Kelley in third and Snodgrass Husqvarna’s Lyndon Snodgrass in fourth. Phoenix Honda Racing’s Mike Witkowski held down fifth.
Girroir and Russell, who were comfortably ahead of Kelley in third, sprinted over the course of the final two laps, with Russell starting to move within striking distance of Girroir on the final lap and, at one point, was only 15 seconds behind the KTM rider.
Drama came when Girroir tucked the front end with two miles to go on the final lap, giving him just an 8.2-second advantage over Russell when he took the checkers. Russell was an impressive second, with Kelley rounding out the box.
Girroir’s impressive sprint while Russell pitted was perhaps the pivotal part of the race. “It was a dogfight, for sure,” said Girroir. “I started off smooth and was just riding behind the guys. Me and Kailub got out front, and he put in a hot lap, and I pitted right before that and sprinted on him. He then pitted, and I put in a hot lap and kind of stretched it back out because I had to pit twice. I got a little lead, and he chopped it right down to eight seconds going to the last lap when I tucked the front end and flipped over. When I got up, I gave it everything.”
In the past, Russell has made it known that he hates losing more than he likes winning, but understanding his situation, the eight-time GNCC champ was pleased with second.
“I’m so happy to be up on the box and perform like that,” said Russell. “Honestly, I was a little nervous coming into today. My winter has been absolutely terrible—little injuries plus setback after setback, and things just stacking up. But the one thing I never stopped doing was I kept showing up and working my butt off on the bicycle in the gym. I was like, ‘Let’s suck it up and see what we got.’ I was able to ride a mistake-free race for the most part, and I felt good. I felt damn good, and Johnny was just better than me in about three-quarters of the track. I just stayed safe, just hit my marks, and I feel like I was going to beat him on fitness if I was going to beat him at all. I almost got there, but he rode great. Hats off to him.”
Kelley got off to an unfortunate start but got faster as the event wore on and was only 45 seconds behind Russell at the finish.
“I got pinched a little in that third corner, and I was maybe sixth or seventh when I exited,” said Kelley. “I was just cruising that first lap, trying to pick my way through and learn the track, and I slowly made my way closer and closer to the front, trying to make a charge. I just had a couple of hard crashes out there. It’s a tough track, and I felt good. I just needed a little more speed and a couple less crashes out there to get up closer and battle with these guys for the win.”
FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Grant Davis was fifth physically on the track; however, the XC2 rider was fourth overall on adjusted time and first in the XC2 class.
FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Angus Riordan finished fifth overall and second in the XC2 class, battling all the while with Davis for the fourth overall position.
“The XC2 riders get the good hand dealt to us,” said Riordan. “The XC1 guys start first, and they’re dealing with all the lines and [are making] the lines for us. They’re doing the hard yards, and we just get sucked in with them. Once we catch them, we don’t need to pass them; we can just stay there because, on corrected time, we have a minute on them. So, if you can get up front a bit earlier, you just get sucked along where they’ve got to put more effort into passing.”
AmPro Yamaha riders missed the podium for the first time this year, finishing seventh overall and fourth in the XC1 class, 48 seconds ahead of Phoenix Honda’s Mike Witkowski, who ran up front during the early stages of the race.
Lyndon Snodgrass (Husqvarna) ran in third off and on during the first two laps, but a crash on lap four set the Aussie back, and then he ran out of gas and was penalized one position for refueling outside of the designated pit area, leaving him in eighth overall.
Phoenix Honda Racing’s Cody Barnes was ninth, while Triumph-mounted Ricky Russell rounded out the top 10. Red Bear Rocky Mountain Kawasaki’s Steward Baylor Jr had a rough day, finishing 15th after DNFing the last race.
James Jenkins, Yamaha rider out of Missouri, took another win in the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class, finishing a little over four minutes ahead of fellow Yamaha rider Luke Brown, with Raley Messer (Beta) finishing third.
FMF KTM’s Brandy Richards topped Phoenix Honda Racing’s Tayla Jones to win the Women’s WMX class. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Korie Steede finished out the podium, while Red Bear Rocky Mountain Kawasaki’s Rachael Archer and Rieju USA’s Rachel Gutish rounded out the top five.
2025 Wild Boar GNCC Round 2 Results
OVERALL
- Johnny Girroir (KTM)
- Kailub Russell (Yam)
- Ben Kelley (KTM)
- Grant Davis (KTM)
- Angus Riordan (KTM)
- Liam Draper (Yam)
- Mike Witkowski (Hon)
- Lyndon Snodgrass (Hus)
- Cody Barnes (Hon)
- Ricky Russell (Tri)
