GNCC Report: Girroir Fires First

Girroir, who actually hails from the famous moto town of Southwick, Massachusetts, is a bit of a wild man of the off-road circuit. He’s fast and fearless but has also suffered from plenty of injuries throughout his time, and he’s also had to make strides on pacing himself for the grueling three-hour GNCC races. Girroir first made a name for himself in New England’s J-Day Series, which are shorter, more motocross-style off-road races. The GNCC paddock has long known that if he harness all of his talent and speed, he could become the next-big-thing in the sport. He made a step in that direction by controlling the opener of the 2024 season, the VP Racing Fuels Big Buck GNCC, in commanding fashion. Am-Pro Yamaha’s Ricky Russell snagged the  $250 Steel City Medical Center XC1 Open Pro Holeshot Award, but Jonny G was right behind and then made an early move for the lead. Girroir withstood consistent pressure from Ricky Russell for the first half of the race.

"I felt good right from the start,” said Girroir. “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."

The last few seasons of GNCC racing has shown that anything can happen, and simply winning one race early in the season does not mean too much. Girroir showed signs he has rounded into the complete package needed to grab this crown, but there will be plenty of competition, though, starting with both Baylor brothers. Steward, who operates his own racing team and has switched from KTMs to Kawasakis in the off-season, worked his way forward throughout the day, eventually putting his Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki into second. Similarly, his brother Grant Baylor also got a bad start but motored forward throughout the day to net third. Grant Baylor rides for the Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki Team Green squad.

Stu Baylor is known as possibly the most unfiltered voice in racing today. As expected, he had some thoughts to share after the race.

“It was pretty tough, I made it that way. Not intentionally!” he said. “Somehow Grant was even behind me. We both made quite a few passes there. Mid way through the race, I took kind of a breather, and then we had a slow pit stop. I was planning on putting on a charge after the pit stop, I knew I needed a lot of time to get back up there. But I lost two positions in the pits, and it was so tough to pass. What few lines there were left out there, it looked like guys had ribboned off. They weren’t were more than 25 feet [away from the course markers, which is the track-width limit in GNCC] so I don’t know what the hell was going on. It was ridiculous, the few passing places we had, it made it into 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, and I was talking to Grant and he was saying the same thing. As much as the track got slowed down, we couldn’t make any moves. I was thoroughly upset with that. Yeah, too little too late, but I knew I was the fastest guy on the track, so I’ll be ready for the next one.”

Stu feels he might have been the fastest rider late in the race, but his brother actually felt the same!

“It was a crazy day out there for me,” said “Grizzly” Grant. “I was just a little nervous there on the starting line and I chopped the throttle right before the bike fired. Probably took me five seconds for the bike to fire up and I was dead last. Evan Smith crashed in the first turn and he still got up in front of me! Me and Evan actually rode together almost the whole race. Last lap there, I caught up to Jordan and I had to thread the needle to get around him, that’s for sure. On that last lap, I know I was rolling, the guys in the pits told me I was probably half a minute faster than the leaders so I knew I was on it and feeling good out there. Just needed a better start but I was running them down there at the end, it was an awesome race. Track was perfect, weather was perfect. I’m feeling great.”

After running inside the top five for the duration of the race, Coastal GASGAS Factory Racing’s Ashburn had found himself in third place during the last lap, however, G. Baylor would make the pass stick on Ashburn before coming into the finish line. Ashburn would hold on to finish out the day fourth overall.

Blud Lubricants/Scott Goggles/FXR’s Evan Smith put in a great ride at the opening round of the 2024 season as he battled back from a 13th place start to the day to having his career best finish of fifth overall and in the XC1 Open Pro class, riding a Beta. AmPro Yamaha’s Ricky Russell would have a good start to his day as he was running in second at the beginning, but then he bent his shifter and had to move into points-salvage mode. He took sixth.

Another rider having to battle back after a rough start to the day was Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Trevor Bollinger. As the race got underway, Bollinger would find himself back in tenth and then as far back as 14th on the second lap. However, Bollinger continued to push on and would make his way up to seventh in the XC1 class and tenth overall on the day.

"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," Bollinger commented. "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 I was around right there at the end. I'm happy I was able to get away with some points and we'll keep building from here."

While Ben Kelley is recovering from surgery, the FMF/KTM Factory Racing team has subbed in western off-road ace Dante Oliveira to race some GNCC events. Oliveira would remain inside the top ten of the XC1 competitors for the duration of the race as he crossed the line eighth in class. 

"Today was a decent start at Big Buck," he 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. We'll keep building off this for the next one. I know what I need to work on and had a great time racing in GNCC again."

Aboard his new ride, JS7 Sherco Racing’s Josh Strang had his work cut out of him as he did not get off to the start he hoped for. Strang would come through at the back of the pack on lap one, but would steadily make his way up to inside the top ten of the XC1 class by the conclusion of the race. Strang would finish ninth in XC1, and would come through just outside of the top ten overall with a 12th overall finishing position.

“A LOT of hard work has gone into building this team!” Strang wrote on social media. “By no means am I satisfied with my result but I’m very happy with how the first race went. We missed the mark on a bit of bike setup but I also missed the mark on how I rode, so for the first round we will take it. Excited to start the year and look forward to more!”

Phoenix Racing Honda’s Michael Witkowski would round out the top ten XC1 class finishers after three-hours of racing, and would find himself 13th overall at the season opener.

Defending GNCC National Champion DeLong was running in a podium spot for most of the race until a big crash late dropped him way down in the order. He would finish 11th in the XC1 class, and 14th overall on the day after running up in third for the first half of the race.

"I had a good day going, started around sixth and worked my way up to third, kind of back-and-forth there until the pit stop," recalled DeLong. "We had a quick pit and I got back into third, but with two laps to go 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."

The XC2 250 Pro was an exciting one to watch at round one as FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers’ Angus Riordan and defending champion, AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper, went back-and-forth for the majority of the race. Draper would come from behind to make the pass on Riordan, but as the checkered flag flew it would be Riordan coming through just 2.2 seconds ahead of Draper to earn the win at round one. FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers’ Grant Davis would hold on to finish third in the class, and land himself on the podium. Team Enduro Engineering’s Josh Toth and XC2 rookie, Bells Electric Race Team’s Toby Cleveland would round out the top five finishers in the XC2 250 Pro class. 

Devore/KTM/FXR/SRS Suspension’s Dakoda Devore would come through to earn the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class win at round one in South Carolina. Devore would have to work his way up to first after running back in third on the opening lap. Halls Cycles/Walker Builders LLC/O’Neal’s Jhak Walker is the one Devore would need to pass as he held the lead position for the first three laps of the race. Walker would remain second as he crossed the finish line at the end of the race. Destructo Racing/Dixie Fuel/Prescription Tune Suspension’s Dustin Simpson had a consistent race in the FMF XC3 class at round one, cruising into land the last spot on the podium with a third in the class.

Earning the Top Amateur honor was Jason Tino, who came through in the 18th overall finishing position, and also crossed the finish line first in the 250 A class. Nicholas Defeo came through 21st overall and took second on the Top Amateur Podium as he also scored second in 250 A. Gavin Simon rounded out the Top Amateur Podium as he came through in 23rd overall and third in the 250 A class. 

In the 10 am race it was the WXC racers taking off first with FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers’ Brandy Richards earning herself the first $100 Kanati Performance Tires WXC Holeshot Award. Richards would continue to lead the race for the opening lap before Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki’s Rachael Archer made the pass stick on Richards. Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Korie Steede would follow Archer, making the pass for second on Richards and look to battle for the win. 

As the race continued on, Archer would continue to hold the lead while Steede and Richards continued to push on behind her. Archer would come through to earn the first WXC bike win of the season, while Steede and Richards held on to round out the top three WXC podium. Cade Henderson of Sportsman A (12-24) class would come through first overall in the race. 

Due to the number of riders, the bike amateur race is split into two separate races on Sunday, and in the 8 am morning race it would be Cayden Johnson coming through to earn the overall win and 250 C Schoolboy (14-17) class win. Logan Renninger would come through second overall and to take second in the 250 C Schoolboy class as well. Maddox Moretz would round out the top three overall finishers, while earning himself a 4-Stroke C Lites class win. Austin Franklin would come through to earn the Warrior class win in the 8 am race, while Evan Yoest and Matt Modic rounded out the class podium. 

The AMSOIL Moto Hero was awarded to Paul Burfeind from Ghent, New York during the 8 am race on Sunday. Paul was racing in the Warrior Class, and finished nineteenth in his class at the conclusion of the race. Paul is a Cold War Veteran, who was a sergeant in Germany. He was also part of the nuclear missile transportation and setup during the war with Russia. Paul received an AMSOIL Moto Hero plaque, a $250 AMSOIL Shopping Spree, a $500 Kanati Tires production gift certificate, some Fasst Company swag gift items along with a commemorative American Flag from Columbia Sign and Co. as well as a $200 certificate to their online store. GNC Racing thanks you for your service Paul. 

With the modified scheduled at Big Buck, the Bike Youth race took place at 4 p.m. on Saturday, and saw the defending Youth Overall Champion, Caleb Wood earn the overall and YXC1 Super Mini Sr. (14-15) class win. Brayden Baisley would contest for the win also, as he and Wood battled back and forth for a couple of the laps. However, Baisley would hold on and cross the finish line second overall and in the YXC1 class. Brody Amos had a consistent race at Big Buck as he held third for the majority of the race, crossing the line with the final overall and YXC1 podium position.