GNCC Racing

Yamaha Racing Snowshoe: Motorcycle Race Report

Yamaha Racing Snowshoe: Motorcycle Race Report

Monday, June 24, 2024 | 9:05 AM
by:
Monday, June 24, 2024 | 9:05 AM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Yamaha Racing Snowshoe: Motorcycle Race Report
Girroir Earns Fifth Win of Season at Snowshoe

SNOWSHOE, W.Va. (June 24, 2024) – Round nine of the 2024 Progressive Grand National Cross Country (GNCC Racing) Series presented by Specialized, an AMA National Championship, Yamaha Racing Snowshoe GNCC, concluded on Sunday, June 23, 2024 with warm and sunny conditions throughout the day. The Snowshoe GNCC event continues to pay tribute to the Blackwater heritage as the race starts “in town” with riders lined up in groups of five on the main road. They start live-engine ever 10 seconds, and are time adjusted based off of what row they begin on.

Johnny Girroir (FMF KTM Factory Racing) pushed throughout the duration of the race to earn his fifth win of the season at Snowshoe.
Johnny Girroir (FMF KTM Factory Racing) pushed throughout the duration of the race to earn his fifth win of the season at Snowshoe. Ken Hill

As the green flag waved for row one, the top five in points took off from the main road towards the course. Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki’s Steward Baylor would have a good start to the day as he came through leading the way on the opening lap, however, both Coastal GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jordan Ashburn and FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Johnny Girroir were right on his back tire. 

Girroir would battle past Ashburn and S. Baylor during the second lap of the race, but he would soon have a different Baylor brother behind him as Babbitts Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki Team Green’s Grant Baylor made his way up to the front of the pack. G. Baylor would power past Girroir while out on the fourth lap of the race, and he would hold the lead position heading into the final lap of the race. 

As the last lap was underway, Girroir would battle it out with G. Baylor and make the pass for the lead. Girroir would put his head down and push as he had to gain over 10 seconds on G. Baylor at the finish or G. Baylor would win the overall with his time adjustment from starting on the second row. Girroir would cross the line and come across with just over 11 seconds ahead of G. Baylor, earning his fifth win of the season. G. Baylor would finish second overall and S. Baylor would round out the podium by finishing third overall on the day. 

Grant Baylor (Babbitts Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki Team Green) would battle back and earn second overall at round nine.
Grant Baylor (Babbitts Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki Team Green) would battle back and earn second overall at round nine. Ken Hill

After batting back-and-forth for the duration of the race Ashburn would cross the line fourth overall on the day. Ashburn continues to sit fourth overall in the points standings as the GNCC Series heads into its summer break. Active Air/Max Motorsports/FXR/Husqvarna’s Evan Smith made his way up into the top five in the XC1 Open Pro as the white flag flew, indicating one more lap. Smith would continue to push and hold onto that top five position within the class and sixth overall on the day. 

FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Dante Oliveira would come through sixth in XC1 and eighth overall on the day after continuing to adapt to technical conditions presented to racers at Snowshoe. JS Sherco Racing’s Josh Strang would work his way up to seventh in the class after coming through 11th on the opening lap. Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Craig Delong started on the front row and would battle up in fourth for the first half of the race before finishing eighth in XC1. Coming through ninth in XC1 was Babbitts Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki Team Green’s Lyndon Snodgrass, while AmPro Yamaha’s Ricky Russell rounded out the top 10 finishers in XC1. 

Grant Davis (center) earned the XC2 250 Pro class win, with Josh Toth (right) and Thad Duvall (left) rounded out the top three finishers.
Grant Davis (center) earned the XC2 250 Pro class win, with Josh Toth (right) and Thad Duvall (left) rounded out the top three finishers. Ken Hill

As XC2 250 Pro competitor, FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers Grant Davis started on the first row, it would be hard to catch him for the remainder of the race as he continued to set a fast pace. Davis would steadily hold over a two minute lead on the rest of his competition for the duration of the race, and he would come through to earn his fifth XC2 class win of the season. Team Enduro Engineering’s Josh Toth and Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki’s Thad Duvall would both have consistent days on the mountain as they held the second and third place positions in XC2 for the length of the race. 

In the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class it would be Kibuk Cycle/Steel City Medical Center/Josh Lojak’s House of Speed’s Sawyer Carratura battling throughout the course to earn his first class win of the season atop Snowshoe Mountain. After coming through third on the opening lap, Liqui Moly Factory Beta Racing’s Jhak Walker would put his head down and push as he tried to catch the front of the pack. Walker was able to make his way into second with two laps remaining, and he would hold that position until the checkered flag waved. Devore/KTM/FXR/SRS Suspension’s Dakoda Devore rounded out the top three FMF XC3 class finishers on the day. 

Sawyer Carratura (Kibuk Cycle/Steel City Medical Center/Josh Lojak’s House of Speed) earned his first FMF XC3 class win of the season.
Sawyer Carratura (Kibuk Cycle/Steel City Medical Center/Josh Lojak’s House of Speed) earned his first FMF XC3 class win of the season. Ken Hill

Earning the Top Amateur Honors at the Yamaha Racing Snowshoe GNCC was 250 A winner, Nicholas DeFeo as he came through in the 13th overall finishing position. Jason Tino was second on the Top Amateur podium as he finished second in 250 A, and he came through with a 17th overall finish. Will Sievenpiper was third on the Top Amateur podium as he came through to finish third in 250 A, along with his 19th overall finishing position. 

Rachael Archer (Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki) grabbed the WXC win on Snowshoe Mountain.
Rachael Archer (Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki) grabbed the WXC win on Snowshoe Mountain. Ken Hill

As the morning race got underway, and the WXC class made their way through the course it would be Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki’s Rachael Archer emerged first as they came into the timing and scoring zone on lap one. Archer would continue to hold the lead and place a gap over the rest of the field. As the checkered flag flew Archer would cross the line with over a minute lead. 

Finishing runner-up at Snowshoe was Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Korie Steede as she tried to battle back after some mistakes and crashes ultimately kept her away from catching Archer. Enduro Engineering/GASGAS/FXR Moto’s Shelby Turner would sit in third for the duration of the race and round out the top three WXC finishers at Snowshoe. 

Brody Amos earned himself the Youth Overall win and YXC1 class win at round nine.
Brody Amos earned himself the Youth Overall win and YXC1 class win at round nine. Ken Hill

In the morning youth bike race it was Brody Amos coming through to earn the overall and YXC1 Super Mini Sr. (14-15) class win atop Snowshoe Mountain. Caleb Wood battled throughout and would end up second overall on the day, while Doc Smith rounded out the top three overall and in the YXC1 class.

Travis Lentz continued his domination in the YXC2 Super Mini Jr. (12-13) class as he earned his ninth-straight win of the season. Hunter Carey took home the 85 Big Wheel (11-15) class win, while Ace Tokar earned the 85 (12-13) class win. In the 85 (11) class it was Wyatt Johnson coming through to take the win with Maverick Boyer would earn the 85 (7-10) class win. Hunter Jones would take home the 65 (10-11) class win, Tripp Lewis earned the 65 (9) class win and Daxton Mullins earned himself the 65 (7-8) class win at round nine. In the Girls Super Mini (12-16) class it was Jayden Shea earning the win, while Sahara Robinson earned her eighth win in the Girls 85 (7-13) class and Paisley Harris would take the Girls 65 (7-11) class win. In the Trail Rider class, it was Camden Phillips earning the class win.

George Murphy was honored as the Yamaha Racing Snowshoe AMSOIL Moto Hero.
George Murphy was honored as the Yamaha Racing Snowshoe AMSOIL Moto Hero. Ken Hill

The AMSOIL Moto Hero was given to George Murphy who joined the Marine Corps in 1977 as a Teletype Operator. In the early 80’s George was instrumental in developing the strategy of deploying and supporting computers in battlefield situations. He wrote many operating manuals, which have just recently been replaced. Like the words of the Marines Hymn, George served in every clime and place from Norway to the far east of Europe and everywhere in between. Among his accomplishments, he coordinated and established communications and intelligence infrastructure for Operation Deny Flight over Bosnia, established a mobile command post for the 1st Marine Division during Desert Storm and connected Marines around the globe to the Internet and classified Military network. George retired a Gunnery Sergeant from Quantico, VA where he managed the Marine Corps Network Operations Center. George is the recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal, Naval Commendation Medal, Naval Achievement Medal with Silver Star, Artic Service, Sea Service Deployment with three bronze stars, National Defense Service Medal, US Coast Guard Unit Commendation, Saudi Arabia Medal for Liberation of Kuwait, Kuwait Liberation Medal from Kuwait, Navy Unit Commendation, Southeast Asia Service with two Bronze Stars and the Good Conduct Medal with multiple stars.

Catch GNCC Pro ATV and Motorcycle Racing free via RacerTV.com all season long. Pro ATV Racing starts Saturday’s at 2pm ET, with the exception of Big Buck, Snowshoe and Ironman events where they will start at 1pm ET. GNCC Pro Motorcycle Racing will begin at 1pm ET on Sunday’s.

For more information on the GNCC series, visit the official website at www.gnccracing.com or call (304) 284-0084. Join the conversation on the series Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and be sure to always hashtag #GNCC.

Yamaha Racing Snowshoe GNCC Top Three Overall: Johnny Girroir (center), Grant Baylor (right) and Steward Baylor (left).
Yamaha Racing Snowshoe GNCC Top Three Overall: Johnny Girroir (center), Grant Baylor (right) and Steward Baylor (left). Ken Hill

Yamaha Racing Snowshoe GNCC Results and Points Standings
Snowshoe, West Virginia
Round 9 of 13
Sunday, June 23, 2024

XC1 Pro Event Results:

  1. Jonathan Girroir (KTM)
  2. Grant Baylor (KAW)
  3. Steward Baylor (KAW)
  4. Jordan Ashburn (GAS)
  5. Evan Smith (HQV)
  6. Dante Oliveira (KTM)
  7. Josh Strang (SHR)
  8. Craig Delong (HQV)
  9. Lyndon Snodgrass (KAW)
  10. Ricky Russell (YAM)

*Overall National Championship Standings:

  1. Jonathan Girroir (237)
  2. Steward Baylor (194)
  3. Grant Davis (146)
  4. Jordan Ashburn (144)
  5. Craig Delong (128)
  6. Grant Baylor (125)
  7. Angus Riordan (105)
  8. Michael Witkowski (92)
  9. Evan Smith (81)
  10. Dante Oliveira (77)

*Indicates that the Overall National Championship Standings will determine the 2024 National Champion.

XC2 250 Pro Event Results:

  1. Grant Davis (KTM)
  2. Josh Toth (HON)
  3. Thad Duvall (KAW)
  4. Cody Barnes (HON)
  5. Angus Riordan (KTM)
  6. Brody Johnson (BET)
  7. Toby Cleveland (HQV)
  8. Jason Lipscomb (BET)
  9. Collier Martinez (HON)
  10. Henry Symanski (YAM)

XC2 250 Pro Series Standings:

  1. Grant Davis (246)
  2. Angus Riordan (209)
  3. Liam Draper (151)
  4. Cody Barnes (139)
  5. Thad Duvall (131)
  6. Josh Toth (118)
  7. Brody Johnson (114)
  8. Jason Lipscomb (109)
  9. Toby Cleveland (105)
  10. Ruy Barbosa (94)

To get the latest GNCC Racing clothing and merchandise visit https://www.mototees.com

About GNCC Racing
The Progressive Grand National Cross Country Series presented by Specialized, an AMA National Championship, is the world premier cross country racing series. Founded in 1975, the 13-round motorcycle and ATV championship and 10-round eMTB championship, is produced exclusively by Racer Productions. Cross-country racing is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world. The grueling two and three-hour GNCC races lead as many as 2,800 riders through racetracks ranging in length from eight to 12 miles. With varied terrain, including hills, woods, mud, dirt, rocks, and motocross sections, GNCC events are tests of both survival and speed. The series draws talent from all over the U.S., Central America, South America, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. GNCC Racing is televised live on RacerTV.com. For more information, please visit www.gnccracing.com.

About the American Motorcyclist Association
Founded in 1924, the AMA is a not-for-profit member-based association whose mission is to promote the motorcycle lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling. As the world's largest motorcycling rights and event sanctioning organization, the AMA advocates for riders' interests at all levels of government and sanctions thousands of competition and recreational events every year. The AMA also provides money-saving discounts on products and services for its members. Through the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio, the AMA honors the heroes and heritage of motorcycling. For more information, visit www.americanmotorcyclist.com. Not a member? Join the AMA today: www.americanmotorcyclist.com/membership/join.

Media Contact:
Kayla Bolton
(304) 284-0084
[email protected]