Girroir and Baylor Battle to the Finish at Mason-Dixon GNCC

Asburn ended up third in XC1, but fifth overall as Grant Davis and Angus Riordan from XC2 took third and fourth overall on adjusted time.

“Man, solid day. I got off to a decent start, I think I was fourth or so everybody was just falling the first few miles,” said Coast Racing GasGas’ Ashburn. “I really had to find that point of how hard you can push. I found it pretty early and just led the day. I felt pretty comfortable, but toward the end my hands kind of got torn up and I just got off pace. I had to push hard all day trying to keep up with XC2, they were there all day. But I felt good, the bike was good, the team was good. It was a great day and I’m happy to be on the podium.”

Davis’ XC2 victory over Riordan, which also came right down to the wire, allowed him to extend his points lead there. Riordan was down early (turn three) but managed to take over the race lead while battling with Davis! However, Davis took the lead late and won the XC2 race. Yamaha's 2023 XC2 Champion Liam Draper was leading the XC2 race—and overall after time adjustment—early on but suffered a crash that lead to a DNF.

Check out the post-race press release from the GNCC Series below.

Parts Unlimited Mason-Dixon: Motorcycle Race Report
Girroir and Baylor Battle for Overall Win

Mt. MORRIS, Pa. – The Progressive Grand National Cross Country (GNCC Racing) Series presented by Specialized, an AMA National Championship concluded its eighth round of racing, Parts Unlimited Mason-Dixon GNCC, on Sunday, June 2, 2024, in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania. Brief rain showers in the morning created some slick conditions for the first half of the day, but partly cloudy conditions made for some great afternoon battles throughout XC1 Open Pro and 250 Pro Sport classes.

As the afternoon race got under way and the green flag flew for the XC1 Open Pro class it would be Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki Team Green’s Lyndon Snodgrass grabbing himself the $250 Steel City Medical Center’s XC1 Holeshot Award. However, as the pack of racers made their way around on the opening lap, Coastal GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jordan Ashburn would find himself holding the lead position.

Snodgrass would battle back with Ashburn for the next couple of laps, swapping the lead position back-and-forth. Ashburn would hold the lead until the fifth lap of the race as Rocky Mountain RedBear Kawasaki’s Steward Baylor would apply the pressure after making his way up through the pack. Baylor made the pass on Ashburn to take over the lead as the white flag came out indicating one more lap. 

Nevertheless, the hard-charging FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Johnny Girroir would apply the pressure on the last lap. Girroir would catch Baylor and battle for the last a little over a mile to the finish line. Girroir would come through to edge out Baylor for his third overall win of the season. Baylor would hold on and come through to earn second overall on the day. 

"Everyone around the track was cheering, we were battling the whole last mile and came together down a downhill – it was hectic!,” said Girroir. “That was cool, that's what racing's all about. I've never had the best of luck here in the past, but today was good and it went my way."

Coming through to earn third overall from the XC2 250 Pro class was FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers Grant Davis. After grabbing the $250 Steel City Medical Center Holeshot Award, Davis would battle throughout the race with his teammate FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers Angus Riordan. Davis and Riordan would swap the lead position and hold the overall lead with adjusted times for the first half of the race. Davis would be able to make his way back around Riordan and push towards the front as he crossed the finish line first in his class, earning him third overall on the day. Riordan would be behind Davis as he came through to earn second in the XC2 class and fourth overall on the day. 

Grant Davis said in a post-race release: "I got into the lead early and we were up front from there. Gus caught me and I went down, so he passed me, but I got back in my groove again and was able to get him back. We went back and forth a bunch of times over the last lap – he was riding really good!"

Davis was up front early while Riordan raced his way to the head of the pack following a mistake at the beginning, but it wasn't enough as Davis held on as the checkered flag flew. The pair – both racing KTM 250 XC-F machinery – are now separated by 23 points in the championship standings with five rounds remaining on the schedule. 

"It's always good battling your teammate, like another training day out there,"  said Angus Riordan. "The race started off a bit rough, I was dead-last off the start and crashed in the third turn, then went down again on lap one and wasted my energy again. I caught Grant and took the lead with two to go, but he ended up getting the best of me in the end."

Ashburn would continue to push after leading the first couple of laps as he crossed the finish line third in the XC1 Open Pro class, while earning fifth overall on the day. FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Dante Oliveira returned from the West Coast in what would be his first appearance since winning the Camp Coker Bullet GNCC. Oliveira would work his way up to finish fourth in the XC1 class and sixth overall on the day. 

Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Craig Delong did not get off to the best start as he came through timing and scoring on the opening lap back in the ninth place position. Delong would continue to push throughout the day making his way up to fifth in the XC1 class and seventh overall on the day.

After grabbing the holeshot and running at the front of the pack, Snodgrass would fall back to finish sixth in XC1 and eighth overall on the day. Phoenix Racing Honda’s Michael Witkowski had a good start to his day as he came through second on the opening lap of the race. Witkowski would fall back to tenth at one point, but he would make his way up back seventh in the XC1 results and ninth overall. 

Active Air/Max Motorsports/FXR/Husqvarna’s Evan Smith battled back from an eleventh place start to his day, to coming through the finish line eighth in the XC1 class and rounding out the top 10 overall finishers on the day. JS Sherco Racing’s Josh Strang found himself up at towards the front of the pack early on in the race, but he would cross the finish line after three-hours of battling ninth in XC1. 

Phoenix Racing Honda’s Cody Barnes would round out the top three XC2 250 Pro class finishers as he worked his way back up from a fifth place start to his day in the XC2 class. Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki Team Green’s Grant Baylor would come through to round out the top 10 XC1 Open Pro finishers on the day. 

As the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class took off it was Liqui Moly Factory Beta Racing’s Jhak Walker earning himself the $100 Lojak Cycle Sales XC3 Holeshot Award to start off his day. Walker would find himself in the lead for the majority of the day, but as the race was winding down and the two-lap card was out, Devore Racing/KTM/FXR/SRS Suspension’s Dakoda Devore would close the gap and make a pass for the lead. 

Devore and Walker would battle it out for the remaining laps of the race, but Devore would emerge from the woods first as they made their way to the finish line. Devore would come across the line with a 10 second lead over Walker who came through to finish second on the day. Kibuk Cycle/Steel City Medical Center/Josh Lojak’s House of Speed’s Sawyer Carratura had a consistent day as he remained third for the duration of the race. 

Earning the Parts Unlimited Mason-Dixon Top Amateur honors was 250 A competitor, Nicholas Defeo (Kawasaki) who came through to earn 15th overall and his fifth 250 A class win of the season. Jason Tino (Husqvarna) would come through to earn second top amateur as he came through second in 250 A and 16th overall on the day. Will Sievenpiper (Kawasaki) rounded out the top three top amateurs and 250 A class competitors as he came through to finish 17th overall on the day.

As the WXC class took off in the morning race it was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Korie Steede grabbing the $100 Kanati WXC Holeshot Award and the early lead. Steede would continue to push herself at the front of the pack, and lead from start to finish as she crossed the finish line 4.1 seconds ahead of her competition.

Battling her way up to second in the class was FMF KTM Factory Racing Lander’s Brandy Richards. Richards started her day in third, but she would make a last lap push to take over the second place position as the checkered flag came out. Moose Racing/Husqvarna’s Tayla Jones made her way back to the GNCC starting line this weekend. Jones would get off to a great start as she sat second for the first half of the race, but with a hard-charging Richards behind her she would be unable to hold her off for the last lap. Jones would come through to round out the top three WXC finishers.