Hoosier GNCC: Steward Baylor storms second win as pitstop blunder costs Girroir

Steward Baylor earned his second-straight win of the 2024 Grand National Cross Country season, storming to the Hoosier GNCC win at the Ironman Raceway as Johnny Girroir makes a pitstop blunder.

Round six of the 2024 Grand National Cross Country Series landed once again at the Ironman Raceway for the Hoosier GNCC with track conditions “as rutted and rough on the body as it gets in GNCC”.

Toughing out the tough conditions, Johnny Girroir would take a commanding lead through much ofhte race but a storming Steward Baylor came back strong, switched pitstop strategy while Girroir fluffed his own fuel stop to hand Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki and Baylor their second win from six rounds with Craig Delong third.

It was slick out there...

When the XC1 Open Pro class saw the green flag dropped, FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Girroir grabbed the holeshot to head into the woods first and hold the lead position for the first five laps of the race.

Behind him the pack settled with Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki’s Steward Baylor making his way through the pack to catch and swap places with Rockstar Energy’s Craig Delong numerous times through the middle of the race, hauling closer to Girroir as the laps ticked-off.

Opting to go out of sync with his rivals for pitstops, Baylor was hauling and pulled clear of Delong while grabbing onto Girroir’s tail. In a final two laps, Girroir made a few mistakes including missing his FMF KTM pit (and getting fuelled further down the line, and therefore getting stung with a one place penalty), plus crashed in one of the ruts to allow Steward his second-straight win of the season and jump to within 10 points of Johnny G.

Husqvarna’s Craig Delong came through in the third place position, but he would be bumped up to second after Girroir’s penalty was assessed. Delong was charging all day, making the necessary passes from his fifth place start to secure his podium finish at round six.

Fourth overall went Coastal GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jordan Ashburn ahead of Mike Witkowski who dropped from third to finish fifth.

XC2 duel continues

Phoenix Racing Honda’s Cody Barnes headed the XC2 class into the woods off the flag and lead and epic scrap of four riders separated by seconds. The FMF KTM Factory Racing Lander’s duo of Angus Riordan and Grant Davis broke free and continued to swap the lead position throughout the race, along with AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper.

Riordan would continue to hold the lead the second half of the race, despite pressure from Davis and Draper, and crossed the line first. Davis and Draper rounded the top three in the XC2 class at round six.  

Devore/KTMFXR/SRS Suspension’s Dakoda Devore claimed the XC3 win with Top Amateur honours once again going to Husqvarna-backed Jason Tino who finished another highly respectable eighth overall for the 250 A class win.

Results:

The WXC race saw intense battles throughout the morning, as Enduro Engineering/GASGAS/FXR’s Shelby Turner got the jump off the line ahead of Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki’s Rachael Archer who made the pass for the lead early on. Archer led “unbothered” for the first two laps, but by the time the white flag flew Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Korie Steede was just five seconds behind her.

Steede’s momentum faded dramatically though and Archer emerged from the woods to earn her third win of the season.

Turner made a couple of last lap passes to claim back second place in the WXC class ahead of Sherco USA/Moose/Gutish Racing’s Rachel Gutish would fight hard for third overall ahead of Steede.

Vet Charlie Mullins threw his leg over a motorcycle once again and claimed the Sportsman A class and morning race win overall, five minutes ahead of Archer who finished second overall. Sportsman A competitor, Cody Groves would come through to earn third overall in the morning race.

AM Race Results:

More information: www.gnccracing.com

Photo Credit: Mack Faint