words and photos SHAN MOORE

East Coast ISDE Qualifier and US Sprint Enduro Series ROUND 3

FEBRUARY 25-26-27, 2023

WINNSBORO, SOUTH CAROLINA

FMF/KTM’s Johnny Girroir topped some of the best sprint racers in the country at the Carolina Adventure World US Sprint Enduro and threeday ISDE East Coast Qualifier, which were held in conjunction with each other this past weekend in Winnsboro, South Carolina, as racers competed in the US Sprint Enduro Series Round 3 while Letter of Intent (LOI) riders attempted to qualify for this year’s International Six Days Enduro, which this year will be held in San Juan, Argentina on November 6-11. The Trophy riders who will eventually compete at Six Days aren’t required to qualify since they are picked on merit, but the event proved a great training event for the top hopefuls who attended. Saturday and Sunday served as round three of the US Sprint Enduro Series, while all three days (adding in Monday’s race) counted as the eastern round of the AMA ISDE Qualifier Series. The two events were scored separately, although series regulars and Letter of Intent (LOI) riders could ride both events.

In the end, Girroir edged out Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong by seven seconds for the overall win for Saturday and Sunday’s round of the Sprint Series in very slippery conditions, as rain on Friday and Saturday left the course in rugged condition, forcing several re-routes during the weekend. Then on Monday, Girroir completed the sweep, winning Monday’s ISDE-style race (with transfer trail added in), by beating out DeLong by nearly 28 seconds over the three-day event.

DeLong kept Girroir within his sights all day on Saturday, finishing the day just two seconds behind Girroir. However, it was Phoenix Honda’s Ruy Barbosa who led the first half of the day, taking advantage of a later start time in the muddy conditions. In fact, Barbosa won the first test by nine seconds over DeLong, while Girroir had a miscue and was another 10 seconds back. Barbosa was third in test two, just .3-seconds behind Girroir, with RPM Racing KTM’s Angus Riordan just .01-second behind Girroir, as Barbosa continued to lead out front.

Barbosa had the fastest time again in test three, but Girroir settled down and started to reel off the fastest times in the final few tests with Coastal Racing GasGas’ Thad DuVall adding a test win, as well.

Girroir won three tests, Barbosa won two, and DuVall topped one, giving Girroir Saturday’s win by two seconds ahead of the consistent DeLong, with Barbosa in third, three seconds back. Barbosa also was the top-finishing Pro 2 rider on Saturday.

Coastal Racing GasGas’ Thad DuVall was fourth after winning test five, with Phoenix Honda Racing’s Cody Barnes rounding out the top five and finishing second in the Pro 2 division.

On Sunday, Girroir edged DeLong by five seconds, with Barbosa again finishing third on the day and first in the Pro 2 class.

Girroir claimed the overall win, with DeLong a mere five seconds behind in second overall; however, FXR GasGas’ Layne Michael kicked off the day with a big win in test one and then again in test three. A few two-many tip-overs cost Michael a top spot, as Girroir came out on top with Delong, Barbosa, Barbosa’s Phoenix Honda teammate Cody Barnes and DuVall just behind.

“It wasn’t easy,” said Girroir of his win. “Everyone was ripping this weekend. Thad (DuVall) showed a lot of speed, obviously. And Old Diesel Craig over here never hit the ground once. I was just was laying on the ground a lot. Those are costly mistakes. But it was a good weekend. It was just a nail-biter, really, both days all weekend. It was good, close racing.”

Consistency paid off for DeLong, including a win in test five on Sunday, earning him second overall.

“Five seconds doesn’t seem like a lot of time, but it actually is,” said DeLong of the difference between him and Girroir on Sunday. “I’m happy to be giving Johnny a run for his money which is better than I’ve done in the past. So, I feel like we’re getting faster, which is good.”

Barbosa was third overall for the weekend and first in the Pro 2 division, breaking his Barnes’ streak of Pro2 wins, which went back nearly two years.

“I’m just getting comfortable with the bike after a few weeks testing my suspension,” said Barbosa, who had his best weekend to date. “Yesterday was a really good day. Yesterday I had a pretty good test to start the day. Today was a completely new day because they changed a lot of things on the enduro side, so it was like a short race but really intense. But, I’m happy with my pace, with my speed, with my team.”

Barnes was fourth overall and was second on the Pro 2 podium.

“The first day didn’t really go that well,” said Barnes. “The second cross test I threw it all away by crashing twice. I was kind of riding like an idiot, pushing too hard in the slop. I crashed right off the bat pretty high speed and was all mad so I was pinning it. Then I crashed again, when really I should have just slowed down and rode smart. I threw the weekend away right there.”

Finishing fifth overall, DuVall was pleased with the improvements over the first round after getting off to a fast start on Sunday.

“Yesterday was good,” said DuVall. “Close times all day. I was able to put in a couple test wins. Good start, I won a couple but then it was just pure downhill from there. I was laying on the ground three out of six tests today. I need to eliminate that. Then today, I just threw it away. I felt like I had the speed and was comfortable all weekend. It feels good to be battling with these guys after a rough first round. Definitely getting better. Just got to keep these boys on their toes.”

RPM Racing’s Angus Riordan was sixth after an exceptional ride in Saturday’s second cross test which saw him finish second by .1-second behind Girroir. It also earned him third in the Pro 2 class. Meanwhile, Layne Michael was seventh overall on an FXR-backed GasGas. GasGas-mounted Thorn Devlin was eighth, with Precision Offroad Racing’s Dominik Morse winning the Pro-Am division with a ninth overall finish.

Gavin Simon (Hsq) rounded out the top 10.

Am Pro Yamaha’s Rachel Archer Trail topped ISDE veteran Rachel Gutish (GG)for the win in the Pro Women’s division, while Trail Jesters Racing KTM’s Korie Steede was third.

Archer won 10 of the 12 tests with Steede winning the other two.

“We had a bit of rain on Friday night which made things pretty technical and I do well when it’s technical,” said Archer. “I got a big lead on

Saturday and got the win by about 58 seconds. I won every test, so that was pretty cool. Then on Sunday it dried up a little bit. The track was still pretty technical, so it was still to my liking, although the cross test got pretty gnarly. I ended up winning four out of six tests. Korie beat me in two. I crashed in one and then just made a couple mistakes in one of the cross tests.”

FLY Racing/KTM’s Shelby Turner was fourth overall.

On Monday, which was the day added for the three-day ISDE Qualifier, there were 40 competitors including LOI rider and the potential Trophy Team riders. Transfer trail was added in for this day, with each rider competing three times on the cross test and three times on the enduro test to simulate an actual ISDE event. Each rider competed three times on the cross test and three times on the enduro test. These times were added into the times the riders accumulated during Saturday and Sunday’s events.

“This is actually my first time to attend a qualifier, so I’m taking a little deeper look at the club riders,” added Kallonen. “We’re grooming the next generation of Trophy riders, men and women.”

Missing from the event was FMF/KTM’s Taylor Robert, who was supposed to be riding a sixrace schedule this year, strictly in preparation for Argentina.

Team manager Antti Kallonen talked about Taylor Robert’s absence from the event.

“Taylor was supposed to ride both the east and west qualifier series for practice and it’s good for these up-and-coming racers to get to watch a past ISDE overall winner, so it’s a bummer he injured his wrist. Hopefully, we’re not sure if he will be ready for the west qualifier, but that is his main goal for the year is to ride Argentina,” said Kallonen.

FMF/KTM’s Johnny Girroir was the overall winner for the threeday qualifier event, taking the overall by nearly 28 second ahead of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong and he commented that with the transfer trail, Monday’s event was much tougher.

“The tests were longer and there was about a 10-minute transfer between the tests, so it was a bit more challenging,” said Girroir. “I was on the ground a lot the first two days but I cleaned it up today and only fell once, so I feel good about the win.”

Coastal Racing GasGas’ Thad DuVall was third overall for the three days, while FXR/GasGas rider Layne Michael was fourth.

Pennsylvania’s Thorn Devlin was the top LOI rider in fifth overall so he will get a chance to make up for his last two attempts at Six Days when he qualified but didn’t get to ride due to injuries.

“In 2019 and then last year, I got hurt at the last minute and didn’t get to go,” said Devlin. “I’m pretty much giving it one more shot and hopefully we stay healthy.”

Trail Jesters KTM’s Korie Steede came into Monday’s event a minute-and-a-half behind Rachel Gutish, but managed to come back and take the Pro Women’s win by five seconds over Gutish.

“Actually, the pressure of Saturday and Sunday were just kind of lifted off my shoulders and I just told myself to go out there and have a good time,” said Steede. “I wasn’t too worried about the times since I was so far down, but after two tests I realized I had a chance to pull it off.”

Husqvarna-mounted Jocelyn Barnes was third in the Pro Women’s class, with Raine’s Racing Yamaha’s Prestin Raines and RPM Racing KTM’s Kaitlyn Jacobs rounding out the top five.

The US Sprint Enduro Series resumes action on March 25-26 at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, for round four of the series.

MENS OVERALL:

1. Johnny Girroir (KTM)

2. Craig DeLong (HSQ)

3. Ruy Barbosa (HON)

4. Cody Barnes (HON)

5. Thad DuVall (GG)

6. Angus Riordan (KTM)

7. Layne Michael (GG)

8. Thorn Devlin (GG)

9. Dominick Morse (HSQ)

10. Gavin Simon (HSQ)

ISDE QUALIFIER 3-DAY OVERALL:

1. Johnny Girroir (KTM)

2. Craig DeLong (HSQ)

3. Thad DuVall (GG)

4. Layne Michael (GG)

5. Thorn Devlin (KTM) LOI

6. Jaden Dahners (YAM) LOI

7. Trevor Maley (KTM) LOI

8. Jhak Walker (GG) LOI

9. Zack Toth (KTM) LOI

10. Hunter Smith (KTM) LOI