JOHNNY GIRROIR WINS HIGH VOLTAGE SPRINT ENDURO

Story and photos by Shan Moore
“It’s no secret I like technical tracks, and with the conditions Saturday I felt right at home,” said Girroir.

 

Coastal Racing GasGas’ Johnny Girroir took the two-day overall win at this weekend’s US Sprint Enduro Series at the High Voltage Sprint Enduro in Dilliner, Pennsylvania. Girroir beat AmPro Yamaha’s Layne Michael by just six seconds to win the overall after the two riders split wins over the weekend, with Girroir taking Saturday’s win and Michael winning Sunday’s round.

Layne Michael: “Saturday, honestly I just struggled with the conditions. On Sunday it was dry and Johnny and I were going back and forth all day. I had a costly mistake in the first enduro test and had a crash and for sure lost quite a bit of time.”

 

Michael came into the race sitting second behind FMF/KTM’s Josh Toth in the series standings, but left Pennsylvania with a seven-point advantage after the weekend with just one race remaining on the schedule. Girroir’s win was a bit surprising, especially on Saturday’s slick and technical course, considering it was his first race back after breaking his “iliac crest” on the left side of his pelvis back in March. After winning the opening test of the day, Girroir capitalized on the momentum to beat Michael by 12 seconds for the day.

 

Sunday’s course was more hard-pack, and Yamaha’s Michael shined as he usually does in those conditions. After winning all three of Sunday’s cross tests, Michael went into the final test of the day leading Girroir by just .6 seconds for the day win. Michael emerged with a five second advantage over Girroir giving him Sunday’s win, however, it was not enough to surpass Girroir for the two-day combined overall win.

 

Meanwhile, Toth had a weekend to forget. A slip in the first turn of the very first test set the tone for the Connecticut rider’s weekend and he eventually finished fifth overall after a crash-filled two days.

Cody Barnes: “Saturday was really slick and I kind of rode a little bit too cautious in those opening tests, especially the enduro test,” said Barnes. “I had no crashes on the weekend, so that was a big thing on the slick stuff. Pretty pumped to wrap up my first US Sprint Enduro championship.”

 

Barnes won the Pro 2 class, taking the win ahead of RPM Racing’s Gus Riordan after a tight battle all weekend. Barnes was spectacular in two tests, topping even the Pro riders in each. In all, he had seven tests in the Pro2 class, while Riordan accounted for the remaining five wins. Barnes ended up fourth overall for the weekend and wrapped up the Pro 2 title with his performance.

 

Forbes Racing KTM’s Cole Forbes suffered a couple of crashes but still managed to win the Pro-Am division with a solid seventh overall.

 

In the Pro Women’s class, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Tayla Jones won all 12 tests for the win and clinched the class championship one race early.

 

 

OVERALL RESULTS

  1. Johnny Girroir (GG)
  2. Layne Michael (Yam)
  3. Liam Draper (KTM)
  4. Cody Barnes (Hon)
  5. Josh Toth (KTM)
  6. Gus Riordan (KTM)
  7. Cole Forbes (KTM)
  8. Neil Enman (GG)
  9. Zack Toth (KTM)
  10. Drew Callaway (KTM)

 

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