ROUND 1 ADULT RACE REPORT FROM MAC DADDY’S XC PARADISE
— FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE–
US Sprint Enduro Series
2025 US Sprint Enduro Series
Round 1
January 18-19, 2025
Hephzibah, Georgia
FMF KTM Factory Rider Johnny Girroir picked up where he left off last year by taking the
first big win of 2025 at round one of the US Sprint Enduro Series held at MacDaddy
Raceway in Hephzibah, Georgia, although Girroir had to fight off wolves at the door
during the early going on each day to get the job done.
Although he won the opening cross test, Girroir found himself in a deficit after two tests.
When a hard rain delayed the start of Saturday’s race for an hour, the defending champ,
the first rider to take to the enduro course, found himself breaking trail on the muddy
test. Girroir lost 13 seconds to eventual test winner Am Pro Yamaha’s Liam Draper,
while FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ rising star, 19-year-old Grant Davis, was just a
second behind Draper in third, as Girroir spent the rest of the day fighting back in pursuit
of the lead.
The hard rain made for slippery conditions for the first half of the day, though the track
got tacky and rough as the sun and wind began to dry it out, making for a perfect day of
racing.
After battling back and winning four of the six tests, Girroir took Saturday’s win and held
a 5.4-second lead over Davis heading into Sunday’s race.
Davis led race after the first two tests.
“After the rain it was pretty gnarly, but when it dried out it got tacky and rough,” said Davis. “I
felt comfortable in the cross test, but I also won one of the enduro tests, so I think I rode
consistently all weekend.”
Draper followed in third after getting off to a disastrous start, finishing seventh after drawing
the number one spoon, which meant he would be the first on the track to break in the muddy
trail, followed Girroir. Draper redeemed himself by winning one of the enduro tests.
“There were so many puddles in that first test, so I just rode super timid and scared of the holes,
said Draper. “I made up some time and rode good in the enduro test, but that first test hurt
me,” said Draper.
Phoenix Honda Racing’s Cody Barnes was fourth on the day, with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna
Factory Racing’s Craig DeLong in fifth.
Girroir started in a hole again on Sunday, finishing fourth in the first cross test and some five
seconds behind Draper. Meanwhile, Davis held a solid lead after two tests, having placed
second and first in the first two tests.
Girroir came on strong mid-day to eventually win three tests for Sunday’s win plus the overall
for the weekend, while Davis had a ride he’d rather forget in the second enduro test which
dropped him to fourth for the day behind Draper and Phoenix Honda’s Cody Barnes.
In the overall results, Girroir took the overall win, extending his streak of day wins going back to
last year to 22 victories… which is an amazing feat. Girroir beat second place finisher Draper,
another up-and-comer whose time at the top is coming soon, by 26.6-seconds after 12 tests of
racing.
LIAM DRAPER / JOHNNY GIRROIR / CODY BARNES
“Liam and I were both unlucky when it came to drawing start positions,” said Girroir. “He drew
number one for the first cross test and since I won that test I had to go first on the enduro test,
so we were both blazing trail,” said Girroir. “Breaking in the enduro test was horrible. It rained
all night and this morning until 8:00 so it was all puddles again. It got better and the last four
tests were better than the first couple of tests, so I was able to settle down and hit my lines.”
Third overall was Barnes, who ran consistently in the top three for most of the weekend.
“The cross test got better as the day went on but the enduro test got worse because it got
rutted and a lot more tree roots got exposed so that was that was kind of harder,” said Barnes.
“The but the cross test by the end was pretty good. For the most part my weekend went
smooth. I stayed off the ground all the way until the second enduro test today and I crashed
two times and lost a bunch of time. But besides that, I was happy with my riding.”
Davis, who was also the top Pro 2 winner, certainly proved he belongs among the elites of the
sport. Davis won an enduro test on Sunday ahead of Draper and Girroir, keeping him in the
hunt for an overall podium. Davis ended the weekend with fourth overall, while Rockstar
Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Craig DeLong rounded out the top five.
Husqvarna-mounted Gavin Simon was sixth and second in the Pro 2 class, beating out
Pro-Am winner and seventh place finisher Phoenix Honda Racing’s JoJo Cunningham.
FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Cooper Jones grabbed eighth overall just nine seconds
ahead of Red Bear Team Green Kawasaki’s Collier Martinez.
Husqvarna-mounted Dominik Morse finished out the top 10.
GAVIN SIMON / GRANT DAVIS / COOPER JONES
HUNTER SMITH / JOJO CUNNINGHAM / MICHAEL DELOSA
Bonecutter-backed Sherco Rachel Gutish toughed out a competitive victory in the Pro Women’s
division, topping Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Korie Steede for the overall win.
Steede took the win on Saturday by less than a second but then Gutish came back with
determination on Sunday to grab the overall win by 27 seconds.
“I just tried to be smooth and consistent,” said Gutish. I didn’t touch the ground once this week
so I was stoked with that,” said Gutish.
Phoenix Honda Racing’s Tayla Jones returned to racing after spending a year off to finish out
the podium with a third.
KORIE STEEDE / RACHEL GUTISH / TAYLA JONES
The top Amateur award went to Husqvarna-mounted Brayden Baisley (250A).
For 2025, FMF Fastest Test Awards – These Specialty Awards will be given to the racer
of the fastest Cross Test and fastest Enduro Test on the weekend in the Youth/Amateur
and Pro divisions.
PRO DIVISION
Johnny Girroir, Cross Test
Liam Draper, Enduro Test
AMATEUR DIVISION
Vet A, Cross Test (Day 1) – Jason Lawrence
250 A Cross Test (Day 2) – Caleb Wood
250 A, Enduro Test – Brayden Baisley
The US Sprint Enduro Series returns to action on February 1-2 in Laurinburg, North
Carolina, for round two of the series. For more information on the series go
to www.ussprintenduro.com.
PHOTO CREDITS FOR THIS REPORT: ART PEPIN
PHOTO LINKS FROM ROUND 1:
1 – Mac Daddy’s – offroadpaparazzi
ROUND 1 OVERALL RESULTS
- Johnny Girroir (KTM)
- Liam Draper (Yam)
- Cody Barnes (Hon)
- Grant Davis (KTM)
- Craig DeLong (Hsq)
- Gavin Simon (Hsq)
- JoJo Cunningham (Hon)
- Cooper Jones (KTM)
- Collier Martinez (Kaw)
- Dominick Morse (Hus)
