ROUND 3 & AMA ISDE EAST QUALIFIER AT CAROLINA ADVENTURE WORLD 2023 RACE REPORT
For Immediate Release –
Girroir Tops Carolina Adventure World US Sprint Enduro and ISDE Qualifier Presented by Moose Racing
East Coast ISDE Qualifier and
US Sprint Enduro Series
Round 3
February 25-26-27, 2023
Winnsboro, South Carolina
The top sprint racers in the country went head-to-head at the Carolina Adventure World
US Sprint Enduro and three-day ISDE East Coast Qualifier presented by Moose Racing, 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, FMF/KTM’s Johnny 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. The 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.”
Gutish was there to prepare for Argentina.
“The ISDE is most important thing in my career,” said Gutish. “I got an X Games medal
and that was a very cool individual accomplishment, but I will say the moment I’m
probably going to look back on my career that meant the most to me was winning the
’21 title in Italy along with my teammates. So, Six Days to me is the greatest expression
of what we can do on a dirt bike.”
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.
Antti Kallonen, US Trophy Team manager since 2012, was on hand to oversee the
proceedings. Kallonen mentioned that he is taking more of an interest in the younger
LOI riders and potential future Trophy Team riders.
“In the past, we’ve had a 2-3 qualifier series, but this year we are just doing one race on
each coast, but each is three days long,” said Kallonen. “All three days’ cumulative
times count towards a rider’s overall time and the top seven club riders from each coast
are chosen according to those times. We also have four pro riders competing this
weekend, who have all been to Six Days before, and they are here for the practice and
to support this qualifier event. It is so hard to duplicate anything like this in a practice
scenario, so this is the best way to do it.”
Kallonen was pleased to see a deep field of top riders wanting to qualify for Argentina.
A total of 21 club riders get to go to Six Days, so seven are taken from the east qualifier
and seven from the west qualifier and then one club team is hand selected, which is
usually made up of top-level pro riders who are not on one of the Trophy Teams. A
Senior team also is selected, making up the 21 riders.
“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 six-race schedule this year, strictly in preparation for Argentina.
“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 three-day 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.
YOUTH RACE REPORT
In the Youth Divisions, Austin Tsakanikas went head-to-head with Caleb Johnson (Hsq)
in the Super Mini Senior (14-15) class, with Tsakanikas getting the win on both days,
winning by over three minutes on Saturday.
Mason Tsakanikas came out on top if both days of the Super Mini Junior class, beating
Kamden Krause and Ryan Smith on Saturday, and Smith and Koen Bunch on Sunday.
Brenan Mazzola took the win on Saturday in the 85 Senior division, with John “Will”
Berry in second and Case Kite in second and third. On Sunday, Kite took the won over
Ryley Wright with Berry in third.
Brody Boland and Nolan Hudson went at it again on Saturday in the 85 Junior division,
with Hayden Dupuis taking third. On Sunday, Boland got the win again, but this time it
was Maddox Hudnall in second and Dupuis in third.
Rylan Roberts, Rylan Engle and Donnie Ryan went 1-2-3 on each day of the 65 Senior
class
Lola Grozbean and Nicole Rupert traded wins in the Girls (10-16) division, with Josie
Grozbean getting third on each day.
In the 65 Junior class, Colt Chaney, Aubrey Tsakanikas and Mason Ramsey took the
top three spots on each day.
Maci Ryan has ruled the Trail Bike class this year, and once again she won both days.
Maura Tsakanikas was tops in the 50 Senior (7-8) division, beating Kade Dupuis and
Oliver Stewart on each day to take the overall win.
In the 50cc Junior division (4-6) Ryder Baricska was first on each day with Carson Zink
in second and in Gracelynn Bunch taking third each day.
The US Sprint Enduro Series Presented by Moose Racing resumes action on March 25-26 at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, for round four of the series. For more information on the
series go to www.ussprintenduro.com.
Photo Gallery by @shanyphoto HERE
Results can be found HERE
US SPRINT ROUND 3 OVERALL RESULTS
- 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 Results
- 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
Media Contact:
Shan Moore
shan@tandenews.com
