ROUND 3 FOX SQUIRREL RIDGE ADULT RACE REPORT
— FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE —
2025 US Sprint Enduro Series
Round 3
Fox Squirrel Ridge Sprint Enduro
February 22-23, 2025
Pelham, Georgia
At the previous round of the 2025 US Sprint Enduro Series in North Carolina, Am Pro
Yamaha’s Liam Draper claimed his first-ever win of the series, handing FMF KTM
Factory Rider Johnny Girroir his first sprint enduro defeat in the last 22 races.
This weekend’s Fox Squirrel Ridge Sprint Enduro in Pelham, Georgia, looked like more of
the same as Draper led the event after the first four tests, while Girroir got off to an
uncharacteristically slow start.
Girroir got stronger as the event wore on, eventually winning every test but one on
Sunday to claim the overall win. Meanwhile Phoenix Honda Racing’s Cody Barnes
squeezed by Draper for second overall with a great ride on Sunday.
“I started off not hitting my marks on Saturday and then I made a little adjustment and
crushed the last two tests,” said Girroir. “That gave me a little confidence and I rode
good today, although Liam and Cody were fast too. The first couple of tests we were
half a second apart. Cody won the first test yesterday and then he crushed today’s last
enduro test.”
On Saturday, Phoenix Honda Racing’s Cody Barnes jumped out to the early lead, winning
the first cross test and tying Draper for the win in the second cross test. The enduro test
was Barnes’ Achilles Heel on Saturday, however, as the Honda rider lost a lot of time in
the roots and ruts.
Draper took control after three tests having won the first enduro test (test two) by four
seconds ahead of Barnes and two seconds better than Girroir.
Girroir picked up the pace in the third cross test, moving in position to challenge Draper.
The final enduro test of the day was a game changer for both Girroir and Draper as
Draper took a big fall while Girroir had one of his best rides of the day, leaving Girroir
with Saturday’s win, 13 seconds ahead of Draper, even though Draper won three of the
six tests compared to only two for Girroir.
“I started off well in the first test and then kind of just lost my groove,” said Girroir. “I wasn’t
really flowing with the track. Then in the fifth test something clicked, and I had a good test and
that carried over into the last test. Unfortunately, I hit the ground but that’s racing.”
Barnes was a close third to Draper on Saturday, finishing just 0.740 seconds behind the
Yamaha rider, with Rockstar Energy Factory Racing’s Craig DeLong in fourth and FMF KTM
Factory Racing Team Landers’ rising star Grant Davis coming in with fifth.
On Sunday, Girroir was on form from the start, easily winning the first five of six tests while
Barnes and Draper fought it out for second for the day and second overall for the weekend.
Barnes went into the final enduro test with a two-second lead over Draper and wound up
turning in the fastest enduro-test time of the weekend to grab second for the day and second
overall.
In the overall results, Girroir went home with the first place, followed by Barnes and Draper.
DeLong was fourth with FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ rising star Grant Davis
in fifth. Davis was also the top Pro 2 rider, with Husqvarna-mounted Toby Cleveland sixth
overall and second in the Pro 2 class. FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Cooper Jones was
seventh overall and third in the Pro 2 class.
“My weekend was good than bad then good again and then it just kept going around like that,”
said Davis. “I couldn’t stay off the ground and had some bike issues with my fuel pump, but
other than that, at the end of the weekend I started putting in some good times.”
“It was a good weekend,” said Barnes. “There was some tight racing with Liam and Johnny all
week. On day one, I had some struggles in the enduro test but was able to turn that around
today so I’m happy about the weekend. I actually had a problem with my rear brakes in that last
test but I managed it to get through it.”
Phoenix Honda Racing’s JoJo Cunningham finished first in the Pro-Am class and eighth overall.
Meanwhile, Gavin Simon (fourth Pro 2) and Coastal Racing GasGas’ Layne Whitmer (second Pro-
Am) rounded out the top 10 overall.
“The tracks actually got way rougher than what I what they would,” said Cunningham. “I think I
only had one spill and of course it was in the last cross test when I was trying to make up some
other than that, it was a good weekend.”
In the Pro Women’s division, Phoenix Honda Racing’s Tayla Jones took the win by over a
minute ahead of Reiju USA’s Rachel Gutish and Rockstar Energy Factory Racing’s Korie Steede.
“I’m super pumped to be back in the middle of the podium,” said Jones. “Unfortunately, Korie
had a big crash and that made the weekend a little bit less tight but honestly, I had a great
weekend. The tracks were gnarly out there and towards the end it got super rough. It was wild,
but these girls were ripping the whole time.”
The top Amateur award went to Olin Daniels (Kaw) with an impressive 12th overall finish.
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 ENDURO: Cody Barnes – 5:57.9
PRO CROSS: Johnny Girroir – 6:07.6
AMATEUR CROSS: Caleb Wood (250A) – 6:31.02
AMATEUR ENDURO: Olin Daniels (250A) – 6:26.1
FMF FASTEST PRO CROSS TEST : Johnny Girroir – 6:07.6
The US Sprint Enduro Series resumes action on March 22-23 at Olde Mill Farm in Charlotte
Hall, Maryland. For more info on the US Sprint Enduro Series please check out
www.ussprintenduro.com.
Full Race Results can be found HERE
Race Day Photos can be found HERE
ROUND 3 OVERALL RESULTS
- Johnny Girroir (KTM)
- Cody Barnes (Hon)
- Liam Draper (Yam)
- Craig DeLong (Hsq)
- Grant Davis (KTM)
- Toby Cleveland (Hsq)
- Cooper Jones (KTM)
- JoJo Cunningham (Hon)
- Gavin Simon (Hsq)
- Layne Whitmore (GG)
