Story: Rachel Gutish | Contributor - Enduro.Media
Quotes & Images: Courtesy of US Sprint Enduro Series
Hephzibah, Georgia | January 23, 2023

The 2024 US Sprint Enduro Series Presented by Moose Racing kicked off last weekend at Mac Daddy’s XC Paradise in Hephzibah, Georgia.

The Bottom Line Up Front

WHAT: Last year’s series champion Johnny Girroir (FMF KTM Factory Racing) won both days at round one of the US Sprint Enduro Series (USSE), and took home the weekend overall win. Liam Draper (AmPro Yamaha) and Craig Delong (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) finished 2nd and 3rd in Pro1, respectively.

Pro2 rider Gus Riordan (FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers) won his division and finished an impressive 2nd overall on the weekend against a stacked pro field. He was joined on the podium by Jason Tino (Husqvarna USA), and Toby Cleveland (Bell’s Electric Husqvarna), both of whom recently moved up from the ProAm classes.

Brandy Richards (FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers) won every test in Women’s Pro, a dominant performance to start off her first full season on the east coast. Korie Steede (Rockstar Husqvarna) went 3-2 for a second-place finish on the weekend, while Rachel Gutish (Sherco USA) rounded out the podium with a 2-3 finish.

(Unfamiliar with the US Sprint Enduro Series? Check out Rachel Gutish’s primer!)

SO WHAT: In addition to being an eight-round, national-caliber series in its own right, round one of USSE was our first chance to see many heavy-hitters of American east coast off-road in action, and gain some information about where everyone is currently stacking up. Given the format of USSE (short tests with long breaks) it is also a great chance for riders to dial in bike setup – especially important for riders who have switched brands or teams this season.

NOW WHAT: The next round of USSE, which is also the next major off-road race in this region, is only two weeks after round one… not much time, but enough for riders to take what they’ve learned at round one and refine their program heading into round two.

The FULL story

Even though it took place in Georgia, northerners who made the trek south for Mac Daddy’s Sprint, round one of the USSE series, were likely disappointed by temperatures hovering around freezing. However, they were not disappointed by sunny and dry conditions, especially after the torrential rain riders faced at this venue last year.

The 4-mile (roughly 6.5k) cross test took place in an active sand (or maybe clay) mine and had a very ISDE/Euro feel with lots of fast sweeping corners and short but sharp elevation changes as you entered and exited different sections of the open pit… with a few natural-terrain based jumps for good measure. The 3-mile (roughly 5k) enduro test was also a mix of sand and clay, with a few deep, sandy corners, but a lot of harder clay sections with exposed tree roots and braking/acceleration chop. The cross test held together beautifully throughout the weekend, aside from the jump face and landings getting a little worn down and chewed out. It was stunning how quickly the enduro test got rough. Even between previewing the tests Friday and starting the adult race Saturday (with only the youth riders having been out on the course) there was a noticeable difference, and by the final test on Sunday, it was approaching GNCC or ISDE special test levels of roughness, with very few viable options for riding the edges or avoiding the whoops.  

PRO 1

The Pro1 class was stacked – between returning Pro1/XC1 riders like Johnny Girroir, Craig Delong, and Layne Michael (Morgantown Powersports KTM), the fresh arrivals from Pro2 Liam Draper and Cody Barnes (Phoenix Honda) plus a few wild cards like Josh Toth (Enduro Engineering) and Jason Lawrence (Kawasaki), there were 4 current AMA number-one plates and plenty of competition. Times were close, often only separated by a handful of seconds, sometimes even less. In spite of the close times in each individual test, Girroir was consistently on top, winning 10 out of 12 tests (with a clean sweep on Sunday, 6 for 6). This slowly but surely added up to almost a minute gap by the end of the weekend. After Girroir, there was quite a bit of jockeying for position, with Delong and Draper swapping positions between the first and second day, with Draper coming out ahead for the weekend. Outside the top three , Barnes started slow on Saturday and rebounded into 4th on Sunday, Michael dropped from 4th back to 6th and Toth stayed right in the middle in 5th.

Johnny Girroir: “It’s a good way to start off the year.I had a couple of mistakes yesterday, but today I came out swinging, which is a good way to start off the season. I had a couple of mistakes yesterday and a bad couple of misfortunes, but today, I stayed smooth and kept smooth and in control. I stalled it a couple of times on Saturday but today I was smooth all day.”

PRO 1 OVERALL RESULTS

1. Johnny Giroir (FMF KTM Factory Racing)

2. Liam Harper (AmPro Yamaha)

3. Craig Delong (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing)

4. Cody Barnes (Phoenix Honda)

5. Josh Toth (Enduro Engineering)

PRO 2

The Pro2 class had some exceptionally strong showings this weekend, with Gus Riordan taking 2nd overall and the two test winners other than Johnny coming out of the Pro2 class – Toby Cleveland winning ET-1 and Riordan winning CT-3 on Saturday. Riordan was the clear leader of the class on both Saturday and Sunday, but the remaining riders had a close battle for the remaining podium positions. Dominick Morse (Precision Off-Road Husqvarna) had a strong day on Saturday, only finishing 17 seconds down from Riordan. However, Cleveland and Jason Tino picked it up on Sunday. Cleveland had a slight edge over Tino in the enduro tests, but Tino shined in the cross tests and was able to move up to second in Pro2 for the weekend, leaving Cleveland third and Morse fourth. British rider Jack Edmonson rounded out the Pro2 top five.

Gus Riordan: “It was a good weekend. I started kind of slow both days, but I got it going towards the end of the day. I had a good battle with Craig DeLong on Saturday; it came down to nothing in the end. And then today, I just had a small crash in that last test, but other than that, I had a good weekend.”

Liam Draper: “I was a little nervous coming in because it was my first race on a 450. I’ve only had two weeks on the big bike, so I wasn’t sure where I was going to line up with these guys. I rode solid and just had one crash all weekend, so I’m stoked with how I finished.”

PRO2 OVERALL RESULTS

1. Gus Riordan (FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers)

2. Jason Tino (Husqvarna)

3. Toby Cleveland (Bell’s Electric Husqvarna)

4. Dominick Morse (Precision Offroad Racing)

5. Jack Edmonson (Fast Eddy Racing)
   
   

PRO Women

Brandy Richards (FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers) took a dominant win in the women’s pro class this weekend. The west coast rider will be spending a full season on the east coast this year, and taking the win at the first major east coast off-road race bodes well for her future success in this half of the United States. Although her main competitors, Korie Steede (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) and Rachel Gutish (Sherco USA) came within less than a second of Richards in several tests, Richards came out on top each time, winning all twelve tests. Gutish and Steede swapped positions on the two days, with Gutish finishing second on Saturday and Steede finishing second on Sunday and second overall on the weekend. Gutish’s third place marks the first time a Sherco has been on a pro podium at a USSE race. Two GNCC regulars, Prestin Raines (Bonecutter Sherco) and Kayla O’Neil (Cycle Motion Yamaha) rounded out the top five.

PRO WOMEN OVERALL RESULTS

1. Brandy Richards (FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers)

2. Kori Steede (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing)

3. Rachel Gutish (Sherco USA)

4. Prestin Raines (Bonecutter Sherco)

5. Kayla O’Neill (Cycle Motion Yamaha)