Checkpoint | 2020 Camp Coker Bullett GNCC & Mesquite WORCS Recap

June 3, 2020

MEDIA | GNCC & WORCS

Welcome to Checkpoint, a new weekly feature that will cover the ongoings in the off-road motorcycle racing world, presented by Moose Racing. Although motocross and Supercross is the center of the SML universe, our staff has massive respect for the varied disciplines of off-road, from SuperEnduro to Rally to GNCC to Big Six, and we always have an eye on what’s happening in the professional racing series. Every week we will bring updates from around the world, including race results, photos, video highlights, and new bike or product debuts.

2020 CAMP COKER BULLET GNCC

The perfect season is over. Kaliub Russell had dominated the first four rounds of the 2020 Grand National Cross Country Series in what will be his final year as a full-time competitor in the East Coast off-road championship, but Russell’s run of race wins came to an end over the weekend when Josh Strang came out on top in a battle at the 2020 Camp Coker Bullet GNCC.

That wasn’t the only long streak to snap in South Carolina; this marked Strang’s first overall win in four years. The Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki rider pressured Russell from the early moments of the race and was within a few seconds of the holeshot winner-early leader for most of the hours-long race, which culminated in a last-lap duel for the win and was decided by a mistake. After leading most of the race and during an intense battle, Russell reportedly hit a soft spot in the sandy dirt, went over the bars, and got the bike caught up in a nearby fence, a mess that required some assistance to get corrected and allowed Strang to pull away with the lead.

For Strang to win in South Carolina was crucial. Riders that were front-runners earlier in the year, including Stewart Baylor and Ricky Russell, have been sidelined by issues or injuries while Strang has stayed consistent and in podium contention. This win proved that he can indeed snatch success away from the multi-time champion and the two riders are now in a head-to-head battle for the top spot in the standings, with Russell at 145 points and Strang at 122 points.

Grant Baylor completed the podium aboard his FactoryONE Sherco machine and the third-place finish was his best result yet this season, as Baylor battled his way towards the front of the field after a poor start put him near the rear of the pack in the early minutes of the race. Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Jordan Ashburn finished in fourth place but the consistency of his finishes this season, including this result in South Carolina, has him ranked third in the championship standings.

Johnny Girroir was the rider of the day in the XC2 division. Aboard a Trail Jesters KTM, Girroir got a good start and ran in the lead, made mistakes that slid him back through the running order, and pushed back to the front to take the win. With this win, Girroir has claimed the top spot in the class championship.

AmPro Yamaha/St. Lawrence Radiology’s Mike Witkowski and Rockstar Energy/Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Craig DeLong had eventful days on their way to second and third-place finishes, respectively. Witkowski took the lead after one of Girroir’s errors but was unable to defend during the late battle. DeLong, meanwhile, was steady and stayed around third or fourth place for much of the day, then secured the last spot on the podium with a move on Enduro Engineering/XC Gear/Husqvarna’s Ryder Lafferty.

The shuffle to championship standings puts Girroir on the top with 128 points, DeLong second with 123 points, and Witkowski with 122 points.

XC1 Pro Event Results

1. Josh Strang
2. Kailub Russell
3. Grant Baylor
4. Jordan Ashburn
5. Josh Toth
6. Layne Michael
7. Trevor Barrett
8. Andrew DeLong
9. Cody Webb
10. Evan Earl

Overall National Championship Standings

National Championship Standings will determine the 2020 National Champion

XC2 250 Pro Event Results

1. Jonathan Girroir
2. Mike Witkowski
3. Craig DeLong
4. Ryder Lafferty
5. Liam Draper
6. Cody Barnes
7. Jonathan Johnson
8. Thorn Devlin
9. Ryder LeBlond
10. Sam Evans

XC2 250 Pro Series Standings

CLICK HERE TO VIEW COMPLETE RESULTS

2020 MESQUITE WORCS

After a few delays and blocked attempts, WORCS got back to it with the third round for the motorcycle classes on the Nevada-Arizona border in Mesquite. The West Coast series has been on hold since late February, so the full field of competitors weren’t going to let the triple-digit temperatures keep them from being away from the track for another weekend. Although the property in Mesquite is best known for its motocross course, the WORCS crew laid out an interesting off-road loop that included desert sand and a Pros Only line that took them along a nearby riverbed.

Dante Oliveira nabbed the holeshot in the Pro Class but went too fast into the second turn, overshot the curve, and slipped back to fourth place. This mistake was all that Taylor Robert needed to take the top spot and once in control of the race, he sped off to his third win of the season and put more points between himself and the others in the championship chase. Oliveira spent the entire duration of the race recovering from his mistake and put himself back into podium contention in the closing laps. A mechanical issue plagued Zach Bell’s motorcycle during the late stages of the race and it forced the Kawasaki rider to concede second place to Oliveira, and later third place to Cole Martinez. The championship standings see Robert on top with 75 points, Oliveira second with 55 points, Martinez third with 53 points, and Austin Walton fourth with 52 points.

Mateo Oliveira took his first win of the season in the Pro 2 class, a statement result by the KTM rider and something that was greatly aided by issues others further back in the field experienced. Mason Ottersberg entered the weekend as the championship leader in the Pro 2 division and was scored in second place at the checkered flag, but was later disqualified for cutting a section of the track. This DQ moved Tallon LaFountaine up to second place in the final results, but LaFountaine was cooked by the heat of the day and required some medical attention after coming off the track. Austin Sherpa completed the podium after an eventful run that included him getting the holeshot at the start of the race, a slow pit stop in the middle stages, and then a hard charge from sixth place back to podium contention in the closing laps. Oliveira now has the top spot in the championship standings with 67 points, LaFountaine is second with 62 points, and Serpa is third with 55 points. Because of the DQ, Ottersberg has dropped to fourth in the standings with 47 points.

Ottersberg wasn’t the only rider to get his results yanked by race officials, as teammate Tyler Lynn saw his dominant performance in Pro 2 Lites discarded for an infraction of his own. With that, Jake Alvarez was awarded the win while brother Will and Angus Riordan were ranked second and third respectively. Alvarez leads the championship standings with 65 points, Angus Riordan is second with 62 points, and Will Riordan is third with 56 points. Lynn’s is now fourth in the standings with 50 points.

The WORCS racers will take a break for the summer months and return to action in September at Glen Helen Raceway in Southern California.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW COMPLETE RESULTS

GOPRO VIDEO WITH CHAPARRAL MOTORSPORTS/PRECISION CONCEPTS/KAWASAKI TEAM GREEN

Just how challenging was the WORCS track at Mesquite? Press play on the GoPro onboard videos filmed by Chaparral Motorsports/Precision Concepts/Kawasaki Team Green riders JP Alvarez and Zach Bell from their races in the desert.