Toth had vengeance on his mind after also running strong a week ago in Florida, but then a late-race incident broke his bike and cost him a shot at the XC2 win and an overall podium. So he went to another level on a muddy race track (which led to the announcement that the race distance would be shortened from three hours to two and a half hours) and held the overall lead for the majority of the day.

Toth doesn’t even ride GNCC full-time anymore, as he started running his own program and schedule last year. He will race a wide variety of events throughout 2024 (even AMA Motocross at the High Point National in June!), but taking a GNCC win from the XC2 ranks is a heck of a check of the box.

For the third-straight race to start the season, Girrior ended up the winner of the XC1 class, but this time he was second overall. That will matter, because the GNCC #1 plate is based on overall, not class, points.

“It was gnarly out there, I got a pretty decent start and I was just following the leaders,” said Girrior, who actually has Toth’s old spot on FMF KTM. “Then Stew had some good lines and he went blowing by me. I tagged a long with him and I was learning .Then he went down a few times. I was able ot get around him. Then Ricky and Ashuburn challenged me again, and then  me and Ricky came together. It was just chaos out there. I kept getting the pit board “Toth is in the lead, Toth is in the lead.” I was charging as hard as I could. I ended up making a mistake and going over the bars. And I think it was down to five or ten seconds, but I think that’s all it took. Congrats to Josh, that’s awesome, but of course I wanted to win, but hats off to him, making history and making it happen from the second row.”

Girrior and Toth grew up as fellow racers in New England. Girrior was one of the first to congratulate Toth after the finish.

Jordan Ashburn, of Coastal Racing and the 2022 GNCC Champion, took third overall and second in XC1.

“You know, with two to go I got a pit board that said +3 on Toth, and I was like “Man, he’s coming.” He was riding so good,” said Ashburn. “I just latched on, and we went straight to the front. We made up a little ground on Johnny on the last lap, and I was trying to get around Toth just in case we got to Jonny on the last lap. Just in case he got stuck. You never know, it was a gnarly track. Man, hats off to Toth for that overall, that’s awesome. It was so rutty and kind of high speeds, mud holes. It was technical in a GNCC way.”

Steward Baylor, who was battling Girroir for wins at the first two rounds, ended up just off the podium. 

"If there was an award on most passes I think it was achieved yesterday, too many mistakes that cost too much time to come back from," said Baylor on social media. "The final straw was getting back to the lead and I caught a log got between my tire and fork causing me to crash loosing the lead and lead group luckily a big fan of mine was standing there to help get it out @123_austinlee 😂. It was fun racing in those conditions but it was definitely a bit short for my liking with the race time of a local [race]. Thanks to everyone in my corner."

As the afternoon Pro race got underway, it was Ricky Russell (Am-Pro Yamaha) charging to the first turn to earn himself the $250 Steel City Medical Center holeshot award in Georgia. The battle was on from there as the XC1 Open Pro competitors would make their way through the now tacky, slick Georgia clay.

The XC1 Open Pro battle was on as the physical race leaders seemed to change each lap with Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki’s Steward Baylor leading on lap one, and then FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Girroir would hold the lead on lap two only to find Russell leading the way on lap three. Girroir would make the pass back around Russell on lap four and continue to hold the physical lead for the remaining two laps of the race, earning his third-straight win in the XC1 Open Pro class.

However, as the XC2 250 Pro class starts a row behind the XC1 Open Pro class, there are time adjustments and with that time adjustment the race saw Team Enduro Engineering’s Josh Toth leading the way for the majority of the race. Toth was also physically up to second overall at one point in the race but would eventually come through third overall physically and remain in the number one spot with the adjusted time. Toth would make GNCC history in Georgia as he became the first overall winner from the XC2 250 Pro class.

Coastal GasGas Factory Racing’s Jordan Ashburn would battle back after finishing just off the podium at the first two races of the season. Ashburn continued to push throughout the day as he found himself back in fourth again at one point. Ashburn remained in second for the last couple of laps and would hold onto that finishing position in the XC1 class, while earning third overall on the day.

Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki’s Steward Baylor would battle back after holding the early lead and then falling back to fifth on the third lap of the race. Baylor battled back to round out the top three XC1 finishers, while earning fourth overall on the day. Baylor continues to hold the number two spot in the points standings after three races.

AmPro Yamaha’s Ricky Russell would come through to earn fourth in XC1 and fifth overall on the day after grabbing the holeshot and battling at the front of the pack for the first half of the race. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Craig Delong is slowly building his momentum back up as he had a consistent day of running inside the top five. DeLong would come through to earn fifth in XC1, and sixth overall on the day.

FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Dante Oliveira made his way back to the East Coast this weekend for another round of GNCC Racing where he came back from an eleventh place start to finish sixth in the XC1 class, 12th overall on the day. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Trevor Bollinger would also start near the back of the pack as he came through in 10th on the opening lap. Bollinger would make his way back up to seventh in class and 13th overall at round three. 

Making his way up to eighth in the XC1 class after a bad start was Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki Team Green’s Grant Baylor. He would finish 14th overall on the day. JS Sherco Racing’s Josh Strang would finish 16th overall in the Georgia clay, and ninth in the XC1 class. Phoenix Racing Honda’s Mike Witkowski rounded out the top 10 in the XC1 class as he came through 17th overall on the day.

As Toth made history earning the overall win from the XC2 line it would be FMF KTM Factory Racing Lander’s Grant Davis coming through to earn second in the XC2 class, while also working his way up to eighth overall on the day. AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper, defending XC2 Champion, would come back to finish ninth overall on the day and round out the XC2 250 Pro class podium at The Specialized General GNCC.

In the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class it would be Liqui Moly Factory Beta Racing’s Jhak Walker coming around to earn his second-straight class win of the season. Walker would grab the early lead and not look back and he came through to finish nine minutes ahead of his competition. Destructo Racing/Dixie Fuel/Total Control Suspension’s Dustin Simpson would have a good start to the day as he grabbed the $100 Lojak Cycle Sales FMF XC3 holeshot award. Simpson would continue to push, making his way into second on lap two, and holding that position until the checkered flag flew. Husqvarna/Sidi/Fly Racing/Scott Goggle’s Zachary Davidson would battle back and find himself rounding out the podium in the FMF XC3 class in Georgia.

The Specialized General Top Amateur honors would go to Team Green Kawasaki’s Nicholas Defeo as he came through to finish an impressive seventh overall on the day, while earning his second-straight 250 A class win. Team Green Kawasaki’s Joseph Cunningham would be second on the Top Amateur podium as he came through 23rd overall and earned second in the 250 A class. AmPro Yamaha’s Nathanial “Bubz” Tasha rounded out the Top Amateur podium with a third in 250 A and a 26th overall finishing position.

When the WXC racers took off it was Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki’s Rachael Archer getting the jump off the line to earn herself the $100 Kanati Performance Tires WXC holeshot award. However, Enduro Engineering/GASGAS/FXR Moto’s Shelby Turner was on a mission and soon made her way into the lead position.

Turner would continue to push each lap, trying to separate herself from the rest of her competitors. As the laps clicked off, Turner found herself headed to the checkered flag to earn her first-ever WXC class win. 

Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki’s Rachael Archer and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Korie Steede would battle for the first lap of the race, but Archer would be able to make the pass stick on lap two and would come through to earn second in WXC, as Steede came through to round out the podium with a third in the class.

Mark Fortner would come through first overall in the Sportsman A class, while Super Senior A rider, Delmi Molina, would earn fourth overall on the day.  Davin Shike from Alexis, Illinois would also earn fifth overall from the 150 B Schoolboy (12-17) class.

The General GNCC Results

Championship Standings