GNCC Racing

Trail Jesters KTM Racing – The Camp Coker Bullet GNCC Race Report

Thursday, June 4, 2020 | 10:10 AM

Trail Jesters KTM Racing – The Camp Coker Bullet GNCC Race Report

The 5th round of the GNCC series was held this past Sunday in Society Hill, South Carolina and our team riders were geared up and ready to race. Johnny Girroir sprinted to the first corner as the green flag waved and found himself with the best jump off the start he’s had all year.

Early on Girroir moved himself into the lead of the XC2 pack with his competition on his back tire. With a 3 hour race ahead of him he rode smart and smooth the first half just trying to keep himself in a good position without draining himself too early on. As he checked in for lap 4 at the halfway mark of the race, he was sitting 4th XC2 and was ready to flip the switch after pitting for a second time. During the remainder of the race Girroir was able to make the crucial passes to regain the lead and finished the race that way. Standing in the center of the box, Johnny took home 1st XC2 and 5th Overall. With his second class win of the season under his belt Girroir stated, “I feel good, my confidence is up, and I’m ready to keep racing!”

Johnny Girroir on the move to his second XC2 win of the 2020 season. PC: Shan Moore
Johnny Girroir on the move to his second XC2 win of the 2020 season. PC: Shan Moore

Simon Johnson’s KTM 250 XC-F fired up quickly off the line giving up a 3rd place start into the first corner of the track. Simon felt good as the race began to progress and he found himself in a groove. He stayed close to his competition in front of him and battled the day out around the 9th place position in XC2 until the last lap hit. Struggling with heat exhaustion on the final lap Johnson lost a few positions which ended his day with 13th XC2 and 23rd overall. Johnson commented on being back to racing after the break by saying, “I need to work on properly hydrating my body for 3 hours. I feel like I’m back in the swing of things, it’s just figuring out how to put all of the pieces together.”

Simon Johnson on his KTM 250 XC-F battling the South Carolina terrain. PC: Shan Moore
Simon Johnson on his KTM 250 XC-F battling the South Carolina terrain. PC: Shan Moore

Struggling to get off the line with the rest of the WXC class, Taylor Johnston had her work cut out for her from the start. The track was fast and Johnston took advantage of that, making a few quick passes in the first lap. After ditching her goggles on lap 2 Taylor struggled to see and was unable to pit for new ones until lap 3. After pitting Johnston felt great and continued to put down solid laps on this fast paced track, she stated, “I need to work on my raw speed. I’ve always been a technical rider and that has gotten me through in New England, but the fast pace of GNCC’s call for technique and tons of speed. I’m not there yet.” Johnston finished the day 12th in WXC and said “I’m excited to get to the next one and continue to put in laps and get more experience in the WXC class.”

Taylor Johntson pushed herself out of her comfort zone on the fast paced course. PC: Shan Moore
Taylor Johntson pushed herself out of her comfort zone on the fast paced course. PC: Shan Moore

After his class win last round Brayden Nolette was excited to get back to racing as he lined up ready for battle. As the flag waved marking the start of the race he was quick to fire up his bike and landed himself in the third into corner one, dove to the inside of corner two, and took over the lead by corner three as they headed out into the woods. At the end of lap one Nolette sat in second in his class as he continued to lay down consistent and strong laps. Nolette held onto his 2nd place position the entire 3 hour race and was able to bring the gap from first to him down to just 23 seconds by the end of the day. Brayden finished the day 2nd 150A and a personal best 30th overall. “This race was really good for me. I had no issues and physically I am feeling a lot better than I used to!” stated Nolette when looking at his improvements over his time racing GNCC’s “I definitely feel like I am getting more acclimated to this style of racing but there is always more room to improve!”

Brayden Nolette pushed his KTM 125 SX to the limit through the deep South Carolina ruts. PC: Shan Moore
Brayden Nolette pushed his KTM 125 SX to the limit through the deep South Carolina ruts. PC: Shan Moore

Thank you to our team sponsors KTM, FMF Racing, Troy Lee Designs, Edelmann Sales, Specialized, Motorex, Dunlop, Bullet Proof Designs, P3 Carbon, Hinson Racing, SuperB Batteries, Motool, Seat Concepts, IMS Products, TF Racing Suspension, Squid Decals, Nihilo Concepts, Steve Hatch Racing, XCGear, Action Trailer Leasing, Reeva Transport, ZR Throttle, Engine Ice, Motion Pro, Renthal, ARC levers, Acerbis, TM Designworks, Twin Air, Spec Bolt, VP Racing and Loud Fuel.

About Trail Jesters:

Trail Jesters KTM Racing is a KTM_SUPPORT TEAM established in January 2014. We race off-road motorcycles at the professional, amateur and youth level of national and regional series.