Trail Rider Magazine

J Day Off road Season Recap By Ciaran Wilcox The sun set on the JDay season with the fi nal race taking place on a warm November day in the legend- ary Southwick sand. Daylight savings me had ended the morning of the race causing darkness to se le in before the drop of the checkered fl ag. Going into the round, reigning champion Johnny Girroir and Kyle Hangos were in a ght points ba le with the tle coming down to the results of the fi nal race of the year. Hangos and Girroir would put on one fi nal performance as they ba led and swapped the lead with each rider encountering their own individual challenges throughout the day. Johnny Girroir took the overall win earning his fi h JDay Off Road Cham- pionship tle se ng a bar that is seemingly impossi- ble to reach let alone top. JDay series founder John Day has changed the landscape of off road racing with the innova ve format that has helped put New England riding in the na onal spotlight. With never ending dedica on to race day perfec on and inclusion of new concepts into the already proven race format, the series is seeing sustained growth with par cipa on numbers in line with GNCC a endance and no apparent signs of decline. The JDay Series cul vates the younger genera on, ensuring that the future interest in off road racing is sustained. It provides a pla orm for se ng and achieving personal goals. You gain an apprecia on and level of respect for the work that's required in order to reach your objec ves and un- derstand that that nothing will be handed to you and nothing should be taken for granted. We have seen that dreams can be achieved when you apply your- self for success. The series travels to some of the most beau ful areas of the Northeast with loca ons ranging from moun- tainous terrain to na onal motocross tracks and ev- erything in between. The season would bring races in snow, mud and dust but fortunately the vast majority would be held on days that were made to race. Inju- ries and mechanical issues would occur throughout the season but together, those factors meld together to become the story of the season which we now are le to refl ect fondly upon. If you learn from the adversity that may be dealt to you it will make you stronger and seal a determina on to succeed. Each of the events are special and have memories of some variety associated with them. If I wrote about each one individually, I would likely consume this en re edi on. I will limit myself to a few of the events that stood out as the most memorable. What could be more memorable and exci ng than the openers for the GP and Sprint Enduro series to both kick off at the legendary Southwick track, like all races the air is thick with adrenaline. The sound of accelerat- ing engines serves as background music and the smell of the race fumes fi lls the air. All of that is amplifi ed being the fi rst race of the season. The venue is elec- trifi ed and it feels much like the fi rst day of summer camp when you fi nally get to see all of your friends again. Bikes are adorned with new graphics, riders ac- climate into new classes and there is fresh gear every- where you look. Being that there had not previously been a Sprint Enduro at Southwick it made for an even more exci ng opener than usual. The Cross Test would provide the opportunity to race the en re motocross track. With the perfectly laid out Woods Test and the Extreme Test using, in part, "The Wall" , it was one of the more memorable events of the year and deemed a fan favorite. The would-be Champion of the Pee Wee Bantam class, Ryan Amancio, would take the win at the opening GP doing a total of ten laps – one more than the rest of the class. He and Benjamin Crossman had a photo fi nish for the holeshot which Ben would claim and be awarded a Luke McNeil signed jersey as an award for the accomplishment. Ryan would then come through scoring in the lead and would hold down fi rst place un l the checkered fl ag dropped. Who would have imagined then that he would also win every Round that he raced in the class for the season? Ryan is an extremely respec ul and talented kid who dreams of a career racing dirt bikes. With the determi- na on and skill that he has already exhibited, he has every chance of achieving his goals and is certainly a name to watch. The McIntyre Memorial Sprint Enduro and Dozer Memorial GP were both held at the same venue in Hun ngton Massachuse s and is a personal favorite of mine. Both are Memorial events held at a familiar venue with a vast array of memories from races past. Nested on a mountain alongside a wide winding river ravine, this is classic New England terrain with steep eleva on changes, roots, rocks, brownie ba er dirt and the infamous 'booter' where spectators pack in to witness the wild and outlandish an cs of the riders make it a personal favorite of mine. For the fi rst me in the series, the Red Fern GP (which was held in Cheshire Massachuse s) would u lize one course for morning the motos and a second course for the a ernoon. The same start and fi nish lines would be

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