Cycle News Staff | March 7, 2022
Ben Kelley flexed his off-road muscles at the Wild Boar GNCC in Palatka, Florida, turning in one of the most dominating performances in GNCC history. After nearly three hours of racing, the FMF/KTM Factory rider claimed an impressive four-minute victory ahead of 2021 ISDE individual winner Josep Garcia (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).
Typically, one of the most grueling races on the schedule due to the deep sand that forms bike-swallowing whoops and ruts, this year’s race was somewhat different from past races in that instead of mud holes there was dust thanks to the dry conditions that the area has experienced lately. Regardless, the 12-mile course was brutal just the same, and Kelley handled it well, looking noticeably fresher than the competition at the finish.
“Every other year I’m completely drained at the end of this race, so it’s crazy how good I felt out there,” said Kelley. “I’ve been down here in Florida for the past two months riding at Ranch Russell so I’m in shape. It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure, but I was just trying to have fun and save energy as much as I could and it worked out in the end.”
Jordan Ashburn, who finished third, grabbed the holeshot to start the race and ran second after being passed by Kelley at the halfway mark. The Magna1 Motorsports/Husqvarna rider held onto second place until just a few miles from the finish, when he handed the runner-up slot to Garcia by tucking the front end and tipping over. Garcia said thank you and went on to finish second, while Ashburn remounted for third.
Kelley never put a foot wrong all day, and it’s clear that after struggling a bit in a few races during last year’s run to the championship that the Connecticut rider learned a few things from the experience and is putting the insight to good use in 2022.
I’ve been around for a few years now so I’m getting a little smarter,” said Kelley. “Jordan was riding a good pace up front. It was super dusty, so a lot of it you had to just ride five seconds behind him. I tried to make a few passes in the first lap, but I wasn’t aggressive enough. I was kind of just playing it cool because I know how gnarly this race is. About the halfway point I got in the lead and I had some clear track. I just kept going, jumping the whoops, wheel-tapping them and just having fun.”
Like Ashburn, Garcia was quick off the line and tucked in behind the Husqvarna rider to exit the first turn in second. The Spaniard was passed by Kelley on the opening lap but held his ground with the front-runners and started putting heavy pressure on Ashburn on the final lap of the race.
“I had some fun today,” said Garcia. “I want to be in front. I had a good start but then Ben passed me so strong. In the third lap, I hit my hand in one tree and I hurt it a little bit, so I suffer a lot in the race.”
Known more as a rock and mud rider, Ashburn launched into the lead at the start and looked strong while leading the first half of the race, as well as the last half when he ran second. Had he not tipped over it would have been a good fight to the finish with Garcia.
“I got the holeshot and got out front, which is exactly what I wanted to do,” said Ashburn. “Ben was all over me earlier on. I knew I wasn’t the fastest guy out there, but I just tried to ride the fast lines. We pitted on different times and he got around me and then he just pulled all day. Josep was just all over me all day. Just tried to ride mistake-free. The last lap I was just so pumped up and tired and fell over here, and that was it.”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Craig DeLong turned in the best finish of his rookie season in the XC1 class by charging from the back of the pack to finish fourth overall.
Mike Witkowski parlayed an excellent jump out of the gate into his second win of the season in the XC-2 250 Pro division. The AmPro Yamaha rider was running in the top four on adjusted time at one point in the race and eventually finished fifth overall.
“I led most of the race until I had a crash with a lapper and Jack Edmondson was right there to capitalize,” said Witkowski. “I expended a lot of energy when I crashed, so that took a lot out of the sails, but I caught him maybe a couple miles later and then passed him later that lap.”
Phoenix Racing Honda’s Cody Barnes was second in the XC-2 250 Pro class with a sixth overall. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Trevor Bollinger finished 30 seconds behind Barnes for seventh overall. Jack Edmondson finished a solid eighth overall and made the XC-2 250 Pro class podium with a third in class. The Magna1 Motorsports/Husqvarna rider is still adjusting to the GNCC format but led the XC-2 250 Pro class at one point when Witkowski went down.
Trail Jesters Racing KTM’s Jesse Ansley was ninth overall and fourth in the XC-2 250 Pro class, while Babbitts Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki Team Green’s Lyndon Snodgrass rounded out the top 10 and finished fifth in the XC-2 250 Pro class.
FMF/KTM’s Josh Toth ran in fourth for much of the race, but the heat eventually got to him, and he was forced to pull over.
Babbitts Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki Team Green’s Josh Strang and Coastal Racing GasGas’ Ricky Russell joined the walking wounded by exiting the race with undisclosed injuries. Missing the race altogether were heavyweights Steward Baylor (AmPro Yamaha), Thad Duvall (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) and Johnny Girroir (Coastal Racing GasGas), who all suffered injuries at the series opener and are out for an unspecified period.
Zach Hayes finished just under two minutes ahead of fellow KTM rider Hunter Neuwirth to win the FMF XC-3 125 Pro-Am class. Tegan Temple was third on a Husqvarna.
AmPro Yamaha’s Rachael Archer grabbed her second win in a row in the Women’s Pro class, finishing 48 seconds ahead of Trail Jesters Racing KTM’s Kori Steede despite crashing three times on the final lap. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Tayla Jones rounded out the podium in third.
OVERALL RESULTS
1. Ben Kelley (KTM)
2. Josep Garcia (KTM)
3. Jordan Ashburn (Hus)
4. Craig DeLong (Hus)
5. Mike Witkowski (Yam) XC-2
6. Cody Barnes (Hon) XC-2
7. Trevor Bollinger (Hus)
8. Jack Edmondson (Hus) XC-2
9. Jesse Ansley (KTM) XC-2
10. Lyndon Snodgrass (Kaw) XC-2