IN
THE
WIND
P32
Kelley Signs Three-Year Deal With KTM
B
en Kelley, the back-to-back
GNCC XC2 250 Pro Cham-
pion, has signed a three-year
contract extension to join the
FMF KTM Factory Racing team
in 2020. Kelley will compete in
the XC1 Open Pro class.
Kelley has ridden for the Trail
Jesters KTM Racing Team as
a KTM-supported athlete since
2017, and he has dominated the
XC2 250 Pro class in 2019—re-
maining undefeated to-date.
"I am really excited to be
joining the FMF KTM Factory
Racing team going into the 2020
season," Kelley said. "I have high
hopes for next year and look for-
ward to moving up to the premier
XC1 class in GNCC."
KTM supports potential factory
riders and championship con-
tenders through a series of sup-
port teams like the Trail Jesters
KTM effort while keeping their
in-house FMF KTM Factory Rac-
ing Team as the premier squad
at their priority race series. The
step up for Kelley in 2020 is a
big one.
"I'm very pleased to see Ben
graduate from the Trail Jesters
KTM Racing Team," Antti Kal-
lonen, KTM's Off-Road Racing
Team Manager, said. "We've
been supporting him and the
team for a few years now, and
this is the result of a great feeder
program, and now he's ready
to take on the premier class.
Obviously, we're looking for a
very bright future for Ben as he's
already shown an enormous
amount of potential in the XC2
class. Now he will be on a bigger
bike in the premier class and our
expectations are high, as are his,
so we're looking forward to the
next three years and beyond."
The 23-year-old Kelley will
finish out the last three rounds of
the 2019 GNCC Series and will
be representing the U.S. Junior
World Trophy Team, November
11-16, at the 94th FIM Interna-
tional Six Days Enduro (ISDE) in
Portimao, Portugal. CN
Ben Kelley, who just clinched the
2019 GNCC Championship in the
XC2 Pro class, is moving up to
the XC1 class via a new three-year
deal with the FMF KTM Team.
