OFF-ROAD
AMA GRAND NATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY SERIES, PRESENTED BY SPECIALIZED
ROUND 4 / MARCH 28, 2021
MOREE'S SPORTSMAN'S PRESERVE / SOCIET Y HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA
P74
mile mark. I lost the pack after that, and I had to
charge back through to get in with the lead group.
When it started raining, that really felt good, and I
caught kind of a second wind. It was a frustrating
day, but we managed to salvage fourth place."
Kelley, who won round two of the series in
Florida, continues to lead the series standings by
three points over Strang.
KLM GasGas rider Grant Baylor has yet to dupli-
cate the magic that carried him to the win at the se-
ries opener in Union, South Carolina. However, the
South Carolina rider still sits third
overall in the series standings
after finishing seventh overall
and fifth in the XC1 class. Mean-
while, defending champion XC2
250 Pro class Craig DeLong put
his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna
into eighth overall and third in
the XC2 250 Pro class.
"I had a pretty good start, but I got together with
a couple guys in the first corner," said Ashburn. "I
managed to finish up the first lap in third and just kind
of ended up there all day. Kelley was ahead of me for
a while and I was able to get around him later in the
race, although the XC2 boys (Girroir and Snodgrass)
were really on it today. Couldn't get back away from
them at the end, but it was a good day."
After getting stuck right after the start, Ben Kel-
ley pretty much went from last to third after turning
in a solid first lap. However, the FMF/KTM rider
admittedly struggled with the elements but was
able to secure fourth in the class and sixth overall
for the day.
"I'm not gonna lie, it was kind of a rough day. It
was honestly all I could do to ride around and make
the laps," said Kelley. "I got a good jump at the
start, but I got hung up in the ruts in the first couple
of corners and dropped back. Then I got caught in
a deep rut for about 10 seconds at about the one-
Becca Sheets
got out front
early and never
looked back
en route to the
WMX Pro win.
