INTERVIEW I 2 0 21 A M A G N C C N A T I O N A L C H A M P I O N B E N K E L L E Y
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Mauri and Trail Jesters Racing have
served as a feeder program for the
KTM Factory Off-Road Team for sev-
eral years now, and Ross has been in-
strumental in grooming many of KTM's
factory riders for the pro ranks.
Mauri recognized Kelley's talent
right away. "When I first noticed Ben,
I saw a rider with a smooth, attack-
ing style," said Mauri. "He was clearly
young and fast, and I could see in his
body type and style he was going to
be good. There was an ISDE Qualifier
in Ohio, and I talked Ben and Josh
Toth into going to it and at that event
I watched Ben race against pros. I
watched him ride in his attack style
and I saw how smooth he was. He got
second in the E2 class, and I thought
to myself he was something special."
As a member of Mauri's Trail Jesters
Racing KTM Team, Kelley went on to
win the XC2 division in back-to-back
years before moving up to the XC1
division for the last three rounds of
the 2019 season. Kelley immediately
turned a lot of heads when he won
the final two races of the season. That
was a baptism by fire right away for
Kelley, who was thrown in with the
"big boys," and suddenly and he was
winning right away.
Expectations were high when the
2020 season rolled around and Kel-
ley was expected to challenge for
wins, however he missed the first five
rounds due to shoulder injury—one
that required surgery—but still man-
aged four runner-up finishes in the
final eight rounds.
After a chaotic 2020 season, Kelley
entered the 2021 season as one of the
clear favorites. The Kailub Russell era
was over, the eight-time champ having
retired after dominating nearly a decade
of GNCC racing, and a handful of riders
were tabbed to take the reins, with Kel-
ley and Baylor at the top of the list.
Ben Kelley is one of the fittest riders
on the track. Training with GNCC stars
Kailub Russell and Charlie Mullins helped
Kelley prepare for his championship run.
