Kelley on a Roll
B
en Kelley put on a clinic en
route to the overall win at this
weekend's Specialized General
GNCC in Washington, Georgia,
finishing off the three-hour race
with a 23-second margin of vic-
tory over his FMF/KTM team-
mate Josh Toth. It was Kelley's
third win of the season and third
victory in as many races.
Numerous top riders missed
the race due to various injuries,
including Steward Baylor, Thad
Duvall, Layne Michael, Johnny Gir-
roir, Josh Strang and Josep Garcia
(Garcia suffered a hand injury
during last weekend's race and re-
turned home to undergo surgery),
but that didn't detract from the
intensity of the race, as Toth took
the early lead followed by Magna1
Motorsports/Husqvarna's Jordan
Ashburn and Kelley on the rough
and rain-slickened 12-mile course.
After a bit of jostling back and
forth on the opening lap, Toth led
Kelley and Ashburn until lap four
of the six-lap race, when Kelley
took over the lead. At that point,
Kelley was in total control and
managed a smart and tactical
race to the finish.
"Everything has just been
clicking," said Kelley. "I guess
just from last year learning
everything, I've been carrying it
into this year. It was a gnarly race
out there today. Josh was lead-
ing and I tried to make a pass
on him a few times, but he was
riding good. He had really good
lines and any time you would try
to explore a new line, it would
be kind of tough and would be
a slow line. I think he caught a
loose rock on a downhill, so I got
a freebie pass there again. That
was cool. Then it was just kind
of opposite and we were freight-
training with me in the lead. I was
able to slowly pull a gap there on
the fourth or fifth lap and maintain
it there through the end."
Toth led much of last week's
IN
THE
WIND
P32
FMF/KTM teammates Ben
Kelley (left) and Josh Toth
went 1-2 at the General
GNCC in Georgia.
PHOTOS: MACK FAINT
