Coupling the win with that early consistency, Kelley now takes the overall points lead in the GNCC Championship. He won the title in 2021. Draper, in his first full season on the 450 in XC1, was second overall and second in XC1.

“I got off to a good start, I think I was third, got into second quickly and then got into the lead,” said Draper. “I was just feeling really good, the bike was amazing. I pulled out to maybe 25 seconds. Cool to pull a lead. I got a pit board, “BK is coming.” I knew it was going to be a tough race if BK was coming, because I know he’s in shape. It was going to be tough. There were points where he was crushing me, and then I’d get it back in the woods. It was a dog fight all the way to the end, just super stoked to be back on the podium, it’s been a couple of tough rounds, so I’m happy. Zach Osborne [trainer] gave me a little bit of an ass chewing this week and I think it paid out.”

Davis ended up third overall on adjusted time. He is the XC2 points leader and second in overall points.

"I got off to a decent start and just tried to go as fast as I could, honestly,” said Davis, who won XC2 and earned third overall behind Draper. “I got in tow with the XC1 boys there, tried to chase them down and got close, and ended up third overall. I crashed a few times on the last lap, but overall, I’m pumped on my ride and keen to keep the ball rolling and try to get the overall victory at the next one.”

In other news, defending GNCC Champion Johnny Girroir crashed out of the race and failed to finish.

The full press release and report from the GNCC Series is below.

FMF Camp Coker Bullet
Ben Kelley Back on Top at Round Four

SOCIETY HILL, S.C. (March 31, 2025)  -- Day two of the FMF Camp Coker Bullet GNCC, round four of the 2025 Progressive Grand National Cross Country (GNCC Racing) Series presented by Specialized, an AMA National Championship, saw similar conditions to day one as sunshine peaked through the clouds and warm temperatures filled the air.

As the afternoon race got underway, it would be the Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Craig Delong grabbing himself the $250 Landers KTM XC1 Holeshot Award to start the day, likewise from the second row it was Bells Electric/Beaver Creek Cycle/FXR’s Toby Cleveland earning the $150 Landers KTM XC2 Holeshot Award.

Throughout the rest of the race, both XC1 Open Pro and XC2 250 Pro competitors would battle for their spot at the top, and within the top 10 overall. It was a tough, competitive race atmosphere in Society Hill, South Carolina and multiple riders swapped positions during the three-hour race period.

Coming out on top, fending off the competition and stepping up to the challenge was  FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Ben Kelley. After getting a good start to the day, Kelley would find himself running third on the opening lap. Kelley would continue to push himself and once in the physical lead on lap three he would look to put himself even farther ahead to help his chances on earning the overall win. As the checkered flag flew after six rough laps, Kelley’s hard work paid off as he earned the overall win.

AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper held the early lead coming through first on the opening lap, but he would be unable to hold off Kelley a couple of laps later. Draper would find himself in second, but he still had to push himself as XC2 National Champion, FMF KTM Factory Racing Lander’s Grant Davis was physically up to third overall and coming for a better overall finishing position. Draper would be able to come through to finish second overall on the day.

Davis, who continued to try and chase down the XC1 competitors, would find himself leading majority of the race on adjusted time. However, after the top two turned up the pace on the last lap and Davis suffered a few crashes on the last lap, he would come through to grab third overall on the day and his third-straight XC2 250 Pro class win of the season.

Rocky Mountain Red Bear Team Green Kawasaki’s Steward Baylor had his work cut out for him as he started back in the ninth place position on lap one. Baylor though can never be counted out as he started clicking off the positions and found himself third in XC1 and fourth overall by the fourth lap of the race. He continued to push himself but would ultimately cross the line rounding out the top three XC1 finishers, and fourth overall on the day.

Coming through to earn second in the XC2 250 Pro class was FMF KTM Factory Racing Lander’s Angus Riordan after a hard fought battle throughout the day. Riordan would find himself following closely to Davis at the beginning of the race, but he would soon feel the pressure from Phoenix Racing Honda’s Cody Barnes. Riordan would be able to hold off Barnes and come through fifth overall on the day. Barnes would also put in a great race as he came through to earn third in the XC2 class and sixth overall on the day after battling through the rough terrain.

Phoenix Racing Honda’s Mike Witkowski put in the work at round four as he battled inside the top five in XC1 throughout the day. Witkowski would cross the finish line taking fourth in the XC1 class and seventh overall on the day.

After starting his day up in second place, AmPro Yamaha’s Kailub Russell fall back to seventh at the halfway point of the race. Russell would continue to push himself making his way up to fifth in XC1 and eighth overall on the day.

Rocky Mountain Red Bear Team Green Kawasaki’s Josh Toth would find himself running inside the top 10 trough the majority of the race. Toth would come through to earn fourth in the XC2 class and ninth overall on the day. Rounding out the top 10 overall was Flatrock Motorclub GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jason Tino as he came through fifth in the XC2 class and tenth overall on the day in South Carolina.

Said Gus Riordan: "I had Cody [Barnes] breathing down my neck the whole race – I just couldn’t shake him! He got around me on the last lap, right in front of my brother and family, which was a bit embarrassing, so I thought, ‘I’d better get going,’ and managed to make a move, but otherwise for me it was a pretty smooth race.”

When the XC3 125 Pro-Am class took off it was Marionville Powersports/Hinson/Fly Racing’s James Jenkins grabbing the early lead and earning himself the $100 Lojak Cycle Sales XC3 Holeshot Award. J. Jenkins would continue to maintain the lead from the start of the race until the checkered flag flew, earning him his third win of the season.

Returning from an injury earlier in the season was Marionville Powersports/XC Gear/Moose Racing’s Huck Jenkins who would try to push himself to battle with his brother for the top spot, but H. Jenkins would maintain the second place position for the duration of the race. Beta Off-Road/Estes Motorsports/Wossner Pistons’ Raley Messer would also have a consistent race as he came through third on the opening lap and held that spot until the completion of the race.

Top Amateur honors went to Joseph Cunningham who finished 15th overall on the day, while also earning the 250 A class win. Lane Whitmer was second on the top amateur podium with a 16th overall finishing position and a second place in the 250 A class. Rounding out the Top Amateur podium was Hunter Smith who finished 17th overall on the day and third in the 250 A class.

As the morning race got underway and the WXC class took off, it was AmPro Yamaha’s Danielle Mcdonald jumping out to grab her first $100 Landers KTM WXC Holeshot Award. However, she would have a freight train of women behind her eager to take over the lead position. As they emerged from the woods, FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers’ Brandy Richards would lead the way, as she would on lap two as well. Unfortunately, while out on the third lap of the race, Richards would sustain injuries in a fall that ruled her out for the rest of the race. The team will have additional information on her condition available in due time.

Rocky Mountain Red Bear Team Green Kawasaki’s Rachael Archer would take over the lead on lap three as the white flag flew, but Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Korie Steede had her mind made up that she was pushing to get this win in South Carolina. Steede would make the pass on Archer after battling back and forth throughout the entire race.

Steede would come through the finish to earn her first win of the 2025 season with a seven second gap over Archer who came through to earn second on the day. After earning the holeshot award, McDonald continued to push herself inside the top five and on the last lap of the race she would find the drive to get herself into the final podium position. This is McDonald’s first-ever WXC podium finish as she earned third overall on the day and in the WXC class.

“Man, this one feels good!” commented Steede. “I started super-strong and then I slowly started to fade back once we got into lapped riders... I’m not sure what it was, but I was struggling a lot in the beginning getting around them. I finally reset and started riding well toward the end and closed the gap on [Rachael] Archer. With about one mile to go, I ended up making the pass! I absolutely sent it on the last lap and it paid off, so I an super-stoked on the day.”