Defending GNCC Champion Kelley entered Round 3 with momentum on his side after taking victory just one week ago at the Wild Boar GNCC, aiming to power his KTM 450 XC-F to the front of the field once again this weekend.

Muddy conditions greeted the field for the third round of the 2026 season, with Kelley opting for a consistent strategy throughout the race's three-hour duration to claim third place in both the XC1 Open Pro Class and Overall with a total time of 3:00.50s.

Kelley extended his lead atop the XC1 and Overall standings at the Talladega GNCC, now holding a 13-point advantage as the series heads to the Camp Coker Bullet event on March 28-29.

Ben Kelley: “A podium here at Talladega is good! With the rain we had and the muddy conditions, I knew it was going to be really brutal. The mud races haven’t been all that nice to me, so I wanted to have a good race, and we spent a lot of time battling for that third position. The conditions were tough, especially on the last lap. I had a couple of crashes and then at that point just decided to bring it home for some good points. Thanks to the whole FMF KTM Factory Racing team for keeping me going out there, the team did a great job.”

XC1 Open Pro Class newcomer and last year’s GNCC runner-up Grant Davis was in solid form throughout the Talladega GNCC, battling for the lead through much of the race onboard his KTM 350 XC-F FACTORY EDITION.

Unfortunately, Davis experienced a late issue with only a few miles remaining, leaving him credited with 11th place in class. With his front-running speed on display, Davis will now set his sights on a strong result at Camp Coker.

Grant Davis: “I got off to a good start at Round 3, right behind Stew [Baylor Jr] and we took off, opening up a good gap while going back and forth. I passed him on the last lap and put a bit of a gap on him, but I ended up not finishing, which is unfortunate. I’ll be ready and looking to rebound at Camp Coker next!”

Round 3 proved a challenging outing for FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Jason Tino, who was initially in podium contention in the XC2 250 Pro division onboard his KTM 250 XC-F. Despite being unable to finish the race, he was credited P8 in class at the end of the weekend, and sits fourth in the standings.

Jason Tino: "It was going really, really good. I was letting the race come to me, being really patient and had the front group in sight, so made it through the first lap, nice and clean. At the end of the second lap we had some difficulties and I wasn't able to get the bike to the finish, but up until then, I was riding really good and in contention for an XC2 podium."