When the green flag dropped , it was Magna1 Motorsports Husqvarna ’ s Jordan Ashburn crossing the holeshot line first . It was Red Bull KTM ’ s Ben Kelley taking over the point position as the field headed into the woods . Behind Kelley , the field would battle for position as they navigated the course on lap number one . At the end of the first lap , Kelley would lead by 12 seconds over Ashburn , with AmPro Yamaha ’ s Layne Michael in third after returning from injury at round one . Rockstar Energy Husqvarna ’ s Craig Delong and KTM teammate Toth would round out the top 5 . Kelley would extend his lead on lap two up to 25 seconds , Michael still in third , over a minute off the leading duo . At the completion of lap three , Kelley held a 32 second advantage over Ashburn , with Rockstar Husky mounted Trevor Bollinger moving up to third . REV Motorsports GasGas ’ s Grant Baylor would take over 4th with Delong dropping to 5th , as Michael would fall to 6th , still feeling the effects of his shoulder injury . He would drop out after three laps .
Half way into the race , Ashburn would cut in slightly to Kelley ’ s lead , with the rest of the top five solidifying themselves for the next three laps . Toth would make his way back into fifth while he faced off in a back and forth with Baylor . With the white flag out , Kelley was out over one minute over Ashburn , who was 45 seconds clear of Bollinger
VOL . 7 ISSUE 5 - MAY 2022 // PAGE 107