Shan Moore | December 22, 2022
Jordan Ashburn has been a part of the GNCC scene seemingly forever. For the past 10 years, a GNCC race hardly goes by without the Ashburn name in the top five. But wins—and a championship—have always eluded the 31-year-old Tennessean. Until this year, when he finally got both. We chatted with the veteran off-road racer, who you can now call GNCC Champion.
It’s a dirty job but someone must do it, and nobody did it better than Jordan Ashburn in GNCC this year.
Photography by Mack Faint
It’s been a long time coming, but Jordan Ashburn finally claimed his first win in the XC1 division of the Grand National Cross-Country Series (GNCC). He added another overall win two races later, which he parlayed into his first national championship. And he did it on a privateer team—Magna1 Motorsports Husqvarna. Something unheard of in a sport as prominent as the GNCC series.
Throughout his 10-year career in the XC1 class, Ashburn has been known as Mr. Consistency, always there at the finish, hanging out around the top five. After all, you’ve got to be in it to win it. That’s something that the 31-year-old says he has built his career around.
When Ben Kelley, Steward Baylor, Thad Duvall and Josh Strang went down with an injury at the start of the season, Ashburn remained strong, keeping true to his doctrine. Once he started battling for wins at the midway point of the season, Ashburn got more aggressive, sort of controlled aggression. But he says otherwise.
Ashburn has always been a model of consistency which finally paid off for the 31-year-old Tennessean.
“I don’t think I got more aggressive, I just think I got more comfortable,” he said. “Confident in our team and the bike. Last year was a really good building year for all of us here. I think we brought that straight into this year and rode good right off the bat. That was one thing, I’ve always kind of been a slower starter, and coming into the season, it took me quite a few rounds to get going. We got off to a faster start this year, and that was good.”
With doggedness and determination, Ashburn ran a solid and consistent campaign, taking over the points lead at round nine after securing his win at Snowshoe. In addition to his two wins, Ashburn had nine total podiums in 13 rounds to claim the title.
“It’s been a long time coming,” admits the 31-year-old. “From amateurs all the way up into the Pro ranks, I’ve always tried to be a consistent guy. When my career began it was like, ‘let’s get top fives.’ As we progressed, now it’s ‘let’s hit the podium every week.’ We’ve been able to do that plus we got a couple wins this year.”
This year’s GNCC Championship was the first for the Husqvarna brand since Ed Lojak in 1988.
It takes grit and determination to win in the GNCC series, and Ashburn proved to have plenty. “You’ve also got to focus,” said Ashburn. “It’s mental focus and being able to race that hard for three hours is tough. It really is. There’re so many things just thrown at you throughout an event. You couldn’t even count on your hands the number of close calls or things that happen during a race that you just brush them off and never even think about it. You just keep on going and forget about it.”
After the injuries to a few top contenders throughout the season, there seemed to be a shift in strategy among many remaining.
“I wasn’t going to put it all out there unless I had to,” admitted Ashburn. “I wanted to be at the next race, and that was the motivating factor this year, especially the way everything panned out for a lot of other guys. It was like, I’ll take what comes to me and go with it.”
Ashburn has ridden for several factory teams, but he nabbed the 2022 GNCC Championship aboard a privately funded outfit, Magna1 Motorsports.
In true underdog fashion, the most eye-opening aspect of Ashburn’s championship run is that he and his Manga1 Motorsports team consistently beat out all of the factory teams, a significant accomplishment in arguably the biggest off-road series in the country, if not the world.
“We’re a pretty small organization here,” Ashburn said of his Manga1 Motorsports team. “We had less stuff, for sure. It just comes down to everyone on this team has the same goal and we all want to win. We kind of make up in some areas where we’re short in others. I think [team owner] Chris Landers put this whole thing together last year and we have plans of winning some races and getting the bike on the top of the podium, and being able to cap off the second year with a national championship is pretty incredible. I think it says a lot for him and the whole Magna1 Motorsports team.”
Lack of resources is one thing but being short on manpower is another disadvantage.
Of the 12 of 13 GNCC rounds Ashburn started, he finished no worse than sixth with an average finishing position of third. He did not race the final round due to an injured hand. Ashburn clinched the title the previous round.
“We have a limited number of helpers in the woods, actually just a couple guys, really, and that’s a big disadvantage,” said Ashburn. “For us to beat all the factories, is a pretty big statement. We’re pretty good with picking out the lines, but as far as having the radio communications between the mechanics, the split times, just having all of that is a pretty big advantage, and we don’t have that. Not having to make decisions for yourself but having a group of mechanics making the call. That’s huge.”
Having smooth fuel stops, which are very important in GNCC racing, was another major factor in Ashburn and the team’s success.
“We figured that out pretty good last year with our time and how long we could go between stops,” said Ashburn. “There were a couple races we cut it pretty close, but we always made it. Here towards the end of this year, we were kind of conservative on our fuel, too. So, most of the tracks, they keep pretty close to the same distance every year, either a long track or a short. So, if it’s short we can pit whenever we want, because the laps don’t add up much. But the longer ones, we’ve got to be on it a little more. That’s where some other teams can play different cards as far as the stops go.”
Growing up in Tennessee, Ashburn’s practice areas are more on the technical side, which has given him an advantage on the more technical tracks. In fact, Ashburn’s first win came on the very technical Showshoe course. He also made the final at the Tennessee Knockout in 2020, riding a 1997 KDX, which says a lot about his technical riding skills!
Being a privateer and raising a family is not easy. But Ashburn persevered and earned the number-one plate.
“We’ve got a couple places to practice that are pretty wide open, but for the most part I ride pretty technical stuff all the time,” said Ashburn. “When we go up north, that’s kind of where I shine more than on the southern tracks. In the past I’ve had to try to be a better-rounded rider in the south. Those southern tracks, South Carolina and Georgia, are different from the area I live. They’ve got pine trees and clay. They’re rougher. They’re just a different kind of track. I just think the fact that I’ve raced so many years in the series, going fast is about knowing how to go fast. Really, it’s about the training and how you do it and put it all together.”
Speaking of training. Most of the circuit’s top racers work with both riding coaches and fitness trainers to guide them. Ashburn does it mostly all on his own.
“I’ve got some help from some outside guys, but it’s still kind of a self-motivated, do-it-yourself-kind of program,” said Ashburn. “I do gym work, and we’ll also cycle a lot, combined with the riding. My teammate, Chase Landers, he’s in the A class and we train together all the time. But still, it’s all up to self-motivation. Chase and I live close to each other, and that’s really benefitted both of us this year as far as training. So, in the past, I’ve not really had that, so it’s been a good thing for this year’s program. The bottom line is, it all boils down to you. You can be told to do whatever from anybody, but you still have to do it yourself.”
Ashburn’s first GNCC win and overall championship came in the same year.
One area where Ashburn has picked up his game in the last two years has been with starts. He has consistently been in the top three of the line in every race and got several holeshots during the 2022 season.
“I’ve always been able to get up front early, and if I didn’t get up front early, I was able to work my way to the front,” said Ashburn. “At the Buckwheat, I got a pretty bad start, but we got into the lead by the end of the first lap. It’s pretty crucial to run up front all day. It makes it easier to start up there and not have to race through the pack.”
Another big part of Ashburn’s program is his family support.
“With my family’s support, my wife and the kids, I think they were a big motivator to me this year,” said Ashburn. “At the end of last year coming into this year, you put more into your training and you’re doing stuff and it matters a little bit more. But my mom and dad, they’ve been there through my whole career. They’ve supported me and been there. My family at home, doesn’t necessarily always get to come to the races. My sister and brother-and-law and their kids are always at the race and the one we won the championship at, so that was awesome this year. I have a lot of family that watches at home and friends. They’ll call me after the race and always want to chat about it. So, it’s cool to have all that support behind me.”
Ashburn and the Magna1 Motorsports Husqvarna team celebrate winning the 2022 GNCC Championship. They plan on winning it again in 2023.
Ashburn also couldn’t think about winning a championship with a mechanic. Ashburn’s tuner is Andy Gray.
“Andy contributed a lot to our success this year,” said Ashburn. “Andy has been with me since I rode Kawis into 2019. We’ve not had a failure since he’s been my mechanic. We’ve had a few little minor things happen, but he’s been an incredible mechanic and a star highlight to the whole thing. We couldn’t do it without him.”CN
