QUICK LINKS IN THE WIND 24 PASTRANA JUMPS VEGAS

Transcription

1 QUICK LINKS IN THE WIND 24 PASTRANA JUMPS VEGAS 52 FIRST TEST 2019 KTM 250 SX- F Big Changes=Big Results?

2

3

4 IN THE WIND P42 Grant Baylor was picture perfect at the Cherokee National Enduro in Georgia. PHOTOGRAPHY BY DARIN CHAPMAN

5 VOL. 55 ISSUE 27 JULY 10, 2018 P43 GRANT BAYLOR SWEEPS CHEROKEE NATIONAL ENDURO Grant Baylor has been on a roll since injuring his hand three months ago. The South Carolina native hooked his middle finger on a vine while practicing, breaking a bone in his hand. Since that injury, however, the South Carolina rider has won two-straight national enduros, which includes a near-perfect performance at the Cherokee National Enduro in Greensboro, Georgia, July 8, where the Tely Energy Racing KTM rider swept all seven tests. Grant topped FMF KTM Factory rider Josh Toth by 19 seconds in the opening test of the day and never let up, finishing the seven-test, 93-mile race with a one-minute and 23-second advantage over Toth for the win. I still had a few mistakes, but overall the performance was a good one and I m pleased with it, said Baylor. I just seemed to click perfectly with the bike today. Wherever I pointed my tires the bike went, and everything just hooked up. Though sweeping an entire event is a rare feat, a few riders have done it, but no one can remember anyone doing it when there were as many as seven tests. It s something I ve always dreamed of doing, and it s even sweeter to actually get it done, added Baylor. Toth also had a good day, his runner-up finish equaling his personal best in the series. Toth edged Grant s brother Steward Baylor by 16 seconds to claim the bridesmaid slot. I didn t win any tests today but I felt solid all day, said Toth. Grant was really riding strong, but it was close between the top three riders, which makes it enjoyable. I m starting to read the trail a bit better and I m more comfortable going fast on trail that I haven t seen before. I think all of those factors led to my performance today. Steward Baylor, who is currently leading the series points standings, was not pleased with Runner-up Josh Toth rode a solid race but even he couldn t keep Baylor in sight.

6 IN THE WIND P44 Steward Baylor Jr. was third overall and saw his points lead shrink to 11 over Toth. third, and gave up a few points to Toth in the overall standings. Like his brother, Grant, Steward is dealing with a few issues, including a sprained ACL in his knee. I haven t been able to train over the last couple of weeks and I think that affected my timing, said Steward. Cory Buttrick turned some heads when he finished second to Grant Baylor in the fourth test. The KR4 Husqvarna rider parlayed the finish into fourth overall, his best of the year. Meanwhile, SRT Racing s Evan Smith rounded out the top five with pretty solid performance. It was actually a pretty clean day; I didn t fall or hit any trees, said Smith. I really don t feel like fifth reflects how well I rode today. I don t live too far from here, so I was right at home in this stuff. Solid Performance KTM s Ryder Lafferty switched from a 250F to a 350F for this race and came away with sixth overall, a personal best. The finish was also good enough for the win in the NE Pro2 class. Five-time National Enduro Champion Russell Bobbitt finished seventh on his Gnarly Routes KTM, while Trail Jesters KTM Racing s Ben Kelley suffered through an off day in eighth. Jake Froman was ninth overall and second in the NE Pro2 class in his debut ride with the AirGroup/Enduro Engineering Husqvarna team. FAR Racing/Gas Gas North America s Andrew DeLong rounded out the top 10. KR4 Husqvarna s Tayla Jones edged Trail Jesters KTM Racing/Bonanza Plumbing s Mackenzie Tricker by five seconds to win the Women s Elite class. Jones won four tests, with Tricker winning two. I started off a bit slow, but then it picked up, said Jones. Some of the places were a bit sketchy because of the stumps, but overall it was a good day. Tricker is relatively new to the national enduro format but she is catching on quickly. I won a couple of tests and I think I had a pretty solid day, said Tricker. I m feeling more comfortable with each race and I really felt good today. Kendall Lafollette finished third on a KTM. Shan Moore 1. Grant Baylor (KTM) 2. Josh Toth (KTM) 3. Steward Baylor (KTM) 4. Cory Buttrick (Hus) 5. Evan Smith (Hus) 6. Ryder Lafferty (KTM) 7. Russell Bobbitt (KTM) 8. Ben Kelley (KTM) 9. Jake Froman (Hus) 10. Andrew DeLong (GG)

7 ROUND 7 / JUNE 7, 2018 BUCHANAN, MICHIGAN / REDBUD NOTOCROSS LUCAS OIL/AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS P70 250MX Aaron Plessinger is an enigma. The RedBud MX National marked Plessinger s third 1-1 performance of the series. It was a completely dominant day on the tough, deeply rutted track. But outside of those six moto wins, his finishes go: That s only two podium finishes in the entirety of the rest of the motos run so far this year. But the only other racer to score a 1-1 so far in 2018 is the reigning champ Zach Osborne, and he s been out of the championship since just after the Colorado National. So, while Plessinger s consistency leaves a lot to be desired, his competition is even more inconsistent than he is. Shane McElrath (TLD/Red Bull KTM) was the top qualifier on the day, and he took the early lead after narrowly missing out on the holeshot to Austin Forkner (Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki). McElrath led the first couple of laps while Plessinger worked his way by Forkner, and then McElrath on lap three to take the lead. Forkner followed him past McElrath and gave chase. Forkner was a man on a mission, though, and just past halfway, he made an aggressive, but clean, move on Plessinger to take over the front spot on the inside of a left-hander, but only two Aaron Plessinger celebrates his double victory in the 250MX class.

8 VOL. 55 ISSUE 27 JULY 10, 2018 P71

9 ROUND 7 / JUNE 7, 2018 BUCHANAN, MICHIGAN / REDBUD NOTOCROSS LUCAS OIL/AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS P72 Shane McElrath (28) is chased by Austin Forkner (35) and Plessinger. In moto two, it was Plessinger s former teammate Mitchell Harrison (now racing for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) who took the holeshot, while there was a big pileup before the first turn that took out McElrath, his teammate Jordon Smith, Plessinger s teammate Colt Nichols, and Hampshire. Hampshire ended up with a DNF from the crash. Plessinger didn t wait long to slice through the top few racers and take over the lead, while the rest of the field started gobbling Harrison up, too. Forkner, starting from way outturns later, Forkner went to the outside after the sand whoops and Plessinger dived into the inside line fully committed. When the lines intersected, Forkner went down hard, his front wheel climbing Plessinger s rear wheel as they exited the turn. Plessinger went on to take the moto win over RJ Hampshire (Geico Honda), Plessinger s teammate Dylan Ferrandis, McElrath s teammate (and second in points) Alex Martin, McElrath, and Forkner s teammate Garrett Marchbanks, in his first race back since straining his MCL in his knee at High Point. side after his moto-one crash, rounded lap one in fifth and fought his way up to second by the halfway point, but this time, he wouldn t get close enough to Plessinger to challenge the points leader for the race win. Plessinger took the win over Forkner, Martin, Ferrandis (who had another late-race charge for fourth), Forkner s teammate Joey Savatgy, Chase Sexton, Justin Cooper, and then Harrison in eighth and McElrath, recovering from the first-turn fall to take ninth. Nichols was 17th and Smith was 20th. Plessinger managed to add

10 ROUND 7 / JUNE 7, 2018 BUCHANAN, MICHIGAN / REDBUD NOTOCROSS LUCAS OIL/AMA PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS P74 Dylan Ferrandis had another good day that resulted in another trip to the podium. another 12 points to his championship lead with his perfect day at RedBud. You know, after last weekend, me and the team went and did some work, Plessinger said. We tested on the bike and tested a lot with starts. That was the main thing. I got off the gate this weekend. And that was the biggest thing, because I could pass for the lead within 1 or 2 laps, and that s what I did. The other guys were riding great, but I just gelled with the track. CN 450MX 1. Marvin Musquin (KTM) Ken Roczen (Hon) Justin Barcia (Yam) Blake Baggett (KTM) Phil Nicoletti (Hus) Justin Hill (Suz) Cooper Webb (Yam) Kyle Cunningham (Suz) Weston Peick (Suz) Jake Nicholls (Hon) MX 1. Aaron Plessinger (Yam) Alex Martin (KTM) Dylan Ferrandis (Yam) Shane McElrath (KTM) Justin Cooper (Yam) Chase Sexton (Hon) Austin Forkner (Kaw) Michael Moisman (Hus) RJ Hampshire (Hon) Mitchell Harrison (Hus) 13-8

11 ROUND 11 / JULY 7, 2018 WEEDSPORT SPEEDWAY / WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK FLAT TRACK AMERICAN FLAT TRACK SERIES P76 BY DAVE HOENIG PHOTOGRAPHY BY FLAT TRAK FOTOS American Flat Track returned to upstate New York for race number 11 of the 18-race season, and for the first time Grand National racing came to the renovated Weedsport Speedway short track. The speedway hosted regional motorcycle races in the 1980s and 90s, but this was the first national for the beautiful facility. The odd shape of the track (a sharp turn-one that opened to a sweeping arc of a back straight that leads into a sharp turn-four) confounded the riders early on, but as the day progressed the racing got better and better. An overflowing crowd filled the grandstands, forcing the promoters to open the Pit grandstands to paying customers. For the first time all year, defending Grand National Champion and current points leader Jared Mees (Indian Motorcycle/ Rogers Racing, Indian Scout FTR750) was off his game early on and, after a poor heat race, he looked vulnerable to his hungry pursuers. In their semi, Jeffrey Carver (Roof-Systems of Dallas, TX/Indian of Metro Milwaukee, Indian Scout FTR750) edged Mees by just three hundredths of a second after a race-long battle. We struggled a little during qualifying, and we struggled huge in the heat race, Mees said. We made some big adjustments because we had nothing to lose. We went the right direction, Jimmy Wood changed shocks and we did some engine management stuff with Kenny Tolbert and S&S Cycle for the semi. When the 18-rider, 25-lap main event roared into turn one it was Jarod Vanderkooi (Harley- MEES ADDS A SHORT TRACK JA SP

12 VOL. 55 ISSUE 27 JULY 10, 2018 P77 Davidson Motor Company/ Vance & Hines, Harley-Davidson XG750R) and Chad Cose (Indian Motorcycle of Oklahoma City/ Englehart Research & Technology, Indian Scout FTR750) leading factory-backed riders Brad Baker (Indian Motorcycle/ Allstate Motorcycle Insurance, Indian Scout FTR750) and Sammy Halbert (Harley-Davidson Motor Company/Vance & Hines, Harley-Davidson XG750R). The end of the first lap saw Baker in front with Henry Wiles (Bandit Industries/Wilco Racing, Indian Scout FTR750) and Vanderkooi right on his tail. Mees was mired in seventh place, but quickly moved forward on a track that had become quite racy. Baker opened a small lead but, just as he has all year, Mees was showing his flawless form. Carving through traffic, Mees was in second by lap three and was closing on Baker. Mees made a pass in turn two, but Baker struck back in turn three. They repeated this several times before Mees was able to make the pass stick on lap 11. Once clear, Mees pulled to another convincing win with over a foursecond lead at the end. The surprise was the lead wasn t over Baker, but Kenny Coolbeth, Jr., (Nila Racing/ Columbia Avionics, Indian Scout FTR750). Coolbeth had been mired in 11th place on lap one, but his last-lap pass of Baker was extremely popular with the massive crowd. Formerly from the Northeast, the retiring former Grand National Champion had a lot of supporters in the stands. I started racing right down the road from here in Binghamton, New York. That s where I grew up racing, said Coolbeth. There are a lot of fans that followed me back then that are here tonight. RED MEES WINS WEEDSPORT EEDWAY SHORT TRACK For the first time, Weedsport Speedway in Weedsport, New York, host a flat track national.

13 ROUND 11 / JULY 7, 2018 WEEDSPORT SPEEDWAY / WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK FLAT TRACK AMERICAN FLAT TRACK SERIES P78 iii My Own Race: 1 JARED MEES 1 ST AFT TWINS We struggled early in the day, but I ve got the best team out there, said winner Jared Mees of his day. Kenny, Bubba and Jimmy worked all day to get it right. For the main, it was perfect. Our changes for the heat went the wrong way. We went with a harder tire, thinking tire wear might be a problem, but that didn t work at all. We went with a softer tire for the semi and main and that was much better. With a second in the semi, I knew I would be on the front row and all I needed to do was get off with them and ride my own race. I got a pretty good start and was able to catch Brad pretty quick. I just waited for a mistake. Once I got the lead, I just tried to make sure to hit all my marks and be smooth. It was just a phenomenal group effort tonight. I wish I could say I deserve all the credit, but the team really pulled me through on this one. It s really cool when you can unload in the morning, be perfect all day and not make any changes, but a day like today is sweet. 2 KENNY COOLBETH, JR. 2 ND AFT TWINS We struggled in the semi and that put us in the back, said runner-up Kenny Coolbeth, Jr.. We made a bunch of changes before the main event, it was kind of a gamble, but it worked out. The bike was pretty good in the main. When you give that guy (Mees) a head start, you just can t do that. It seems like on the days we are doing good, we do that. It s all right. I m super happy being on the podium, that s my goal. My goal all year is to be competitive and show that I still have it in my last year. Jared and I have raced here before. I think it was in the late 80s when I rode here last. I don t really remember it. It s a unique race track. That shape is nothing like anywhere else that we run. It made for good racing. There were multiple lines. You just must be ready when you unload when you race against that number-one guy. 6 BRAD BAKER 3 RD AFT TWINS While Brad Baker was quick to take the lead, he faced a variety of problems. The bike started feeling weird. The clutch started slipping coming into the corner, said Baker. As soon as I would shut off the throttle, the thing would just take off. It would be almost like a false neutral feeling. That was messing me up. Since my helmet was all sealed up, there was no ventilation. It was like a windshield in a car getting fogged up. Halfway through the race I could barely see anything. Finally, I had to lift the thing up. I figured if I didn t get some ventilation I would start going backwards. That messed my focus up for a little while. When I could see well again, I started picking off some laps. I heard Kenny, but I didn t know it was him. I was just trying to run my own line and hit my marks. I was having problems with the thing wanting to free-wheel. On the last lap, Kenny got up underneath me. I tried squaring him up going into three to get out of four, but couldn t do it. 67 DAVIS FISHER 4 TH AFT TWINS We were struggling with a miss all day long, said Davis Fisher. Dean and Paul from S&S helped me get that fixed. It ended up being the kill switch. It would cut out about every other lap. I would come off four and it was weird. In the semi, I was running third behind Jared Mees and Jeffrey Carver. My clutch started slipping. I had to pull it in then I looked down and I noticed that the suspender that takes the slack out of the cable had all the way backed out. I started spinning that back, then it took off again. I ended up fourth in the semi. I started the main on the second row. Getting off the line in 14th, I had my work cut out for me. I picked off Sammy Halbert and Henry Wiles with two to go. On the last lap, I thought about going on the outside of Henry Wiles. I figured he probably wouldn t give it to me going to the line, so I saw a little spot down below coming off four and I just pinned it. It hooked up and I wheelied all the way across the finish line. I probably looked like a goober, but I made the pass!

14 ROUND 11 / JULY 7, 2018 WEEDSPORT SPEEDWAY / WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK FLAT TRACK AMERICAN FLAT TRACK SERIES P80 iii My Own Race: 1 COLBY CARLILE 4 TH SINGLES The crowd was going nuts when they announced my name, said defending champ Colby Carlile of his day. I was hyping them up. That fed into me. Obviously, I wanted to win the race and I set pole for the main event, but the track changed quite a bit between the semi and the main. It got a lot drier. We were pretty busy working on the bike. We didn t really have a lot of time to make some suspension changes. I think if we would have made some there, we could have had the win. In the end, the start was so crucial, and I came off the line in second or third. I got shuffled around a lot. There was a little bit of bumping and banging, but we ended up fourth and got some points back on second and third [in the championship]. It s cool to see old faces. Four seconds back there was another great race going on as Davis Fisher (Double D Performance/ Bob Lanphere/Richie Morris Racing. Indian Scout FTR750) was able to get around Henry Wiles with a last-lap, last-turn pass. Right on their heels, Briar Bauman (Zanotti Racing/Roof Systems, Indian Scout FTR750) did the same to Sammy Halbert. Bauman made it all the way to sixth after starting the race in 18th. Rob Pearson (RJ Performance/Hite Trucking/Country Saloon, Indian Scout FTR750), Chad Cose and Jeffrey Carver rounded out the top 10. AFT SINGLES The competitive American Flat Track Singles class seems to have a new story line every week. This week, Tanner Dean (Waters Autobody Racing/D&D Powersports, KTM 450 SX-F) made his mark on the 2018 season by leading the 15-lap main event wire to wire. Dean, who hails from Tacoma, Washington, was a hometown favorite, as his team, Waters Autobody Racing, is from just up the road in Albion, New York. Jesse Janisch (Roof-Systems of Dallas, TX/West Bend Harley- Davidson, Yamaha YZ450F) led the main into turn one, but Dean Twins winner Jared Mees (1) leads Henry Wiles (117) and Chad Cose (49).

15 ROUND 11 / JULY 7, 2018 WEEDSPORT SPEEDWAY / WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK FLAT TRACK AMERICAN FLAT TRACK SERIES P82 Kenny Coolbeth, Jr., who grew up near the track, had the crowd in a frenzy as he worked his way up through the pack to grab second. scooted under him and led down the back straight. It was a lead he would never relinquish. Defending AFT Singles champion, Kolby Carlile (Estenson Racing/McCandless Trucking Center, Yamaha YZ450F) gave up third to Ben Lowe (Bruce Lowe Excavating/Lowe Life Performance, Honda CRF450R), but Lowe slid down in turn one on the fourth lap. Lowe got himself off the track and restarted a lap down without bringing out a red flag. In the shuffling near the front of the field, Ryan Wells (Richie Morris Racing/Al Lamb Honda, Honda CRF450R) took over second, but that also was short-lived. Current AFT Singles points leader Dan Bromley (KTM North America/ Bromley Motorsports, KTM 450 SX-F) started fourth, dropped to eighth before climbing all the way back to second by lap five. Carlile took over third, but the crowd s attention was on the leaders as Bromley attacked Dean, but to no avail. I just tried to minimize risk by staying focused, keeping my head down, and marking my lines, said Dean. I saw Dan running underneath me a couple times and rubbing up against me a little bit, but I just stayed focused, Briefly... TOUGH ONE FOR SMITH It was a rough night for 2016 Grand National Champion Bryan Smith. After posting fifth-best time in the first round of qualifying, Smith fell hard going into turn one during the second round. Davis Fisher was right behind as they entered the turn. Bryan fell right in front of me. I had to lay it down to keep from hitting him, said Fisher. I was a little nervous that he might not make it all the way to the fence, or him hitting the fence too hard and bouncing back. I just laid it down to avoid hitting him. I messed up the seat pan and the shift linkage broke but we got it all put back together. ran in his way a little bit, and came away with the win. I tried to get under him and move him a little bit, but he wasn t moving. I thought, I have a championship to win here. I can t mess it up, so I backed off, said Bromley. Bromley almost dropped back into a great race g oing on for third. Carlile and Morgen Mischler (Cycle Craft Yamaha/Rohde s Sales & Service, Yamaha YZ450F) finished just a tick behind him, with Mischler capturing the last podium spot with a last-lap pass. Wells, Cameron Smith, Tristan Avery, Jayson Bloss, Brodie As a precaution, Smith went into the hospital, but returned to the track before the night was over. CAPACITY CROWD The first-class Weedsport Speedway was blessed with beautiful weather and added to the list of American Flat Track races that have drawn near-capacity crowds this year. There is no doubt the little short track was at capacity as every seat was full and then some. STRETCHING IT OUT Both the AFT Twins and AFT Singles points leaders increased their championship leads. Jared Mees now holds a commanding lead over

16 ROUND 11 / JULY 7, 2018 WEEDSPORT SPEEDWAY / WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK FLAT TRACK AMERICAN FLAT TRACK SERIES Briefly... P84 Henry Wiles at 245 to 167. Brad Baker (147), Jeffrey Carver (129) and Kenny Coolbeth, Jr., (125) fill out the top five. Dan Bromley is comfortably ahead of Ryan Wells 198 to 149. Shayna Texter (139), Kolby Carlile (129) and Morgen Mischler (122) are the top five. (L-R) Coolbeth, Mees and Baker made it another all-indian podium. Buchan and Jeremiah Duffy filling out the top 10. Shayna Texter, third in the championship, struggled on the night and crossed the finish line 14 th. HARLEY-DAVIDSON HOOLIGANS As part of the Harley-Davidson sponsorship of the races an invitational Hooligan class was added to the program. Terry TIEBREAKER In AFT Twins qualifying, Henry Wiles and Brad Baker actually tied for fast time with second laps. The tiebreaker went to Wiles for having been in the fastest qualifier. There was less than a second between the fast time and the 29th (and last) time of by Kevin Anderson. BUNCHED UP Kevin Stollings (Roof Systems/Motion Pro, Honda CRF450R) posted the quickest lap in the AFT Singles qualifying at The 38 th -fastest time was also less than a Brad Baker (6) fought his way onto the Twins podium with a third.

17 ROUND 11 / JULY 7, 2018 WEEDSPORT SPEEDWAY / WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK FLAT TRACK AMERICAN FLAT TRACK SERIES Briefly... P86 Tanner Dean joined the 2018 Singles winner list with a near wire-to-wire victory. Vestal topped the main event on his Fuel Cafe/Al Muth Harley- Davidson-backed H-D Sportster after leading all eight laps. Dan Lauters (West Bend Harley-Davidson/Motion Pro, Harley-Davidson 1200) was second with Jeremy DeRuyter (West Bend Harley- Davidson/S&S Cycles, Harley-Davidson Sportster) making it a Wisconsin sweep of the podium. With Hooligan Racing gaining more and more fans, many of these riders will be making their way to the X Games in Minneapolis in two weeks. CN AFT TWINS 1. Jared Mees (Ind) 2. Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. (Ind) 3. Brad Aker (Ind) 4. Davis Fisher (Ind) 5. Henry Wiles (Ind) 6. Briar Bauman (Ind) 7. Sammy Halbert (H-D) 8. Robert Pearson (Ind) 9. Chad Cose (Ind) 10. Jeffrey Carver Jr. (Ind) AFT SINGLES 1. Tanner Dean (KTM) 2. Dan Bromley (KTM) 3. Morgen Mischler (Yam) 4. Kolby Carlile (Yam) 5. Ryan Wells (Hon) 6. Cameron Smith (Hon) 7. Tristan Avery (Hon) 8. Jayson Bloss (Kaw) 9. Brodie Buchan (Hon) 10. Jeremiah Duffy (Hon) second off at , posted by Cole Fealy (Fealy Racing/Vanilla Cycles, Honda CRF450R). PEGRAM RETURNS Larry Pegram made his first appearance at a 2018 American Flat Track event and rode a Three Bears Racing/ Stauffer Motors-sponsored Harley-Davidson XR750. Sporting his new old number-72, Pegram qualified for the main event and finished a respectable 14th on the only XR750 entered. BREAK TIME American Flat Track will take nearly a month off before resuming with round 12, the TT race at the Buffalo Chip in Sturgis, South Dakota. Two days later, they move to the Black Hills Half Mile in Rapid City, South Dakota. Ryan Wells (94) leads Singles points leader Dan Bromley (62) and defending champ Kolby Carlile (1) in the Singles main.