QUICK LINKS IN THE WIND 32 LEADERBOARD 142 ROLLING WHEELS HALF MILE

QUICK LINKS IN THE WIND 32 LEADERBOARD 142 ROLLING WHEELS HALF MILE MEES BOUNCES BACK

VOL. 54 ISSUE 27 JULY 11, 2017 LAGUNA SECA WORLDSBK / MOTOAMERICA COME TO TOWN SOUTHWICK MX TOMAC S SANDBLAST featurepikes PEAK: RENNIE S REVENGE ALSO ROUTE 66 NHRA JOHN PENTON GNCC VIRGINIA SPRINT ENDURO ARCHIVES: LAGUNA SECA

2017 INDIAN MOTORCYCLE INTERNATIONAL, LLC. ALWAYS WEAR YOUR HELMET. NEVER DRINK AND RIDE.

BACK ON TOP. JARED MEES CLAIMS THE WIN AND RETAKES THE POINTS LEAD.

VOL. 54 ISSUE 27 JULY 11, 2017 P37 TICKLE DONE FOR SEASON Broc Tickle (RCH/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing) will be sidelined for the rest of the 2017 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship with an injury. Tickle wounded his shoulder at last week s national at RedBud but still finished both motos and further examination revealed that the injury was worse than originally thought. Tickle underwent an MRI this week [and] was diagnosed with a posterior labral tear, a Hills-Sachs lesion, a type 1-2 superior labrum anterior to posterior tear and a posterior shoulder dislocation, according to a team release. Fortunately, the 450-class veteran will not require surgery but recovery time is expected to be six to eight weeks. CN Yoshimura/RCH Suzuki s Broc Tickle will miss the rest of the 2017 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship with a shoulder injury. LEGENDARY MOTOCROSSER PASSES: HAKAN CARLQVIST Two-time Motocross World Champion Hakan Carlqvist passed away, July 7, at the age of 63. He reportedly died following a brain hemorrhage. The legendary motocrosser from Sweden won the FIM 250cc MX World Championship in 1979 riding for the Husqvarna factory team, then won the 500cc MX World Championship in 1983 riding for Yamaha. The 20-time GP rider rode for the factory Yamaha team through 1986, then rode a privateer Kawasaki in 1987 and 88 before retiring. Besides his two championships, Carqvist will perhaps be best known for pulling off the track at Namur during the GP of Belgium and visiting the Chalet du Monument for a swig of beer while enjoying a massive lead in his final GP. He pulled back on the track and won the race. CN Two-time FIM MX World Champion Hakan Carlqvist passed away at the age of 63.

CHAMPIONSHIP VOL. 54 ISSUE 27 JULY 11, 2017 P83 My Own Race: 1 GARRETT GERLOFF 1ST SUPERSPORT Man, it was tight, said Supersport winner Garrett Gerloff. I was trying to get out front and ride my own race. And once I passed [Beach] I started protecting the inside because he likes to control the race flow and I wanted to do my own thing. And it worked once I got past him the second time. I just put in some good laps and the gap was yo-yoing a bit. The last lap I didn t need to push as hard but I still wanted a good lap. I thought [JD] was right there on the last corner, so that s why I went right to the inside, but I m glad it worked out. The curbing here has a lot of grip, and I hit a seam and folded the front and picked it up on my knee I don t want to do that anymore! I got a little bit of headshake and it pushed the pads back so I went for the brakes and they weren t there; I couldn t get the bike stopped and left a bit of rubber on JD s leathers! 95 JD BEACH 2ND SUPERSPORT It was a change of pace for the Supersport racers, who only had one race, but runner-up JD Beach made the most of his time at Laguna. It s a weird one because we don t get much track time, but from Saturday to Sunday we closed the gap to Garrett a lot; we just didn t have the pace in the end, said Beach. We made some good improvements, now we have a bit of a break and we can look forward to Sonoma. I kept closing a lot going into turn one but I d lose it going out, so one lap I decided to back it up into one to try and get better drive, but at the same time Garrett went deeper into one and he pulled a little gap that I just couldn t close with two laps to go. 11 MATHEW SCHOLTZ 1-1 SUPERSTOCK 1000 This was one of my favorite tracks, exclaimed Mathew Sholtz, whose enthusiasm was marked by his 1-1 sweep of the Superstock 1000 class. I was really looking forward to coming here. At some of the previous rounds we were looking to try and get the outright pace instead of setting up for the full race length, and this weekend, we really focused on putting 20 laps on the tires and making sure we were consistent. Both of the races I had a pretty decent jump off the line and I put my head down and charged and fortunately got the win in both heats. I m looking forward to the break now I m heading back to South Africa with my girlfriend so that ll be nice to enjoy the summer break with the championship lead. It feels like this Yamaha is finally a bike that suits me. 4 JOSH HAYES DNF-4 SUPERBIKE Umm the weekend was less than ideal, said a rather dejected Josh Hayes. It was a very tough weekend, and I don t have a lot of answers right now. Having just come off the track I feel more hurt, not physically, but I need to give myself some time to relax, exhale, debrief and come up with some answers. I told a friend of mine if I were at the tennis courts right now I d have smashed every racquet in the bag, put it behind my car and backed over it in the parking lot. That s how I feel right now, but superbikes are a little expensive to do that. I got some regrouping to do. 1 CAMERON BEAUBIER 3-DNF SUPERBIKE Defending champion Cameron Beaubier started off his weekend with a podium finish, but on Sunday his luck took a turn for the worse. I got a pretty good start today, and I felt a lot better than I did yesterday. So, I was able to get past Herrin and then Toni, and I started chipping away at Roger s lead. I felt like I had a good pace going, and I was catching Rog. I was looking for a way around him, but he was riding really well. Coming out of the Corkscrew, I went a little wide in Rainey Corner in order to set myself up to try to make a pass on Rog in Turn 10, but I lost

ROUND 6 / JULY 7-9, 2017 MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA / MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA ROAD RACE 2017 MOTOAMERICA P84 the front. I was able to pick up my bike again and get going, but I only managed to do so much because my handlebars were bent. So, now, we ve got a break. I m looking forward to going home and working on getting stronger. 85 JAKE LEWIS 3-DNF SUPERSTOCK 1000 It was a pretty good weekend to start, said Jake Lewis, who s luck also took a turn for the worse on Sunday. I got a terrible start in race one and was in 16th on the first lap, and got up to sixth overall and third in Superstock 1000. But I barely got third we worked hard all race, but that first lap killed me. In race two, I was right behind Mathew for the win, just flowing it because I had a faster pace than him, and honestly I felt like I could have won pretty easy today, but then the engine blew seven laps in. So today was a real shit day, honestly. Quarterly Racing/On Track Development s Draik Beauchamp. There was drama on the opening of 12 laps when Jackson Blackmon lost the rear out of turn three, taking Benjamin Smith with him. With the top two in the championship gone, Ventura and Francesc Perez (M4 Roadracing World Wild Cards Team) battled for the rest of the race until Perez lost the front going into the Corkscrew. He would remount to finish 10th. It was a great race, said Ventura. I got a great start, something I ve been working a lot on lately, and tried to keep that momentum going. This is technically my home race, it s the track I have the most experience on, and I had a lot of fun today. For Dumas, his third podium of the season in second place came after holding off a large train of riders that included Beauchamp, Team MotoTriad s Gary Pham and the second M4 Roadracing World Wild Cards Team machine of Gabe Hernandez in fifth place. I saw Jackson and Benjamin crash, so I thought we could do a top-five, easily, said Dumas. Then I saw the Spanish guy (Perez) crash so I say, I need the second place here! and I managed to hold on so I m very happy. Beauchamp s tilt at second place on the podium was stopped by a strong pass by Dumas at the Corkscrew, however the rider who sits in third in the series ended up satisfied with his result. That was a really hard fought race, Beauchamp said. Being a little behind the pace was challenging, I was trying to figure out what to expect and how I was going to make up time. Then some of my teammates got taken out and Corey gapped us so I couldn t hang with him, but Alex and I got into a good battle. Then Perez crashed and suddenly there were two podium spots on offer, so I tried to put in a good last lap but Dumas made a good pass at the top of the Corkscrew, props for that. We ll try to do better at the next round. In the RC Cup championship, Benjamin Smith leads with 147 ahead of Blackmon at 118 and Beauchamp sits third at 115. CN Superbike Race One 1. Toni Elias (Suz) 2. Roger Hayden (Suz) 3. Cameron Beaubier (Yam) 4. Mathew Scholtz (Yam) 5. Anthony West (Kaw) Race Two 1. Tony Elias (Suz 2. Roger Hayden (Suz) 3. Josh Herrin (Yam) 4. Josh Hayes (Yam) 5. Kyle Wyman (Yam) Supersport 1. Garrett Gerloff (Yam) 2. JD Beach (Yam) 3. Benny Solis (Hon) 4. Daytona Anderson (Yam) 5. Jason Aguilar (Yam) KTM RC Cup 1. Cory Ventura (KTM) 2. Alex Dumas (KTM) 3. Draik Beauchamp (KTM) 4. Gray Pham (KTM) 5. Gabe Hernandez (KTM)

REDEMPTION FOR ME ROUND 10 / JULY 8, 2017 ROLLING WHEELS RACEWAY PARK / ELBRIDGE, NEW YORK FLAT TRACK 2017 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P102 Weather-wise, it was touch-and-go if the Rolling Wheels Half Mile would even run, but Mother Nature ended up cooperating for what turned out to be an ideal night of racing. STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVE HOENIG / FLAT TRAK FOTOS After a successful event in 2016, the American Flat Track championship returned to upstate New York and Rolling Wheels Raceway Park for round 10 of the 18-round season. Heavy rains moved into the area on Friday and carried over into Saturday morning, threatening, at best, a major delay. Just as the weather forecast had called for, the sun came out, the track crew whipped the track into shape and racing started right on time. In the AFT Twins class, former Grand National Champion Jared Mees (Indian Motorcycle/ Rogers Racing/SDI Racing Indian FTR750) was the fastest rider all night from qualifying to heat and semi wins, but Sammy Halbert (Estenson Racing/TruLine Harley-Davidson XR750) was just hundredths of a second back as he claimed heat and semi wins also. When the 18-rider, 25-lap, AFT Twins main event lined up, Mees and Halbert squared off

VOL. 54 ISSUE 27 JULY 11, 2017 P103 ES JARED MEES BOUNCES BACK WITH VICTORY AT ROLLING WHEELS HALF MILE side by side on the bottom of the racetrack. When the green light flashed it was Halbert off the very inside and Brad Baker (Indian Motorcycle/Allstate Motorcycle Insurance Indian FTR750) at the very outside off the line first. Mees blasted to the front as he and Halbert slid high, in front of Baker, stalling out his drive. Halbert squared off the exit of turn two and he and Mees were elbow to elbow all the way down the back straight. Halbert had the inside going into three, but Mees dove under exiting four and the race was decided right there. I knew Sammy was going to be the toughest guy, according to the times. He got the start on me and I thought all right, I have to get that back, said Mees. I got by him early and just dropped the hammer. Jared and I were bumping elbows before we even took off the line, said Halbert. We tried to squeeze each other out on the starting line. I put up a fight, but it only lasted one lap, that first lap was intense

ROUND 10 / JULY 8, 2017 ROLLING WHEELS RACEWAY PARK / ELBRIDGE, NEW YORK FLAT TRACK 2017 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P104 though. We were going for it on both ends of the track. I won the shut-off contest going into turn three, and then he came under me with a vengeance coming out of four. I had to check up to keep on the track. From there it took me a couple laps to get in my groove. Mees lead just kept growing and growing as he smoothly hit his marks lap after lap. While the lead two settled in, Brandon Robinson (Harley-Davidson Motor Company/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XG750R) held third, but Baker was charging back through the field and grabbed the position on lap three. Sammy and Jared had first pick and they went to the bot- (Above) After failing to even qualify for the previous race at Lima, Jared Mees bounced back with a big victory in New York. (Right) Sammy Halbert put up a fight but just couldn t hang with Mees. But the H-D-mounted rider was happy with second. tom; I didn t want to be in the middle of everybody and I went all the way to the outside, said Baker. I got a great jump. I went into turn one and I think it was Jared that bonsaied from the bottom. We kind of met in the middle and he had the inside, so I had to go wide and check up. When I did that, three or four other guys went by, so I was back in about sixth on the first lap. I battled with Robinson and a couple other riders for several

VOL. 54 ISSUE 27 JULY 11, 2017 P105 laps. By the time I got into third, both Sammy and Jared had a pretty good margin on me. Mees was in the cat bird seat and knew it. I looked back and had a little bit of a lead. I sat and paced myself and then thought, I m going to step it up a little bit more, and gapped him a little bit more. Who knows, he might have been riding so hard trying to catch me that he was making more mistakes. That s common for a guy in second that is pushing so hard. With the top spots apparently set, everyone s attention was on Jeffrey Carver (Ben Brad Baker (6) and Brandon Robinson (44) battled for the last podium position, which went Baker s way.

ROUND 10 / JULY 8, 2017 ROLLING WHEELS RACEWAY PARK / ELBRIDGE, NEW YORK FLAT TRACK 2017 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P106 (Above) Robinson ended up holding off Briar Bauman (14) for fifth, matching his top finish of the year. (Left) A dejected Jake Johnson watches after his bike quit on the fifth lap. Evans Racing/Carver s BBQ Kawasaki) as he sliced his way up from a seventh-place start. Once Carver was able to separate himself from Robinson and Briar Bauman (Zanotti Racing/ Rod Lake Racing Kawasaki) he cut the gap on Baker and was challenging for the last podium spot. On the last lap Carver made his move to get around on the outside, but Baker slipped high and Carver ran out of room and he had to settle for a hard earned fourth-place finish. The Robinson, Bauman battle raged on to the very end with about the same results as Baker and Carver. Robinson held the spot the whole race, but Bauman made a last-lap pass only to drift off the track, handing fifth place back to Robinson. Coming home a lonely sev-

ROUND 10 / JULY 8, 2017 ROLLING WHEELS RACEWAY PARK / ELBRIDGE, NEW YORK FLAT TRACK 2017 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P108 (Left to right) Baker, Mees and Halbert celebrate on the Twins podium. enth place was points leader and defending Grand National Champion Bryan Smith. Mechanical problems had forced Smith into the Last Chance Qualifier and a back-row start in his semi and a second-row start in the main. While Smith finished in the top half of the field it is far from where he needs to be in his points battle with Mees. Rookie of the Year candidate, Ryan Wells (BriggsAuto.com/ Martin Trucking Harley-Davidson XR750) continued his strong year finishing eighth, nipping on Smith s heels. 2016 Rookie of the Year, JR Addison (Dean & Pam Smith/Smith Racing Kawasaki) was just able to hold off Kenny Coolbeth (Harley-Davidson Motor Company/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XG750R) for ninth. AFT SINGLES Kevin Stollings (Ben Evans Racing/Dave s Cycles Honda) got the holeshot in the 15-lap, 18-rider AFT Singles main. The race was quickly red flagged as Jeremiah Duffy fell in the middle of turns one and two. Duffy was able to regroup and make the restart. Stollings was unable to replicate his first start and got shuffled back to seventh place as current points leader Shayna Texter shot to the front. She was not alone, however, as fast qualifier Wyatt Anderson (Waters Autobody Racing/D&D Powersports KTM) was right behind, looking for any opening. Texter rode 15 virtually flawless laps to post her fourth win of the year. It was incredible. I just tried to go out there and run as hard as I could for 15 laps and not look back, said Texter. This is my fourth win of the year,

VOL. 54 ISSUE 27 JULY 11, 2017 P109 My Own Race: 69 SAMMY HALBERT 2ND AFT TWINS Sammy Halbert matched his best finish of the year with a very solid secondplace finish. The front end was pushing really bad, we just missed the setup with that. The bike was great, just chasing the front end a little bit, said Halbert. It took me a few laps to figure out how to ride around that. Once I did, I got some solid laps and hung with him [Mees] for a bit. Then I made a couple mistakes. I went out wide and hit the dust. I looked back and saw I had a huge gap and brought it home. The bike was revving really, really hard so we could have probably dropped a tooth. At some point I just started going easy on it just to make sure that old XR got to the finish. I m happy to get back on the podium. On these car tracks it s easy to lose time, but hard to make up time. With any mistake you would definitely lose a lot of time. They did a great job with the track, especially for the weather we had. It made for a good track, it was a lot faster than last year. 6 BRAD BAKER 3RD AFT TWINS Brad Baker has settled his season down and is posting strong finishes with his seventh podium finish this year. I had been like a tenth or two off all night long on those two [Mees and Halbert]. I pretty much just settled into third, said Baker. They were slowly, slowly pulling away. I just knew I had to hit my marks and not make any mistakes so I didn t let anybody else catch up to me. On the last four laps or so, I began to hear somebody there. I didn t want to look behind me to see who it was. Jeffrey Carver gave me a run for my money there on the last couple laps. I was able to bring it home in third. On a track like this, it is a good accomplishment. This is not necessarily one of my stronger types of tracks. To get third was good. 23 JEFFREY CARVER 4TH AFT TWINS Jeffrey Carver is another rider making his presence felt, working his way through the field to almost take the last podium position. On the last lap I got around Brad going into three. He heard me a lap before, said Carver. He ran low getting into three, so I thought, There s my shot. I ran around the outside of him. By that point he saw me and started moving up the racetrack. He got about an inch from my handlebar and we both started moving together. I ended up hitting whatever was up there, some marbles or the wetness. I got off the groove and it was just enough. At that point I was in Brad s hands. To be able to get close like that and to come from 50 yards back, it felt good. I ve just got to get a better start next week. 44 BRANDON ROBINSON 5TH AFT TWINS In a year that has been a struggle at best, Brandon Robinson matched his best finish on the Harley-Davidson XG750R. Robinson was able to run as high as third for a few laps, then fell back into a battle with Briar Bauman for fifth, and that almost slipped away on the last lap. Briar got by me in the middle of three and four coming to the white flag, then he kind of messed up coming off turn two on the last lap and I just pinned it, said Robinson. I wasn t stopping until I got back by him. The brake was glowing from the first lap in. It seems like the only way I can get the bike to track and do what I want it to do is just stomp on the brake. It s the only way it s working for me. I ll do it all day long if that s what it takes to run up front. I ve been feeling more comfortable on the bike for sure. We re still learning. Every race is a test for us right now. We re still developing and finding little things here and there. We re adding every single race. Hopefully we continue to get better, so that by the end of the year we ll be contending.

ROUND 10 / JULY 8, 2017 ROLLING WHEELS RACEWAY PARK / ELBRIDGE, NEW YORK FLAT TRACK 2017 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P110 14 BRIAR BAUMAN 6TH AFT TWINS Basically for 25 laps Brandon and I got our money s worth. I never made a lot of moves, but I was always right there, said previous-round winner Briar Bauman. Going to the white flag I passed him and thought, Finally! It took me 24 and a half laps. I was so nervous coming off turn two that I wasn t going to get a good enough run, I ran it off the racetrack. He went motoring by. I thought, No way. But it was good, we struggled in the semi and turned it around for the main. 1 BRYAN SMITH 7TH AFT TWINS Bryan Smith s night was far from the norm for the defending Grand National Champion. In the heat race something electrical happened and the bike shut off. I don t know what it was, said Smith. It shut off and I was about to pull into the infield and it took back off. That put me into the LCQ and luckily I won that. I started on the third row for the semi. I got up to sixth or something; I was always playing catch up. In the main, I got a good start from the second row and thought, well there s a chance for third. Jared was going to be hard to beat. From where I was coming from, I thought that maybe I could get up on the box. They weren t that far ahead of me. Halfway through the race, I lost any kind of rhythm I had and started going backwards. I don t know what it was, if it was me or the bike or what. I couldn t go forward that s for sure. t but this one is super special because it s the first time my mom and my step-dad were able to make it out to a race in some time. It s incredible to get a win in front of them. Mom got to take the checkered flag with her daughter. Anderson finished a second-and-ahalf back with Kolby Carlile (K.C. Cycle/ Team 95 Honda) another two seconds back and under attack from Stollings who worked his way up to a solid fourth-place finish. In a heated battle over fifth place, Cameron Smith topped Dan Bromley, Ben Lowe, Brandon Price and Oliver Brindley. Cole Zabala just edged out Lima winner, Parker Norris for 10th. CN cont. on page 112 Shayna Texter pretty much dominated the AFT Singles final, chalking up her fourth win of the year.

ROUND 10 / JULY 8, 2017 ROLLING WHEELS RACEWAY PARK / ELBRIDGE, NEW YORK FLAT TRACK Briefly... 2017 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P112 With the heavy rains that hit the area on Friday, stretching into Saturday, rumors on social media were floating around that the races were canceled early on Saturday. That wasn t enough to keep the East Coast fans away and the Rolling Wheels Raceway Park s grandstand was filled when opening ceremonies took place right on schedule. The race program was altered to where there were two qualifying rounds with no practice. Then, because of a setting-sun issue, race activities were stopped to allow the sun to set because of visibility in turns three and four. A fan walk was held at this time. The win presented an opportunity for Jared and Nichole Mees to have their newborn, Hayden, on the podium for the first time. Hayden was so impressed she slept through it. Hayden slept through her first podium, said Jared. It s her bedtime right now, so she s on schedule. Shayna Texter is starting to build a little breathing room in the AFT Singles points race. Texter s win gives her a 32-point lead over Kolby Carlile with a win paying 25 points. Brandon Price is just four points behind Carlile and Ben Lowe another 25 points back. With a 13-point swing each way the last two races of the AFT Twins points race, Jared Mees regains the advantage he held after Oklahoma City, with eight points over Bryan Smith. It was a good night. After my mishap at Lima, I needed to come back and redeem myself like this, said Mees. It was nice to come here and be dominant. From the time we unloaded the truck until the time we put it in the truck, we were the fastest guy all day. I really wish I could get some of those points back from Lima, but it is what it is. We ll move on to Calistoga. Brad Baker s resurgence has put the whole Indian Wrecking Crew atop the leader board as he holds a four-point advantage over Sammy Halbert, but they are over 50 points behind Mees. If it wasn t for the mechanical and the crash at the beginning of the year, I would be pretty tight in the points with Jared and Bryan, said Baker. I ve been making up points on Bryan every single race. I think I ve finished in front of him four or five times in a row now. My hat s off to Jared for doing great. I feel good, but I haven t felt great this year; I need that win. The next national is Calistoga and that s a track that I ve always liked. It s my closest race to home. Maybe I can bring it home there. The struggles of the Harley-Davidson Factory Race Team and the Harley-Davidson XG750R are well documented, but the New York event saw all three factory riders in the main event. That was the high point, however, as Jake Johnson dropped out while running in 11th. Kenny Coolbeth finished 10th and Brandon Robinson fared the best, finishing fifth. We started off okay, said Robinson. Basically, we just kept working and plugging away. My crew just kept putting in the work and making changes and got me more comfortable all night. It was like, We ve changed enough and now it s up to you, you ve got to get on the gas earlier or something. It s beat into my head that I need to change things. I m always open to ideas. Whatever it takes to go faster. Many of the riders are headed to the ESPN X Games for a midweek TV race, then a week off before another cross-country marathon begins. With a half-mile event in Calistoga, California followed by a TT in Sturgis, SD, another half mile in Rapid City, SD and a TT in Peoria, Illinois, it s going to be a busy 16 days for the riders and crews of the 2017 AFT Series. AFT TWINS 1. Jared Mees (Ind) 2. Sammy Halbert (H-D) 3. Brad Baker (Ind) 4. Jeffrey Carver Jr. (Kaw) 5. Brandon Robinson (H-D) 6. Briar Bauman (Kaw) 7. Bryan Smith (Ind) 8. Ryan Wells (H-D) 9. J.R. Addison (Kaw) 10. Kenny Coolbeth Jr. (H-D) AFT SINGLES 1. Shayna Texter (Hon) 2. Wyatt Anderson (KTM) 3. Kolby Carlile (Hon) 4. Kevin Stollngs (Hon) 5. Cameron Smith (Hon) 6. Dan Bromley (KTM) 7. Ben Lowe (Hon) 8. Brandon Price (Kaw) 9. Oliver Brindley (Kaw) 10. Cole Zabala (Kaw)