QUICK LINKS IN THE WIND 28 UNADILLA NATIONAL MX 64 FIRST LOOK ALL-NEW 2017 HONDA CRF450R AND CRF450RX
VOL. 53 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 16, 2016 AUSTRIAN MOTOGP FIRST WIN FOR IANNONE ENDS DUCATI DROUGHT DIRT TRACK DOUBLE STURGIS HALF-MILE PEORIA TT ALSO FIRST RIDE: 2017 KAWASAKI KX450F GEORGIA FULL GAS SPRINT ENDURO SWEDEN SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX ARCHIVES: CLASS OF 79
IN THE WIND P34 HANCOCK WINS SWEDEN SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX Triple world Champion Greg Hancock ended his 21- year wait for an FIM Speedway Grand Prix win in Sweden, and he dedicated it to his extended band of family, friends and fans in his adopted homeland. The Californian won the Swedish SGP at Malilla s G&B Arena on Sunday, August 14, after rounding nearest World Championship rival Jason Doyle in the final. Polish racer Piotr Pawlicki finished third, with Australia s Chris Holder in fourth place. It was an emotional triumph for Hancock, who bases himself in Sweden during the European season. The nation has become a second home for the 46-yearold, who is married to Swedish wife Jennie. The couple has three half-swedish sons in Wilbur, Bill and Karl. Eldest son Wilbur was in the Malilla pits to give Dad a huge hug after he ended his long wait for a Swedish win. Hancock has appeared in all of the SGP rounds staged in Sweden since 1995, and was elated to triumph there on the 36th time of asking.
VOL. 53 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 16, 2016 P35 PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN HIPKISS (Left) John Hancock leads the way at the Swedish SGP. (Right) For the first time, Hancock got to celebrate a victory at his second home in Sweden. That had been a long time coming, he said. Every year I come here, I want to win and I ve never managed to have a great meeting in this place. But today I did and it makes it all worth the wait. Everyone knows I have a big tie to this country. Having a Swedish wife and our kids is one thing. But there are a lot of sponsors and mechanics who have worked for me here. There are so many people who have helped me here. They make me feel right at home, even when we re just here for the season. This goes out to them. I really, really owe it to them. They have always been there and always supported me. I just want to say thank you there s more to come. Hancock has now won FIM Speedway Grand Prix rounds in 11 different countries, and this was a hard-earned triumph after he battled past Doyle to hit the front in the final. All I could think is I wanted to keep building momentum and not try to do anything too fast, otherwise I could have killed off the speed, given the way I had the bikes set up, Hancock said. Doyle was there all the time and I kept waiting for him to shut the door. But I think he felt quite comfortable where he was. I just managed to get one good corner out of it where he saw me. I managed to push him up and make a nice cutback. Plan B had to come into action quickly and it worked. Doyle was delighted to have overcome a back injury suffered last Tuesday to claim second place on the day and retain third place in the standings. I struggled with an injury that has been playing on my mind since Tuesday, Doyle said. I hurt my back, so I didn t do practice. Maybe that was a good thing because it rained on Saturday and the track was totally different. If someone said to me I d have 17 points from the Malilla Grand Prix, I d have bitten their hand off. Third-placed Pawlicki admits he exceeded his own expectations as he reached the rostrum in his first SGP final. John Hipkiss
ROUND 12 / AUGUST 14, 2016 PEORIA RACE PARK / PEORIA, ILLINOIS FLAT TRACK AMA PRO FLAT TRACK SERIES P80 X12 STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVE HOENIG WILES HENRY WILES TOP PEORIA TT FOR THE 12TH CONSECUTIVE TIME
VOL. 53 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 16, 2016 P81 The rains came Friday, but on Sunday the race went on, though the Peoria track proved to be quite the challenge for the racers. The last person not named Henry Wiles to win a Grand National race at the fabled Peoria Motorcycle Club s Race Park was JR Schnable in 2003. Since that time only rain in 2007 has stopped Wiles dominance. The only scratch on Wiles near perfect day was when the USC Racing/Hart Racing pilot qualified second-fastest to Vance & Hines/Brothers Powersports Brad Baker. Wiles then easily won his heat to sit on the pole for the 25-lap National. Over 2-1/2 inches of rain fell on Friday night leaving the always-challenging TT course soft and easily rutted. Despite the efforts of the PMC track crew, the racetrack was by far the roughest it has been in many years. Wiles wasted no time taking the point as the 18-rider field hit the first turn, but Weirbach
ROUND 12 / AUGUST 14, 2016 PEORIA RACE PARK / PEORIA, ILLINOIS FLAT TRACK AMA PRO FLAT TRACK SERIES P82 Henry Wiles (17) leads Briar Bauman, who chased Wiles early before his bike coasted to a stop. Racing s Briar Bauman was staying close with defending Grand National Champion Jared Mees (Montgomeryville Cycle Center/ SDI-Rogers Racing) a close third. Bauman s strong ride came to an abrupt end on lap five as he coasted to the sidelines. About the same time Baker captured what was now second from Mees and set off to run down Wiles. That chase lasted only two laps as he got into a violent tankslapper going into turn three and crashed heavily into the air fence, bringing out the red flag. Brad got by me. Every lap up over the jump he was really out of shape and I went, Man, dude, you are really putting it out there on the edge. I don t know if he was trying to catch Henry or run away from me, but he was putting it on the edge. When I saw him come through that righthander I was right behind him. Ass-over-teakettle is the perfect analogy for what happened. His ankles were up by the helmet and he was headed for the air fence. He really walloped that thing. I am really glad to see that he was able to walk away. I don t know what condition he is in, but walking away was huge. I think the rough track played into my style of riding and the way I like things to be, said Wiles. It was really fun for me out there in the main event. Especially when you look at the first seven laps and the gap I had already (3.3 seconds). I didn t know that I was that far out front. I was just kind of going. I didn t know if my lines were working or not. That s when you can really have fun at a race. You are going out there and being creative and making little things work. Although he was uninjured, Baker was unable to make the restart, but this set off a chain of events that may have a profound effect on the Harley-Davidson
VOL. 53 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 16, 2016 P83 (Below) Jared Mees (1) battled Jake Johnson for the remaining podium spots. Mees came out on top by less than a second. GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines title chase. Points leader coming into the race, Crosley Brand/T&T Construction s Bryan Smith had been battling over eighth place when the red lights stopped the race. On the restart a three-rider pileup occurred in turn one, with Smith right in the middle of it. The race continued on non-stop with Smith along with Dustin Crow (Greg Crow Racing/Wiebler s Harley-Davidson) and Bronson Bauman (Rod lake Racingv/Nazzisi Racing) all eliminated. Wiles picked up where he left off with Mees settling into second over Kennedy Racing/ Armbruster Racing s Brandon Robinson and Zanotti Racing s Jake Johnson. There are a lot of nooks and crannies out there, said Wiles. To be able to do things that right to where you are just going away, that s a lot of fun. After the red flag I rode a little bit more appropriately. I didn t back off a whole lot, but definitely I knew that I didn t have to go as hard as I was. I said, okay, just do a few little things right, and there were a couple spots that I kept trying to get better in. I knew if I could get better in those little spots, that would just make my life easier and I wouldn t have to ride so hard. It worked out great. Wiles lead continued to grow
ROUND 12 / AUGUST 14, 2016 PEORIA RACE PARK / PEORIA, ILLINOIS FLAT TRACK AMA PRO FLAT TRACK SERIES P84 to over nine seconds at the end of the race, with Mees a lonely second. I had nothing for the man [Henry] today at all. About halfway through I knew I didn t have anything for him, said Mees. I knew that Smith went down. It was time for me to look at the big picture for a second. Last year was different circumstances. I was running his pace and I was pressing him. I was all over the back of him. I would have put something on the line if it were those circumstances again. This time I just didn t have anything for him, honestly. He was flat [out] that much better than everybody. He s a tough competitor. There was still a good race going on for third, however. Robinson had given way to Rob Pearson (R&R Racing/Country Saloon) and Johnson. Robinson would drop from the race on lap 19, leaving Pearson and Johnson to decide the last podium position. I was actually ahead of Robbie early on, said Johnson. I made a mistake and he got by me. I just basically followed him around the whole race. He got a little bit of a gap on me and it just stayed the same the whole race. I could tell towards the end that I was better in one and two and he was better in three and four. When five to go came out I found something a little bit better, said Johnson. I was able to gain and only lose half as much coming off of four. I saw the two to go out and started inching closer and closer. I figured I ve got to do it; this is my chance. I didn t want to do it with two to go. Luckily I wasn t close enough. I wanted to kind of surprise him and get him on the last lap. I just went in there and closed my eyes and pinned it. I was able to just sneak around the outside of him, added Johnson. I played defense over the jump and through the last two The restart didn t go well for former points leader Bryan Smith. corners. I was able to beat him to the line. I could hear someone down at this end, but I hadn t seen him until that last lap, said Pearson. I jumped down to the bottom again at that corner like we had run in the heat races. I made a pass or two stick so then I just kept rolling with it. Toward the end, like the last five, it was getting kind of chuck-holed out of there. I tried to hang onto it. That last lap we went in like I normally do and I could hear him up top. When I saw his front wheel I tried to get to the racing line before he did, but he beat me to the face of the jump. I thought I just let third go away and I did. We had a good bike and I couldn t complain about our day today. VanDerKooi Racing/Don s Kawasaki s Jarod Vanderkooi was able to garner a fifth-place finish over Bonneville Performance s Jake Shoemaker and Mack Daddy s Jeffrey Carver. I got a good start, then I faded early, said Vanderkooi. We just kept chucking and chucking. With about five to go I put my head down and ended up getting a top five. It was a physical race; the track was really rough this year. I m happy with a fifth, for sure. Two years ago was my first time here and I didn t get through practice. I probably should have gone to the hospital. Last year we put it in the
VOL. 53 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 16, 2016 P85 Hayden Gillim (69C) won what was an exciting finish to the GNC2 main. He edged out Andrew Luker (11Z) by less than two-tenths of a second. main event and [I] was running twelfth. I made a big mistake and went back to 16th. We learned from that. A fifth this year is awesome. Mick Kirkness (Nitro Civil/ Young Henry s Brewing Company), Sammy Halbert (Van s Yamaha/Fredericktown Yamaha) and Davis Fisher (Parkinson Brothers Racing) filled out the top 10. Smith s misfortune resulted in Mees, once again, taking over the points lead in the Harley- Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines Championship. With just three races remaining on the schedule, Mees is 12 points ahead of Smith with Johnson and Robinson a distant third and fourth. GNC2 For as big of a runaway as the GNC1 race was, the GNC2 main event was close. Last year s winner Jesse Janisch (Nergia
ROUND 12 / AUGUST 14, 2016 PEORIA RACE PARK / PEORIA, ILLINOIS FLAT TRACK Mees left Peoria with the points lead. AMA PRO FLAT TRACK SERIES P86 GNC2 points leader Ryan Wells (Parkinson Brothers Racing) finished sixth, with James Monaco (GPS Racing/Intents Racing), Tristan Avery (Ron Ayers Motorsports), Austin Luczak (Luczak Racing) and Kolby Carlile (K.C. Cycle / Team 95) rounding out the top 10. With his sixth-place finish, Wells extended his points lead to 57 over Dalton Gauthier, who failed to finish the main and was credited with 18th and one point. Jamison Minor, who crashed out in practice, and Kolby Carlile are a distant third and fourth, respectively. CN Energy Shot) held a close lead over Suzuki/Cycle World s Hayden Gillim, who was moonlighting from his normal road race endeavors. Gillim took the lead on lap seven, but just two laps later Cole Zabala (Zabala Racing/Fat Boy Racing), who was running fifth at the time, fell heavily in turn one, resulting in a red flag. Zabala did return to the end of the field on the restart. Hayden was able to maintain his lead, but it was fast qualifier Andrew Luker (Sammy O racing/ Butler Racing) who made the most of it. Luker had been sixth when the red lights came on, but came off the restart in second. Janish slipped to third where he was being challenged by Ben Lowe (Children s Miracle Network) and Jacob Lehmann (Vince & Denise Holt / Ride Motorsports). It came down to the last lap when Luker was able get the lead. The last three or four laps I could hear him coming around the outside, but I thought maybe I was quick enough on the inside, said Gillim. But he was making that outside work and he was able to get by me on the last lap. Over the jump I was a little bit quicker. I closed back in on him and then through the righthander, he slowed up quite a bit and I knew that was my only shot for us. I took it and ran a little bit wide. I thought he was going to come underneath me, I saw his shadow there. He ran an amazing race, it s just amazing to be on top. GNC1 1. Henry Wiles (Kaw) 2. Jared Mees (Hon) 3. Jake Johnson (Hon) 4. Robert Pearson (Yam) 5. Jarod Vanderkool (Kaw) 6. Jake Shoemaker (Hon) 7. Jeffrey Carver Jr. (Hon) 8. Michael Kirkness (Yam) 9. Sammy Halbert (Yam) 10. Davis Fisher (Hon) GNC2 1. Hayden Gillim (Suz) 2. Andrew Luker (Hon) 3. Jesse Janisch (Hon) 4. Ben Lowe (Hon) 5. Jacob Lehmann (Hon) 6. Ryan Wells (Hon) 7. James Monaco (Hon) 8. Tristan Avery (Hon) 9. Austin Luczak (Hon) 10. Kolby Carlile (Hon)
ROUND 11 / AUGUST 9, 2016 BLACK HILLS SPEEDWAY / RAPID CITY, SD FLAT TRACK AMA PRO FLAT TRACK SERIES P88 STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVE HOENIG As lightning flashed in the distant, the Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines 18-rider main event blasted off at the Black Hills Speedway. In what could arguably be the best race of the year, title contenders Bryan Smith and Jared Mees battled for 25 laps, including a five-lap dash to the finish due to a red flag. When the smoke cleared it was Kawasaki-mounted Crosley Brands/T&T Construction s Smith capturing the Sturgis Half- Mile win. I was a little better into three and off of four than he [Mees] was and obviously the checkered flag is after four, said Smith. He was better in one and two and I was better in three and four. I would protect my entry but still get off four. I thought that even if I was behind him going into three I could get underneath him and kind of run him up the track. Luckily there was no contact and it was one hell of a race. Smith led the charge into turn one and the first lap ahead of a horde of Harley-Davidsons, led THUNDER IN TH SMITH FIGH Bryan Smith takes the checkered flag after a race-long battle with Jared Mees.
VOL. 53 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 16, 2016 P89 by Wiebler s Harley-Davidson s Sammy Halbert and defending champion Jared Mees, on the Las Vegas Harley-Davidson/ Rogers Racing-backed H-D. Mees was making a remarkable dash through the field from the second row. An uncharacteristic third place finish in his heat had left him with the undesirable starting position. The mechanics on my team just flipped the bike upside down to get us in the ball park and we were there, said Mees. I think I led that race on lap two. I was pretty stoked with that. We rode as hard as we could. In the heat we made a bad call and just went the other way. After leading the opening lap Smith slipped to third behind Halbert and came under attack from Harley-Davidson Motor Company s Brad Baker and Zanotti Racing/Harley-Davidson Motor Company-backed Kenny Coolbeth. On lap five Baker got by Smith in turn two only to see his XR750 expire going into turn three. Things looked to be settling down, although still tightly disputed, with Mees, Halbert and Smith holding their positions. On lap eight, Halbert had brake E BLACK HILLS TS FOR IT
ROUND 11 / AUGUST 9, 2016 BLACK HILLS SPEEDWAY / RAPID CITY, SD FLAT TRACK AMA PRO FLAT TRACK SERIES P90 couldn t out muscle him off of four. If I would ve run his line I would ve never had any speed. We did what we could. In one and two we were better than he was and in three and four he was better than me. If I was five bike lengths better than him in one and two, he was six better than me in three and four. Halbert, Coolbeth and Jefproblems and Smith took second back. By lap nine Smith was in first. For the next 11 laps Smith was able to hold the point at the finish line, but there was passing going on everywhere. He [Smith] just had a better line down in three and four, said Mees. With the characteristics of the power of his motorcycle versus mine I just fery Carver (Briggsauto.com/ Martin Trucking) lurked just off the leaders pace when on lap 21 Ryan Foster [Baker Racing] and Brandon Wilhelm [Sammy O Racing] crashed. With scoring reverted one lap, the race would truly become a dash for cash. You never like seeing a red flag, said Smith. It was probably going to turn out the same,
VOL. 53 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 16, 2016 P91 but when there is a restart you never know. You hate to see the cards reset. Foster and Wilhelm were able to make the restart, but the big surprise was Sammy Halbert s Harley-Davidson headed to the pits rather than the starting line. Halbert s brake had completely quit working and for the second race in a row mechanical prob- (Above) Ryan Wells (center) won the GNC2 final over Dalton Gauthier (right) and Kevin Stollings. (Left) Mees leads Smith, Brad Baker (6) and Sammy Halbert (69). lems spoiled what looked like at least a top-five finish. I got a good jump and it kind of wheelied, I rolled out of it and he [Mees] came up underneath me, said Smith. We kind of had a drag race going in there. Mees was on the inside and you don t want to give him an inch because he takes a mile. I kind of checked up and let him go and came back underneath him there in four. Mees led lap 21, but the green Kawasaki was back up front one lap later. It was a pure wrestling match on the last corner. I went in low and got it real sideways and Jared tried to come underneath me and he must have gotten it sideways. My foot was falling off coming off the corner, trying to give it everything I had. My heart rate must have been 250 coming to the checkered. The margin of victory was two tenths of a second, one of the larger leads of the night. Just another tenth of a second back was Coolbeth. Those guys were animals. I was concentrating more on them, said Coolbeth. They were weaving down the straightaways. They were kind of taking each other s line away and I thought it was going to benefit me. On the last lap going into three, I thought something was going to happen between them. I probably could have gotten Jared if I wasn t so concerned about what they were doing. Kennedy Racing/Armbruster Racing s Brandon Robinson took advantage of the restart and moved into a fourth-place finish. I did pretty well on the restart. I was in sixth and ended up fourth so I got a good start there, said
ROUND 11 / AUGUST 9, 2016 BLACK HILLS SPEEDWAY / RAPID CITY, SD FLAT TRACK AMA PRO FLAT TRACK SERIES P92 Robinson. I just hung around and didn t really have anything for the front three. I was just staying consistent, I couldn t really catch them. I didn t find my good lines until that last restart. My tuner told me that I needed to move up a little bit. Once I did that I felt pretty good. By that time it was a little too late. Zanotti Racing/Harley-Davidson Motor Company s Jake Johnson came all the way from a 12th-place start to finish a solid fifth, while Weirbach Racing s Briar Bauman nipped Jeffrey Carver for sixth. Rob Pearson (R&R Racing), Jarod Vanderkooi (VanDerKooi Racing) and Cory Texter (Texter Racing / Cycle (Above) Baker only made it to lap five before a mechanical took him out of the race. (Below) Halbert didn t make it to the finish either due to a brake failure.
ROUND 11 / AUGUST 9, 2016 BLACK HILLS SPEEDWAY / RAPID CITY, SD FLAT TRACK AMA PRO FLAT TRACK SERIES P94 Bryan Smith regained the points lead... barely. World) rounded out the top 10. It was a huge night for the Howerton Motorsports prepped Kawasaki. It turned out the way I figured it would be with Jared on the last lap. Obviously I am really excited to beat him on a half mile, considering I m not supposed to if you read the internet, said Smith. I am pretty pumped on that and my whole team for working last week after Charlotte to give me a little bit more feel with the bike. It paid off. We were better than the Harleys on a track that the Harleys are typically better. Heading into the Peoria TT, the win puts Smith back on top of the points battle by a narrow two points over Mees. Mees will be heavily favored on the fabled TT track, but the remainder of the season contains one more half-mile followed by two miles so the season battle should go down to the wire. Brandon Robinson and Jake Johnson are sitting third and fourth in the points, 41 and 43 points back, respectively. GNC2 The GNC2 class, once again, provided the fans with tight exciting action and for the third time this year Parkinson Brothers Racing s Ryan Wells came out on top of a three-rider skirmish. Dalton Gauthier (DGR Motorsports/Flat Track Live], Kyle McGrane (Scott Powersports) and Kevin Stollings (Ben Evans Racing/Woody Kyle Racing) chased Wells on the first lap and Gauthier took the lead on lap two. Wells was back on top one lap later and although it was a close race, out he never relinquished the lead again. Stollings held second most of the race, but Gauthier was able to squeeze by on the last lap for second. Charlotte winner Kolby Carlile (K.C.Cycle/Team95) moved from 11th all the way up to fourth over Michael Inderbitzin (Frankie Morris/Pacific Tub & Tile). Kyle McGrane, Brandon Price (Don s Kawasaki), Tristan Avery (Ron Ayers Motorsports), Cameron Smith (Carroll Motor Fuels) and James Monaco (GPS Racing/Intents Racing) rounded out the top 10. Wells victory extends his points to an almost insurmountable 45 points with just four races remaining. Wells has 184 points to Gathier s 139. Jamison Minor is third with 117. CN GNC1: 1. Bryan Smith (Kaw) 2. Jared Mees (H-D) 3. Kenny Coolbeth Jr. (H-D) 4. Brandon Robinson (H-D) 5. Jake Johnson (H-D) 6. Briar Bauman (Kaw) 7. Jeffrey Carver Jr. (H-D) 8. Robert Pearson (H-D) 9. Jarod Vanderkool (Kaw) 10. Cory Texter (Kaw) GNC2: 1. Ryan Wells (Hon) 2. Dalton Gauthier (Yam) 3. Kevin Stollings (Hon) 4. Kolby Carlile (Hon) 5. Michael Inderbitzin (Hon) 6. Kyle McGrane (Hon) 7. Brandon Price (Kaw) 8. Tristan Avery (Hon) 9. Cameron Smith (Hon) 10. James Monaco (Hon)