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VOL. 54 ISSUE 12 MARCH 28, 2017 DETROIT SUPERCROSS TOMAC MOTORS ON ATLANTA SHORT TRACK INDIAN CRUSH SHOOTOUT TRAIL BIKE TRIO RMX450Z vs. WR450F vs. CRF450X FIRST TEST 2017 YAMAHA FZ-09 NEW AND IMPROVED? ALSO Sparta GNCC Idaho National Hare & Hound Mugen Electric Dirt Bike Archives: Louisville Downs
ROUND 12 / MARCH 26, 2017 FORD FIELD / DETROIT, MICHIGAN SUPERCROSS P66 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES, AN FIM WORLD
CHAMPIONSHIP VOL. 54 ISSUE 12 MARCH 21, 2017 P67 DOWN TO SEVEN! Eli Tomac narrows the points gap to just seven with five rounds still left to run. BY STEVE COX PHOTOGRAPHY BY HOPPENWORLD.COM The defending 450 Supercross Champion is bleeding points. Red Bull KTM s Ryan Dungey held a 27-point lead over Monster Energy Kawasaki s Eli Tomac just four races ago. Since then, Tomac has reeled off four wins in a row while Dungey has finished second, fourth, third and third again, losing 20 points to Tomac in that short span of races. This is when a lot of pundits, and even racers themselves, will start to say things like, There s a lot of racing left. While true, it becomes less true with every passing week. This is a dangerous sport, but if Dungey is going to successfully defend his title maybe for the final time, if indeed he retires at the end of this year he can t rely on Tomac having a string of problems or having a disastrous race like he s already had once; he s going to have to beat Tomac at least twice in the final five rounds of the series. And while the 450SX class is tightening up week-by-week, the 250SX East just got blown up in Detroit, where Rockstar Energy Husqvarna s Zach Osborne suffered a damaged front end in the first turn, had to pit to change his wheel, and ended up 18th. There seems to be no stopping Eli Tomac right now, as he captured his fourth straight 450SX win.
ROUND 12 / MARCH 26, 2017 FORD FIELD / DETROIT, MICHIGAN SUPERCROSS P68 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES, AN FIM WORLD 450SX Coming into the Detroit main event, things were looking pretty good for the champ. Ryan Dungey won his heat race going away, while rival Eli Tomac had to transfer through a semi, which meant Dungey had a much better gate pick; Dungey had the second pick and Tomac the ninth. However, Dungey s main event got off to a sketchy start as he and Yamaha s Chad Reed tangled handlebars down the start straight, causing Reed to fly into the Tuff Blocks on the inside of the straightaway, then go bouncing out through the pack as he went down, taking RCH Suzuki s Justin Bogle down with him. The crash also forced Reed s teammate Cooper Webb wide, along with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna s Dean Wilson, Rocky Mountain ATV-MC KTM s Blake Baggett and Dungey, who was held up momentarily behind the chaos. Coming into that first turn was tough tonight, Dungey said. It got all crazy, and nobody was going to let off. We were all going for it. And there s Chad [Reed], and myself, [Justin] Bogle... And it just domino-effected. It s racing. Out front, Dungey s teammate Marvin Musquin snatched the holeshot over Tomac, Baggett s teammate Davi Millsaps, fast qualifier Broc Tickle (RCH Suzuki), Tomac s teammate Josh Grant, Wilson s teammate Jason Anderson, JGR Suzuki s Jake Weimer, and Motoconcepts Honda s Justin Brayton. Ryan Dungey sees his points lead slipping away. Weimer went down on lap one, and somehow, by the end of the same lap, Dungey had already moved himself up into seventh place, and Baggett came around lap one just two spots behind him in ninth. It wasn t long, though, before Tomac forced his way by Musquin for the lead, and then took off, easily winning his fourth main event in a row. Millsaps ran third early, but Dungey caught him late in the race to make the pass for third. Baggett, who was caught up in the first turn with Dungey, followed Dungey around Millsaps
CHAMPIONSHIP VOL. 54 ISSUE 12 MARCH 21, 2017 P69 just before the end of the race to finish a very solid fourth place, with Millsaps finishing fifth. Four of the top five motorcycles at the finish were KTMs everyone but the winner. I just put myself in a good position in the main event, Tomac said. Earlier in the night, in my heat race, I was in a position I didn t want to be in, but luckily we got our act together and capitalized in the main. I was able to sneak around the first turn there and come out in second; I felt very fortunate for that with having the ninth gate pick tonight. So, once we got going, I was able to make the pass on Marvin [Musquin], and just felt really good. I felt comfortable. It s what we wanted tonight on this sketchy surface. I was able to attack it. It s just another really good night of racing. Despite having another podium finish, Musquin felt like he didn t
ROUND 12 / MARCH 26, 2017 FORD FIELD / DETROIT, MICHIGAN SUPERCROSS P70 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES, AN FIM WORLD Marvin Musquin nabbed second overall for the second straight week and again finished ahead of his teammate, Dungey. ride very well on his way to second place. Today was a really tough day, Musquin said. I mean; I don t really like this track here in Detroit. It gets so hard and so slick. It s not my favorite conditions. You ve seen me so many times go good when it s soft and rutted and technical, but today was really tough. It s a good thing I pulled the holeshot. That really saved my main event. I was not the fastest today. Definitely, [Eli] Tomac was faster than me, and then he pulled away. I was just trying to play it safe and keep my second place. I was losing time on the Dragon s Back, my whoops were not perfect, but we only tried to be consistent, and then I look behind and Ryan [Dungey] was third. It doesn t feel like a secondplace right now. The feeling on the track was tough. It was a long main event, and we still made it happen. With five rounds left, it s clear that Dungey needs to do something to slow the Tomac train down. If he doesn t, Tomac will end up winning this title despite his dismal start to the season.
CHAMPIONSHIP PHOTOGRAPHY BY KTM IMAGES/SIMON CUDBY Blake Baggett had another strong race, just missing out on the podium. KTMs held down four of the top five positions. VOL. 54 ISSUE 12 MARCH 21, 2017 P71 450SX Detroit Highlights I think the hardest thing is just where we were at on the first lap the last few races, Dungey said. I just can t do nothing back there. Eli s out front and he takes off, and I have nothing for him; he s just cruising to these victories. It s upsetting. I put on a hard charge for third, and that was good, and I sat behind [Davi] Millsaps forever, but we ve just got to be up front. We ve got to get in a better position and get through it. There s five races left, and I know I don t need to put the pressure more on myself, but we need to start turning it up here. We re losing too many points every weekend. I m out there racing every weekend doing what I need to do, and the championship s not on my mind, it s just where we start in the be- ginning, so I ll end it at that. Again, assuming there are no more disasters in store for Tomac or Dungey, Dungey will have to beat Tomac at least twice in the final five rounds to come away with the title. However, if he wants to get his season back on the right track, St. Louis, the next round, might be the right place. Dungey has won there two years in a row.
ROUND 12 / MARCH 26, 2017 FORD FIELD / DETROIT, MICHIGAN SUPERCROSS P72 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES, AN FIM WORLD 250SX Detroit Highlights 250SX EAST In one key way, the 250SX Regional Supercross Championships can be harder to win than the 450SX title. The reason being that the 250SX titles are each decided in only nine main events, not 17. One mechanical failure or other catastrophe, and the odds of winning the title can
CHAMPIONSHIP VOL. 54 ISSUE 12 MARCH 21, 2017 P73 Jordon Smith holds off Dylan Ferrandis and Joey Savatgy in the 250SX East main. go down the tubes no matter how dominant a racer is. We got to see an example of that in Detroit, which marked round six of the 2017 250SX Eastern Regional Supercross Series. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna s Zach Osborne has been by far the most dominant racer in the series to this point, winning three of the first five rounds with his only finish off the podium coming in Daytona, where he finished fifth after starting way back in the field. And he led the points standings by nine points coming into Detroit. But Detroit may have supplied the one disastrous race Osborne couldn t afford, and through no fault of his own. After the gate dropped for the main event, LCQ winner Jordon Smith, of the TLD/Red Bull KTM team, came screaming in from the far outside aiming for the apex of turn one, and when he got there, he clipped Osborne s front wheel, sending Osborne and KTM privateer Dakota Alix careen-
ROUND 12 / MARCH 26, 2017 FORD FIELD / DETROIT, MICHIGAN SUPERCROSS P74 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES, AN FIM WORLD ing to the outside of the turn, where they also collected Geico Honda s Christian Craig. Once they got up, Osborne circulated slowly, and was forced to pit to have his front wheel, that was damaged in the crash, changed out, putting him way, way behind the lead group. Osborne would eventually finish a disastrous (for him)18th place. Out front, Monster Energy/ Pro Circuit Kawasaki s Adam Cianciarulo snatched the early lead in front of fast qualifier Dylan Ferrandis (Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha), Cianciarulo s teammate Joey Savatgy, Smith and Ferrandis teammate Mitchell Harrison. Ferrandis put the pressure on Cianciarulo early and nearly went by on the opening lap. On lap two, Ferrandis pushed (Left) Joey Savatgy grabbed second place and now enjoys a healthy points lead. (Above) This first-turn pileup might have cost Zach Osborne (16) the 250SX East Championship. Cianciarulo wide past the mechanics area, but lost his drive into the ensuing rhythm section, allowing Savatgy to get a run on them. Ferrandis took the lead just in front of Savatgy, but only one turn later Cianciarulo came back in on Ferrandis after the finish line and pushed him wide,
CHAMPIONSHIP VOL. 54 ISSUE 12 MARCH 21, 2017 P75 allowing Savatgy to sneak up the inside into the lead. Cianciarulo seemed incensed by Ferrandis early move, and pushed him wide again a couple turns later, nearly allowing Smith by them both. But not long after that, Cianciarulo lost the front end in the turn after the finish losing time to Smith and Savatgy. With a few laps left to run, Smith and Savatgy found their way by Ferrandis, and eventually Ferrandis fell back into the clutches of Cianciarulo, who ended up going by for third late in the race. Smith had to fight with everyline and went down, handing second place back to Ferrandis. Then Savatgy followed suit a couple laps later, losing the front end one turn later, handing the lead back to Ferrandis. Ferrandis looked good out front for a while, but then began racing behind him and started
ROUND 12 / MARCH 26, 2017 FORD FIELD / DETROIT, MICHIGAN SUPERCROSS MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES P76 The 250SX East victory was the first of Smith s career. He celebrates with his TLD/Red Bull KTM team. thing he had to keep Savatgy behind him, but he managed to do it, taking his first-ever 250SX main-event win. It was an unbelievable day! Smith said. I had to go to the LCQ, but I won that, and I got off to a great start from the outside on my Troy Lee/Red Bull KTM I couldn t have gotten off to a better start from out there and I had to make a few passes. The track was really tough tonight; a lot of people were making mistakes, and I just couldn t have done it without everyone that s behind me. It s an amazing feeling right now. I can t wait to share it with everyone. Savatgy was a close second, and if not for his fall he may have won. Even with the fall, Savatgy now leads Smith by nine points, Osborne by 10 points, and Cianciarulo by 11 points. If he didn t fall and won, he would be up by 13 on Osborne, 14 on Cianciarulo, and 15 on Smith. This could end up a significant math equation by the end of the series in Las Vegas. I mean, you know...the red plate s awesome, Savatgy said. I felt like tonight should ve been our night, but it was just little mistakes. I wish I could explain my frustration, but I can t. I got a little bit of a gap, and I just washed the front. I don t know what else to say. I m frustrated right now, but I m blessed to be here. We ve just got to capitalize on the opportunities at hand and try to come out of here with a win. Second place is good, and points are very valuable, but we fought hard, and I think if we could ve eliminated that mistake, we would ve been very good. Behind Savatgy came Cianciarulo, after chasing down Ferrandis late in the main event. Coming in, we didn t do a whole lot of riding this week, and that set me back a little bit, but
ROUND 12 / MARCH 26, 2017 FORD FIELD / DETROIT, MICHIGAN SUPERCROSS MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES P78 My Own Race: 16 ZACH OSBORNE 18TH 250SX EAST The Detroit round was disastrous for Zach Osborne and it might ve cost him the 2017 250SX East Championship. It was a tough night, said Osborne. I felt good all day and was felt great on the track. I got a really good jump in my heat race, but just didn t get around the first turn very well. In the main, I thought I would go a bit wider, and then absolutely crushed the start, but then someone came from the outside and we went down and their footpeg went through my spokes so I had to do a pit stop. 14 COLE SEELY 10TH 450SX Honda HRC s Cole Seely was hoping to turn his season around at Detroit and it looked as though that just might happen after winning his heat race, which turned out to be the quickest of the night, giving him first gate pick for the main, but that didn t help him any. He got caught up in the first-turn pileup and was forced to start at the back of the pack. Tonight was a tough night, said Seely. Things were going really well and I was feeling good after my heat race win. Unfortunately, I just got caught up in the first turn and had to come from behind, but we re focused on moving forward and looking ahead to the next round in St. Louis. 36 ADAM CIANCIARULO 3RD 250SX EAST Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/ Kawasaki s Adam Cianciarulo rebounded nicely after getting banged up a bit at the previous round in Indiana. He rode aggressively and banged bars with the leaders and eventually got on the podium. I feel good with the result after not getting much riding in this week with my knee injury last week, said Cianciarulo. I put myself in a good position tonight and coming out of here we are optimistic as we closed the points gap. Couldn t be more excited to have a shot at the championship and it s looking like this thing will go down to Vegas. no excuses, Cianciarulo said. These guys are riding unbelievable, and unfortunately I made a little mistake there in the beginning, then just kind of sat back and watched the battle happen in front of me. I saw the crowd going crazy, and I had a feeling that [Dylan] Ferrandis was going to get a little bit tired, because he rode a little bit crazy there in the beginning, so I just waited for that to happen, and when I saw him drop back a little bit, I was able to capitalize and put a pass on him. Overall, I m stoked to get on the box, and I think we ll be better from here on out, so I m looking forward to it. The East guys have one more race this coming weekend in St. Louis before they go on hiatus until the New Jersey round, then finish out the championship in Las Vegas. CN 450SX 1. Eli Tomac (Kaw) 2. Marvin Musquin (KTM) 3. Ryan Dungey (KTM) 4. Blake Baggett (KTM) 5. Davi Millsaps (KTM) 6. Jason Anderson (Hus) 7. Broc Tickle (Suz) 8. Josh Grant (Kaw) 9. Dean Wilson (Hus) 10. Cole Seely (Hon) 250SX East 1. Jordon Smith (KTM) 2. Joey Savatgy (Kaw) 3. Adam Cianciarulo (Kaw) 4. Dylan Ferrandis (Yam) 5. Kyle Cunningham (Suz) 6. Mitchell Harrison (Yam) 7. Christian Craig (Hon) 8. Gannon Audette (Kaw) 9. Anthony Rodriguez (Yam) 10. Lorenzo Locurcio (Hon) cont. on page 80
ROUND 12 / MARCH 26, 2017 FORD FIELD / DETROIT, MICHIGAN SUPERCROSS MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES P80 15 DEAN WILSON 9TH 450SX Dean Wilson broke into the top 10 after finishing 13th at Daytona and 11th at Indianapolis. I was top five in qualifying, so that was good, said Wilson. I got a good start in my heat race, which I was happy about. I was battling with Brayton, which slowed me down a bit and caused me to lose some positions. I went into the semi and got third and got into the main. I just barely saved the first corner pileup in the main. I got hit really hard and I barely stayed on two wheels. I made some quick passes then just stayed there and rode a steady and consistent race. This is my third year in the class but it s almost like a rookie year since I ve never done a full season. It s good for me to just keep racing the mains and get top-10 finishes. I m just trying to be better every weekend. 48 CHRISTIAN CRAIG 7TH 250SX EAST Despite his run-in with Alex Martin and having last gate pick in the main, Christian Craig had the best result of his season. As everyone knows, I had a practice incident with Alex Martin [see Briefly]. I let my frustrations get the best of me in the heat of the moment. I could sit here and explain my side of the story but I ll still end up in the wrong so I won t, said Craig who did apologize to Martin. Anyway, I got penalized and fined by the AMA. No matter what I got in my heat I would have last gate pick for the main. Going into the main I obviously knew I was going to be last pick so I took the outside gate and was just going to go for it. I actually got a really good start but was caught in a first-turn pile up. I would have for sure gotten a top five start if that [the crash] hadn t happened. I started in 18th and made my way to seventh. With one more lap I could have gotten the two guys in front of me but I was just happy to see myself fight again. This season has been rough and it sucks it s taken me this many rounds to find myself again. 20 BROC TICKLE 7TH 450SX RCH Suzuki s Broc Tickle was the fastest qualifier of the day in the 450SX class, but he couldn t parlay that into a podium in the main. I knew I needed a good start in the main event and I came out sixth, Tickle said. I got passed in the whoop section on the first lap and ended up coming around sixth or seventh. I rode there for a long time. All in all, it was a good weekend. I felt like I could have made a pass in maybe a couple of places and then we kind of spread out a little bit. Dungey got around me and then with a couple laps to go [Jason] Anderson got around me so I ended up seventh. I didn t really feel like I was riding up to my full potential in the main event and still came away with a seventh-place finish. Briefly... Geico Honda s Christian Craig has had a really rough go of it so far in 2017, and his frustrations boiled over in timed practice. Craig got upset that one of his fast lap times was interrupted, and the end result was that he T- boned TLD/Red Bull KTM s Alex Martin so hard that Martin went flying off the track, crashing hard. Craig was fined and penalized by the AMA, forced to take the last gate pick in the main event despite winning his heat race, and issued an apology via his Instagram account that read: I want to apologize to Alex for what happened in practice. My intentions are never to make someone crash. I was frustrated that my fastest lap was getting interrupted. He had rolled the whoops on the same lap, so I figured he would get out of the way since he was on a slow lap. That doesn t justify what happened but I am sorry and I have been fined and penalized for my actions on the track. Martin was forced to sit out the race reportedly with a concussion. Smartop/Motoconcepts Honda teammates Vince Friese and Mike Alessi had a scary moment that came in the first 450SX semi. Friese was leading Alessi over a jump, and Alessi drifted over and his front wheel landed on Friese s back. Amazingly, neither rider went down, though Friese did run off the track.
ROUND 2 / MARCH 25, 2017 DIXIE SPEEDWAY / WOODSTOCK, GEORGIA FLAT TRACK AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P82 Jared Mees leads the way at the Atlanta Short Track. This was the first Grand National race in Georgia since 1973. MEES, BAKER, SMITH OWN WOODSTOCK PODIUM BY DAVE HOENIG PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVE HOENIG/FLAT TRAK FOTOS It only took two races into the 2017 American Flat Track season for the Indian Motorcycle Factory Wrecking Crew to sweep the podium. Jared Mees led teammates Brad Baker and Bryan Smith home in a historic finish in front of an enthusiastic packed house. For the first time since 1989 professional motorcycle racing returned to the high-banked Dixie Speedway. The red clay, D-shaped, bull ring is nestled into the hills just north of Atlanta and appears to be larger than the traditional short track. The 19-second laps in qualifying were a good indication of how fast the action would be. The worst fears in the pits
VOL. 54 ISSUE 12 MARCH 28, 2017 P83 seemed to be coming to fruition as Jared Mees pushed his Indian Motorcycle Co./Rogers Racing-backed Indian Scout FTR750 to victory, remaining undefeated for 2017. This win didn t come easy and had its fair share of controversy. Mees had set fast time in qualifying, won the fastest heat and semi to sit on the pole for the 25-lap main event. Mees got the perfect start from the bottom of the track and led the first lap, only to make an uncharacteristic mistake. Sammy Halbert had his Estenson Logistics Harley-Davidson XR750 parked on Mees rear wheel and took full advantage of the former champion s lapse.
ROUND 2 / MARCH 25, 2017 DIXIE SPEEDWAY / WOODSTOCK, GEORGIA FLAT TRACK AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P84 Brad Baker leads defending champ Bryan Smith. He (Mees) made a mistake and went wide and, just like, waved me right by basically, said Halbert. It was cool to see that. Halbert was never able to gain much of an advantage, but what lead he had went away as the two leaders left a raging battle behind them. Sammy had a little bit of a lead and then I started running him back down, said Mees. I found something there. We started just kind of slide-jobbing each other because we couldn t really pass. His line and my line were the same so I couldn t just run right into him. The only thing we could do was slide-job each other. As starter Kevin Clark displayed the five laps to go sign the action really heated up. When you slide-job each other, it s the slower way of going, but you re trying to knock a guy off his line, said Mees. He did it to me, I did it to him. He did it to me back and he was exiting so high on the racetrack, and I was so low. I was coming up the racetrack and he was trying to come back down. We just kind of got caught up and he went
VOL. 54 ISSUE 12 MARCH 28, 2017 P85 Mees now has career wins in short track, TT, half-mile and mile.
ROUND 2 / MARCH 25, 2017 DIXIE SPEEDWAY / WOODSTOCK, GEORGIA FLAT TRACK AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P86 Sammy Halbert and Jared Mees had a great battle until...they tangled and Halbert went down. down. It wasn t by any means intentional. Our lines crossed. Halbert slid down the front straight out next to the wall and as soon as he stopped sliding he scrambled over the wall to safety. With his Harley laying right on the groove the red lights flashed on lap 23. I think that maybe some lappers made me run a lower line and made me lose some momentum and he might have closed the gap, said Halbert. He ran it in on me, he passed me and I passed him back. We got relatively aggressive, no contact, then I ran it in and passed him going into turn three. Coming off of turn four, I looked down to see where he was at and as soon as I looked down the next thing I know my handlebars got clipped. I was on the ground and sliding down the front straightaway. As per the rules, the field was lined up for a five-lap dash to the finish with Halbert rejoining the race at the back. Mees quickly took control of the race with a perfect restart. We got a good start on the restart and ran our own race and brought home the W, so that s what matters, said Mees. The rest of the Indian Wrecking Crew took over second and third. Brad Baker, who was literally knocked out of the Daytona TT last week, led the defending series champion, Bryan Smith, on their Indian Motorcycle/Allstate Motorcycle Insurance in second. I didn t know for five laps or so who was behind me. I could feel somebody back there kind of breathing down my neck
VOL. 54 ISSUE 12 MARCH 28, 2017 P87 Dalton Gauthier won the AFT Singles for the second week in a row. a little bit, said Baker. You never want to look behind you. You want to focus on where you are going. He poked it in on me one time going into three on one lap and I glanced over to see the number one. I thought. Okay, I m racing with my teammates. I didn t know if there was anyone back there with him. I just tried to keep smooth. Smith salvaged another podium finish on a track where not much was expected. I was just a little bit off today. I just couldn t get that one more click faster so I could get up there and get racy with Jared and Sammy, said Smith. I thought for the main I could; I was right there with them. I got to battling with Brad and slowed myself up a little bit, just trying to work my way around. Third was just it, I couldn t figure it out. I would gain on him and he would inch away and I would reel him back in and then I would mess up. Zanotti Racing/Rod Lake Racing-backed Briar Bauman pushed his Dave Atherton built Harley-Davidson XR750 into the battle for second, but would have to settle for a fourth-place finish. RMR/McElroy Packaging s Jarod Vanderkooi bounced back from last week s disappointment with a fifth-place finish on his Kawasaki, but was under siege from Halbert, who had come from last to sixth in just four laps. Bob Lanphere Beaverton Motorcycles Davis Fisher (Kawasaki) was a solid seventh over Daytona 200 winner Danny Eslick on his Harley-Davidson of Staten Island XR750. BKR/Go-Moto s Jake Mataya (Kawasaki) held off the top
ROUND 2 / MARCH 25, 2017 DIXIE SPEEDWAY / WOODSTOCK, GEORGIA FLAT TRACK AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P88 Gauthier, Kevin Stollings and Shayna Texter made up the AFT Singles podium. Harley-Davidson Motor Company rider Brandon Robinson for ninth. AFT SINGLES It took last-lap heroics for Estenson Racing s Dalton Gauthier to win last week in Daytona, but that was not the case this week. Gauthier had dominated all day on his YZ450F Yamaha and it continued in the 15-lap main event. I got the holeshot and put in some really solid laps; I looked Briefly... With American Flat Track officially designating the Dixie Speedway as a short track, and on the heels of his TT win last week in Daytona, Jared Mees was able to become a Dirt Track Grand Slam winner. Mees now has wins on each of the disciplines: half-mile, mile, short track and TT. Many were questioning if the track was truly a short track, but 18- and 19-second lap times pretty much answer that. I know I m going back and knew I had a pretty good gap, said Gauthier. I think I had a straightaway lead. I knew I had the best motorcycle out there. I was just calm the whole race too. Don s Kawasaki/DPC Racing s Brandon Price worked his Kawasaki into second on lap four and was trying to run Gauthier down. He slid down in turn one on lap thirteen. With to hear a lot of grief on the grand slam, but it is what it is, you know, said Mees of his accomplishment. A large crowd turned out for the first Grand National race in Georgia since 1973 when Scott Brelsford won the dust-aborted Atlanta Mile. With the competitive racing the Dixie Speedway will hopefully become a regular stop on the tour. Price trapped under his bike the red lights came out. This main would also be decided with a five-lap shootout. Ben Evans Racing/Dave s Cycle s Kevin Stollings (Honda) had held second early in the race and inherited the position back. The restart was a carbon copy of the first and Gauthier easily pulled away from Stollings. The race for second was tight, Dalton Gauthier s dominant performance was all the sweeter for his dad, Marc, who got to take the checkered flag with his son. It s my dad s birthday, so it s a really good birthday present for him, said Gauthier. I was pretty confident to win this one. While Sammy Halbert s night certainly didn t go as planned he did see some positives. Mees made a
VOL. 54 ISSUE 12 MARCH 28, 2017 P89 It was an all-indian podium. however, as Carroll Motor Fuels/ Basciani Mushroom Farm s Cameron Smith (Honda), RMR/McElroy Packaging s Shayna Texter (Honda) and JMC Motorsports Jamison Minor (Honda) were all looking for a podium finish. Much to the large crowd s pleasure, Texter slipped her Honda into third with two laps to go. Smith finished fourth just a half second ahead of Minor. Southland Racing Products John Vanderlaan (Honda) and Autolight Spark Plugs/K.C. Cycle s Kolby Carlile (Honda) were right on Minor s rear wheel. Mischler s H-D & BMW/Steelhorse Law-backed Morgen Mischler (Honda), Water s Autobody Racing s Wyatt Maguire (KTM) and Honda Town s Jeremiah Lindberg (Honda) filled out the top 10. CN AFT TWINS 1. Jared Mees (Ind) 2. Brad Baker (Ind) 3. Bryan Smith (Ind) 4. Briar Bauman (H-D) 5. Jarod Vanderkooi (Kaw) 6. Sammy Halbert (H-D) 7. Davis Fisher (Kaw) 8. Danny Eslick (H-D) 9. Jake Mataya (Kaw) 10. Brandon Robinson (H-D) AFT SINGLES 1. Dalton Gauthier (Yam) 2. Kevin Stolings (Hon) 3. Shayna Texter (Hon) 4. Cameron Smith (Hon) 5. Jamison Minor (Hon) 6. John Vanderlaan (Hon) 7. Kolby Carlile (Hon) 8. Morgen Mischier (Hon) 9. Wyatt Anderson (KTM) 10. Jeremiah Lindberg (Hon) mistake and went wide and just let me by. It was cool to see that, said Halbert. I know if he was on his Harley he wouldn t have done that. It s good to see that there is some weakness there with the Indian. They are definitely not fully comfortable with it; it seemed like. He definitely doesn t make mistakes like that. It looks like they have a ways to go. They are obviously great bikes. It was nice that he let me by like that. Fortunately the heavy rains that sat just to the west of the race track most of the night moved in just as the pits were empting out and anyone who stayed away because of the weather forecast missed some great racing. Following their two wins Jared Mees and Dalton Gauthier are taking commanding leads in the AFT Twins and Singles series, respectively. Mees leads Bryan Smith 50 to 37, while Dalton Gauthier has 50 points, leading Wyatt Anderson at 30. Apparently after giving it some thought, after the race Sammy Halbert filed a protest with AFT over the lap-23 incident. Where that leads is unknown right now, as AFT will have to make a ruling, which, if it would go against Mees, would no doubt be appealed. cont. on page 90
ROUND 2 / MARCH 25, 2017 DIXIE SPEEDWAY / WOODSTOCK, GEORGIA FLAT TRACK AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP P90 My Own Race: 6 BRAD BAKER 2ND AFT TWINS After Baker s heavy get-off in Daytona, he had to go through AFT s concussion protocol to be able to ride in Georgia, but came through with flying colors. Great results; it s pretty gratifying after last week. I was just getting back from the hospital when the main event was ending, said Baker. To get second and being a part of an Indian three-way sweep that s backed by Allstate Motorcycle Insurance is really cool. Hats off to Jared, he finished the grand slam tonight. He rode flawlessly the last two weekends. I think Jared and Bryan, my two teammates, are going to be my hardest guys to race all year long and I ve got some ground to make up after last weekend. Anything is possible and I m just happy to be here and having some success again. 1 BRYAN SMITH 3RD AFT TWINS When the 2017 schedule came out, defending Grand National champion Bryan Smith had to be looking at the first two rounds as a huge challenge, but Smith has been very competitive thus far, with a second last week and a close third this week. You had to run the same line. When you got to him [Baker], I would want to pass him, so I would venture off that fast line and mess up and lose all the time I made up, said Smith. The track is a circle. It s short and one big corner. You would try to set somebody up, but you would never get a run down the straightaway to go by him. It was just tough. I didn t get to see the wrestling match there. I did see Halbert skidding across the ground. I knew what happened when I saw him sliding. I ve been on the short end of Jared s stick before. 14 BRIAR BAUMAN 4TH AFT TWINS Briar Bauman continues to settle in with his new team and had his Harley-Davidson XR750 challenging the Indian Factory effort. It was really, really good right out of the box tonight. I know why they [XR750] have been so dominant for so many years, especially with Dave Atherton turning the wrenches, said Bauman. It makes it a little easier on myself. I felt really good right out of the gate. I got a horrible start, but I kind of got in a rhythm trying to catch the next guy. I was trying to pick my way through. If you get a good rhythm going you forget about the laps. You re watching the other guy and trying to hit your marks. You don t really focus about the laps too much. It went by pretty quick. When I hit two to go, I had just gotten to Bryan and Brad. I was thinking I could use about 10 more of these. Unfortunately we had the red flag with whatever happened with Sammy and Jared and I didn t get the best restart. I was able to come home fourth. I can t complain about that after last weekend. 20 JAROD VANDERKOOI 5TH AFT TWINS Former Rookie of the Year Jarod Vanderkooi had another impressive night with a solid fifthplace finish. We ended up fifth tonight. It was a short track for twins, but it felt pretty big, said Vanderkooi. It was a pretty fast track, but it was technical. It was a setup track for sure and fifth was the best we had today. The track isn t that big but the turns are big. You can really get moving around them. I felt pretty good early in the day and as the track changed and the moisture came up at night, I was struggling a little bit. I got in a good groove in the main event. Bauman ended up getting past me. I think we went with the wrong tire choice. It got pretty hot and slippery in the back. After that I was kind of searching until the red flag. We kind of settled into fifth and I felt good. 69 SAMMY HALBERT 6TH AFT TWINS The Halbert/Mees battle was great until it wasn t. Both riders were giving their all chasing the win. I had a great night going and was obviously watching Jared, said Halbert. He looked strong all day, so it was really cool to be able to pass him in the main event. I got the lead and was running good. It was so unfortunate. I really wanted to win or even a podium for my team. Luckily my team did a great job getting the bike straightened out. I remounted back in last place. I put on a charge to get up to sixth. I wasn t really satisfied with that either because I almost got fifth. With five laps to go, to come from last to sixth was decent.