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Flat Track Racing Mega Thread - INCLUDES SPOILERS!

Had a commitment late Saturday afternoon. Got home just as the 4th lap of the Twins Main was beginning. I was excited to Briar Bauman out front but my excitement was short lived as Mees got by and walked off to a convincing win. Still pumped to see Californians on the podium even if they both live back east these days. Later read about the crashes and injuries on social media. Bonsey - reported to have a broken ankle, Baker - Concussion but was able to walk out of the hospital (still needs to be cleared to race by AFT); Eslick - bruises. Surprised Bonsey didn't have burns from re-entering the atmosphere after being thrown that high off his bike. Singles racer Sandra Shipman is pretty banged up with several broken bones. Best wishes to all for a full recovery.


More upbeat news: NBCSN-TV has a highlight feature on Michelle DiSalvo. You can watch in now on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmericanFlatTrk/status/990969211773218817
 
Photo credit: Greg Newgard

The crash mentioned in my post above.

#10 Johnny Lewis clear of the incident
#5 Jake Johnson on the ground (blue & white leathers)
#80 Stevie Bonsey of Salinas flying through the air (and wishing for a parachute)
#64 Danny Eslick
#4 Bryan Smith on the ground at the back



31688455_1959803037424358_6680399412167966720_o-X3.jpg
 
Map8 said:
Photo credit: Greg Newgard

The crash mentioned in my post above.

#10 Johnny Lewis clear of the incident
#5 Jake Johnson on the ground (blue & white leathers)
#80 Stevie Bonsey of Salinas flying through the air (and wishing for a parachute)
#64 Danny Eslick
#4 Bryan Smith on the ground at the back



31688455_1959803037424358_6680399412167966720_o-X3.jpg
Click to expand...


ouch!!

po Stevie lookin' like those ol Rossi-thru-the-tulip Pshops that were so popular heareabouts.....hope he recovers fully & gets back to racin' that Ducati
 
Free Live streaming on FansChoice.TV or the AFT Facebook page.

For those of us who can't make it to Calistoga:

3:00pm Practice / Qualifying sessions

6:00pm Heats

7:45pm Semis

8:25pm Singles Main

9:10pm Twins Main
 
Very exciting here!
 
Former Pro Singles champion Davis Fisher had an impressive debut on an Indian FTR750 at Calistoga winning his Heat and Semi races and then collecting a Top 5 finish. It was announced today that Fisher will join Richie Morris Racing for the remainder of the AFT Twins season racing an Indian FTR750 for RMR.
 
Saw that... good wishes to the young man.

Having that support will surely help him focus on racing.
 
That is good news. Well earned.

One thing I was thinking during the heats at Calistoga was that it looked to me like HD had upped their game over the winter. During the main it looked like I had been too optimistic. What is the consensus on this?
 
HD is making progress. AFT allowed them to run a "race engine" like Indian does rather than the "production" engines Kawasaki and Yamaha use. (The rule production vs. race engine controversy is another post altogether) The new XG has a twin cam head and they supposedly made changes to the frame as well. Jarod Vanderkooi had the bike working pretty good at Atlanta and Halbert has shown some speed so its not the disaster we saw last year when they weren't making the mains. Still a long ways to go.

IMO, the series needs a competitive HD effort no matter how well the Indians, Yamahas, Kawasakis or rumored KTMs perform. Its up to HD to make it happen.

Related to the Davis Fisher news. Fisher did a masterful job at Sacramento in 2016 to put the first version of the XG into the Main. I knew that kid was fast but I saw a lot of talent on display from him that night.
 
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Speaking of the KTM's, when reading about the engine in the 790 Duke, I was thinking, "That's a flat track motor." Its narrow width, and 75 degree offset crankpins sound like it will be easy to package, and have good traction characteristics. Thoughts?
 
Yup. The KTM has a lot of promise. We'll have to see who Chris Fillmore hires for their program and how much $$'s they commit. If its anything on the level of their recent SX/MX or roadracing efforts, AFT Twins is going to get real interesting.

One of the great things about flat track is how deep the field is. Even with Indian and HD locking up Mees, Smith, Baker, Halbert and Robinson, there is still a lot of talent out there for KTM, or any other big dollar effort to hire. Briar Bauman, Carver, Bonsey (when healthy) Johny Lewis, Wiles, Johnson, Fisher and others are capable of wins with the right package. Makes me wonder if someone could get tempt JD Beach into AFT full time. Unlikely there will be any factory Superbike spots open in MotoAmerica soon, and the top AFT Twins riders are rumored to make equal or better money the Graves or Yosh Superbike rides.
 
Map8 said:
Yup. The KTM has a lot of promise. We'll have to see who Chris Fillmore hires for their program and how much $$'s they commit. If its anything on the level of their recent SX/MX or roadracing efforts, AFT Twins is going to get real interesting.

One of the great things about flat track is how deep the field is. Even with Indian and HD locking up Mees, Smith, Baker, Halbert and Robinson, there is still a lot of talent out there for KTM, or any other big dollar effort to hire. Briar Bauman, Carver, Bonsey (when healthy) Johny Lewis, Wiles, Johnson, Fisher and others are capable of wins with the right package. Makes me wonder if someone could get tempt JD Beach into AFT full time. Unlikely there will be any factory Superbike spots open in MotoAmerica soon, and the top AFT Twins riders are rumored to make equal or better money the Graves or Yosh Superbike rides.
Click to expand...


Hmmm - I haven’t thought about about rider $$ in quite a while! dunno
 
Tomorrow's Arizona Mile starts a string of five mile races in a row for the Twins class:
May 12 - Arizona
May 19 - Sacramento
May 27 - Springfield
Jun 2 - Red Mile (Kentucky)
Jun 16 - Oklahoma


The Arizona Mile is day time race. The AFT website is not displaying the schedule at this time. All I know is the Main starts at 5:00pm local time which is also 5:00pm Pacific as AZ doesn't recognize Daylight Savings Time. As usual, free live streaming on FansChoice.TV and the American Flat Track Facebook page.

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Fanschoice.tv says coverage starts 2:00 PM Eastern. Should be live here at 11:00 for practice and qualifying.
 
Fans Choice page is not loading.. hmmm.

Will try again in a while.
 
Semis are done in Arizona. Possible for Wiles to complete the Flat Track Grand Slam tonight?

Nice to see some Mile speed from the factory HDs. Still expecting an all Indian podium. Singles is a toss up heading into the Main.
 
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