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| March 26, 2024
After a quiet begin to the season at Daytona, defending champ Jared Mees bounces again with Senoia Quick Observe victory
By Chris Martin | Pictures by Tim Lester
There was an eerie sense of deja vu when the Progressive American Flat Observe tour descended on Senoia Raceway a few weeks after its Daytona double opener. Simply as in 2023, Dallas Daniels stood atop the factors following a triumphant opening weekend. And simply as in 2023, reigning Grand Nationwide Champion Jared Mees was in determined want of a giant end result after failing to succeed in the rostrum (ending a historic 14-race podium streak within the course of).
A 12 months in the past, Mees responded with a clutch victory following a back-and-forth tilt with Daniels, a race that retroactively encapsulated the epic Mission SuperTwins title combat to return.
The script for the 2024 reboot implied an analogous consequence, however Daniels was decided to interrupt that sample. And just about all all through Sunday (the occasion was delayed a day because of inclement climate), the Estenson Racing star appeared to have the products to make it occur.
He steadily improved his bike every time he was on observe; Daniels clocked the quickest time within the second and ultimate qualifying session, received his warmth with relative ease, after which merely dealt with Mees within the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Problem, dispatching and dropping his rival in fast succession.
Mees, in the meantime, was left looking. Regardless of throwing down a really fast lap within the first qualifying session, he couldn’t get his works Indian to deal with to his liking, leading to repeated errors and inconsistent lap occasions. Hoping for the most effective, he and his group gambled by chasing a setup path they’d by no means beforehand explored as they lined up for the principle.
However even that didn’t go as deliberate. Royal Enfield’s Johnny Lewis, who had the third choose on the grid, appeared set to decide on the skin place on row one however reconsidered. He as a substitute headed for the within slot, arriving there concurrently Mees, who got here with the fourth choose. After some dialogue with race officers, Mees was pressured to relinquish the spot and transfer as a substitute to the skin.
Fueled by a potent concoction of indignation and adrenaline, Mees remodeled what the riders on the entrance row had deemed the least fascinating beginning spot into the prime place in observe, powering into the lead as the sphere slammed into flip one.
That lead was short-lived, nevertheless, as Daniels quickly swooped beneath with an easy move. It might have come as no shock if the younger championship aspirant left the sphere in his wake from that time on, however as a substitute, Mees found that his dangerous and novel setup occurred to be precisely what he had been on the lookout for. The champ regrouped, mounted a counterattack to reclaim the place, after which set about executing his personal escape.
His getaway got here in small increments however added as much as properly over a second by the point the 2 reached the checkered flag, as Mees and Daniels continued their 2023 revival act with one other Mees/Daniels 1-2 end at Senoia Raceway.
“What a day,” Mees mentioned. “We fast-qualified, however I wasn’t actually feeling just like the quick qualifier, to be trustworthy. I used to be making a lot of errors and didn’t really feel like I had issues beneath management. The warmth race went okay, however I couldn’t get round [Brandon] Robinson. And within the [Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge], Dallas ate my lunch. I used to be actually frightened about him; he and his group have been rolling good. He was very constant and will get the bike turned, and that’s the place I used to be struggling all day.
“For the principle, we tried some issues we by no means did earlier than, and it panned out. Every part got here proper to me.”
“The observe was actually one line, just about all day,” Daniels mentioned. “The fellows have been looking round a bit bit, it appeared like for us, we have been glued to the underside. Jared mentioned he thought I used to be going to eat his lunch, and rattling, I used to be pondering that, too. We have been rolling good all day. We have been attempting issues and dialing the bike in all day in a method we wouldn’t have final 12 months, and it felt fairly good. We form of went for it and thought we had it good for that primary, however Jared was just a bit bit higher.”
The largest revision from the ’23 script has come by way of the return to type of Mission Roof Methods’ Brandon Robinson, who took a small step again in ’23.
Robinson carried over his wonderful 3-1 opener by securing one other podium, however not till after working exhausting to discover a well past Johnny Lewis for third after which heading off Rick Ware Racing’s two-time Grand Nationwide Champion Briar Bauman to carry the place to the checkered flag.
Lewis on the Moto Anatomy X Powered Royal Enfield was finally pushed all the way down to sixth, shedding out on a possible top-five end result to Fairway Ford/ JMC Motorsports’ Jared Vanderkooi, who spent his primary occasion snaking his method up from the underside of the highest 10.
Memphis Shades/Corbin’s Brandon Value completed in seventh, one place forward of Rackley Racing’s Davis Fisher, whereas a pair of promising rookies—Mission Meals/Zanotti Racing’s Trevor Brunner and Latus Motors Racing/Vance & Hines’ Max Whale—accomplished the highest 10.
AFT SINGLES
Talking of deja vu, the collective fears of the Elements Limitless Singles discipline are taking form for a 3rd consecutive season.
Regardless of the unquestioned pace and ability of the likes of Estenson Racing’s Tom Drane, JPG Motorsports’ Chase Saathoff, D&D Licensed’s Dalton Gauthier, and American Honda/Mission Meals’ Trent Lowe, amongst others, two-time champion Kody Kopp is, as soon as once more, assembling an imposing early-season title lead.
Kopp finally coasted to the crown courtesy of huge factors leads in ’22 and ’23. If his opponents don’t get issues collectively in a rush, ’24 may show to be extra of the identical.
Regardless of not being overly happy with a floor that had native climate situations working towards it for days, the Rick Ware Racing pilot demonstrated his caliber but once more. Kopp not solely made the most effective of the scenario, however he additionally penned one in all his private favourite primary occasions up to now, through which he ran a beforehand untested excessive line and utilized it to storm across the outdoors of Saathoff, Drane and Gauthier and finally run away on the entrance. Kopp’s win appeared simple, however apparently, it was more durable than it appeared.
“Man, that was loopy,” Kopp mentioned. “What a tough race for me. We made a pair modifications after ending fourth within the (Al Lamb’s Dallas Honda Problem) and put our head down early in the principle occasion. I put my belief in my group and my guys did a heck of a job. We made a giant gamble going into that primary occasion and he or she labored so good. I went across the outdoors of all people—each move was on the skin—in order that was a cool one. It’ll go down as one in all my favorites.”
Drane minimized the harm with a second place, whereas Saathoff was joyful to select up a podium at a venue that hadn’t been particularly variety to him.
FRA Belief Advisors’ Aidan RoosEvans additionally slipped previous early race chief Gauthier to earn a career-best fourth-place end result.
Kopp’s benefit over Gauthier is already 17 factors, whereas title hopefuls Drane and Saathoff are at risk of falling a full race again. They’re now trailing by 20 and 21 factors, respectively.
The 2024 American Flat Observe season continues on April 27 for the Texas Half-Mile in Fort Value, Texas.
CN
AFT SuperTwins (Prime 10)
- Jared Mees (Ind) 36 laps
- Dallas Daniels (Yam) 1.591
- Brandon Robinson (Ind) 3.211
- Briar Bauman (KTM) 3.371
- Jarod VanDerkooi (Ind) 7.706
- Johnny Lewis (RE) 9.482
- Brandon Value (Yam) 10.689
- Davis Fisher (Ind) 11.984
- Trevor Brunner (KTM) 17.031
- Max Whale (H-D) 17.191
AFT Singles (Prime 10)
- Kody Kopp (KTM) 22 laps
- Tom Drane (Yam) 1.522
- Chase Saathoff (Hon) 2.726
- Aidan RoosEvans (Yam) 3.662
- Dalton Gauthier (KTM) 4.539
- James Ott (Hus) 7.306
- Hunter Bauer (Yam) 8.271
- Trent Lowe (Hon) 8.898
- Travis Petton (KTM) 8.971
- Bradon Pfanders (KTM) 10.193
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Click on right here to learn the 2024 AFT Senoia Short Track story within the Cycle News Digital Edition Magazine.
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