At the Buffalo Chip TT (August 4), JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) blasted past teammate Jake Johnson (No. 5 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) just a few feet short of the checkered flag to steal away a most improbable victory in a wild AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines showdown at the Buffalo Chip TT presented by Indian Motorcycle in Sturgis, S.D.
Until the very final moments, Johnson seemed all but assured of taking back-to-back AFT Twins triumphs at the Buffalo Chip, having grabbed the holeshot and leading while a four-rider fight for second played out behind him with Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 Harley-Davidson Factory Flat Track Team XG750R Rev X), Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750), Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) and Beach.
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| Bauman bounces back with Black Hills Half-Mile triumph |
Johnson's bike suffered a mechanical issue exiting the race’s very final corner and Beach promptly powered past, officially claiming the victory by 0.201 seconds. The win was the second of Beach’s AFT Twins career and his second straight on the tour’s run of TTs, having also won at the Arizona Super TT earlier this season.
Mees came home in third, slashing his title deficit from 26 to just 12 (173-161) to open the second half of the 2019 title fight. Bronson Bauman finished fourth, followed by Vanderkooi in fifth. Briar Bauman (No. 14 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) was destined to DNF after crashing further back in the field.
In the Roof Systems AFT Singles, for the second consecutive year, Ryan Sipes (No. 264 Red Bull/Leatt/KTM 450 SX-F) put on a masterclass of all-around riding ability at the Buffalo Chip TT with a convincing victory demonstrating the skill sets that a TT demands and that also made him a Supercross race winner and America’s first ever ISDE overall winner.
AFT Singles points leader Dalton Gauthier (No. 122 D&D Cycles/Gobert Smash Husqvarna FC450) finished second, with defending champ Dan Bromley (No. 1 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) third.
At the Black Hills Half-Mile presented by Law Tigers in Rapid City, S.D. (August 6), for the second time in what’s becoming a breakout AFT season, Briar Bauman (No. 14 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) demonstrated the resiliency of a champion with a rebound victory. Two rounds ago, the AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines title leader bounced back from a season’s worst 16th-place result at the Lima, Ohio Half-Mile with a blowout win in the New York Short Track. The factory Indian ace replicated that trick at Black Hills Speedway, following up a second 16th-place disappointment in Sunday’s Buffalo Chip TT with yet another convincing triumph.
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| Beach edges Johnson in thrilling Buffalo Chip TT |
Bauman led the way practically throughout the once red-flagged and restarted Main, despite being kept honest by Jeffrey Carver Jr. (No. 23 Roof Systems of Dallas/Indian of Metro Milwaukee FTR750), who was second, and brother Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750), who scored third place.
Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Kennedy Racing/Armbruster Racing Indian FTR750) was fourth, with former WorldSBK pilot PJ Jacobsen (No. 199 Coolbeth-Nila Racing Indian FTR750) fifth, holding off the factory H-D duo of Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 Harley-Davidson Factory Flat Track Team XG750R Rev X) in sixth and Sammy Halbert (No. 69 Harley-Davidson Factory Flat Track Team XG750R Rev X) in seventh place.
Reigning champion Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) had an "eventful" race and finished 14th - his championship deficit behind Briar Bauman is now 32 points (198-166) with seven races remaining.
In the AFT Singles, Chad Cose (No. 49 Parkinson Bros Racing/Rod Lake Suzuki RMZ 450) scored his first ever Singles win weeks after claiming his first-career AFT win in the Production Twins class following a decade of trying; with the ever aggressive Shayna Texter (No. 52 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing SX-F 450) second and holeshotter Morgen Mischler (No. 69 Waters Autobody Racing/D&D Powersports KTM 450 SX-F) third.
The 15-lap AFT Production Twins class win was taken by Ryan Varnes (No. 68 Varnes Racing/RoyBuilt Kawasaki Ninja 650), with J.R. Addison (No. 24 Smith/Addison Racing Kawasaki Ninja 650) second, James Rispoli (No. 71 Black Hills Harley-Davidson XG750R Rev X) third, Dalton Gauthier (No. 122 Black Hills Harley-Davidson XG750R Rev X) fourth and Kevin Stollings (No. 999 Roof Systems/Motion Pro Kawasaki Ninja 650) fifth.
The series now heads back to California for the rearranged Cycle Gear Sacramento Mile, August 10, then descends on Illinois for three races - the Peoria TT, August 17, the rearranged Springfield Mile I on August 31 and the as originally scheduled Springfield Mile II the next day, September 1.
The 2019 series wraps up in September with the Williams Grove Half Mile (Mechanicsburg, PA., September 9), the Minnesota Mile (Minneapolis, September 21) and the final round, the Meadowlands Mile, East Rutherford, NJ, September 28.
Photos: Scott Hunter/American Flat Track