Bauman Secures V&H SuperTwins Championship for Indian; Rispoli gives H-D a Production Twins Championship; Lewis Scores a First AFT Race Win for Royal Enfield
Needing 'only' to finish in eighth or better in the final, weather-hit race of the 2020 Progressive American Flat Track season, defending champion and championship leader Briar Bauman (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance/S&S Cycle FTR750) held off the challenge from nearest championship challenger Jared Mees (No. 9 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) by finishing fourth to Mees' second place for a nine point Vance & Hines backed SuperTwins premier class AFT championship win.
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| Briar Bauman retained his #1 plate |
24 hours earlier the results were reversed with Bauman the Elder taking what turned out to be a crucial second place in the first of the Friday/Saturday night Short Track Double Headers at the Daytona International Speedway, with Mees in fourth place, that gave Bauman some wiggle room going into the season finale.
The surprise of the weekend though was an impressive double win - first place in Race I and II - for Brandon Robinson (No. 44 HCRR Racing/Ben Evans Racing Indian FTR750) who stepped forward and stole the show for his first two wins of the season - wins that secured championship fourth spot for the 30-year old from Pennsylvania.
In Race I on Friday, Jarod Vanderkooi brought the No. 20 Harley-Davidson/Vance & Hines XG750R Rev X home for his best result of the season in third, equalling his best ever premier class finish and ultimately giving him a ninth place championship finish and a second third place podium spot of the season for the H-D/Vance & Hines XG750R.
Sammy Halbert (No. 69 Coolbeth-Nila Racing Indian FTR750) came fifth in Race I, but scooped a podium spot in third in Race II to confirm third spot in the AFT SuperTwins Presented by Vance & Hines 2020 championship.
The third member of the Indian Motorcycle 'Wrecking Crew' is the younger Bauman brother, Bronson, (Indian Motorcycle, Progressive Insurance, S&S Cycle FTR750) and despite finishing in 9th and 10th in the two Daytona races, had done enough through the season to secure fifth spot in the championship standings, with Dan Bromley (Roof Systems FTR750) taking a season best equalling fifth spot in Race II.
In the AFT Singles, Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) secured the 2020 class championship at Charlotte the weekend before and finished in fourth and ninth spots respectively at Daytona. In Race I, Chad Cose (No. 49 Wally Brown Racing/American Suzuki RM-Z450) claimed his first victory of 2020 - a huge moment for his Wally Brown Racing effort, backed by factory Suzuki, after a promising second place in the season opener at Volusia.
Henry Wiles (No. 17 RMR Honda/Honda Talon CRF450R) was second, ahead of Australian Max Whale (No. 18 Coondoo Cattle Co./Australian Road Services Kawasaki KX450F) in third, and Mikey Rush, also on a YZ450F, in fifth.
In Race II, Henry Wiles went one better to take the win ahead of Max Whale, second again, Trent Lowe (Honda CRF450R) in third, Mikey Rush in fourth and Andrew Luker (No. 11 Rackley Racing/Keeran Racing Yamaha YZ450F) in fifth.
Max Whale took second spot in the Singles championship overall in 2020 for Kawasaki, with Henry Wiles third (Honda), Mikey Rush fourth (Yamaha) and Trent Lowe fifth (Honda). Thanks to Dallas Daniels' eight-win season dominance, the Manufacturer's Championship was taken by Yamaha.
In the AFT Production Twins, history was made in Race I on Friday when Johnny Lewis (No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield Twins FT) claimed Royal Enfield’s first-ever AFT victory with a wire-to-wire dominance that demonstrated his Daytona Short Track prowess.
The season-long dominance of former road racer James Rispoli (No. 43 Latus Motors Racing Harley-Davidson XG750R) was rewarded and provided Harley with something to be pleased about when he was crowned the class champion for 2020 with seven wins for the season and Harley taking the Manufacturer's Championship - reward for their backing and promotion of the class and a first since the introduction of the XG750R.
Behind Lewis in Race I, Cory Texter (No. 1 G&G Racing/Roof Systems Yamaha MT-07) took second, ahead of Ben Lowe (also on a MT-07) third, and Patrick Buchanan (Kawasaki Ninja 650) in fifth behind Rispoli.
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| In taking the Production Twins class championship win, James Rispoli gave Harley its first series win since introducing the XG750R to AFT racing. |
Cory Texter and Johnny Lewis swapped places for a reversed one and two in Race II on Saturday October 17th, with Ben Lowe repeating his Friday third spot ahead of Ryan Varnes (Ninja 650) fourth and Patrick Buchanan fifth again.
Cory Texter took second spot in the Rider's Championship standings for Yamaha behind Rispoli, with Ben Lowe, also Yamaha, third, Ryan Varnes fourth and Danny Eslick fifth (both Kawasaki).