AFT 2024 - Senoia Short Track
Round 3 - March 24
Reigning Mission SuperTwins champion Jared Mees (No. 1 Rogers Racing/SDI Racing/Indian Motorcycle FTR750) returned to his successful 2023 script, rebounding from quiet season openers at Daytona with a statement performance in the Yamaha Senoia Short Track at Senoia Raceway in Senoia, Georgia …
Mission Super Twins
Delayed to Sunday March 25, the factory Indian star was involved in a minor pre-race dispute and was forced to line up on the far outside of Row 1 after believing he could select the slot at the bottom.
Even if it went against his wishes, the swap either gifted him the ideal position or the motivation required to make it work, as Mees promptly blasted into the lead once the race got underway. Initially Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) slid underneath Mees, to steal away first less than a minute into the Main Event.
But Mees reclaimed the front position a short two laps later and then went about steadily working his way to what proved to be a 1.591-second margin of victory, with Daniels taking second 1.59 seconds behind the reigning Champion.
The fight for third was a hard-fought three-way affair for much of the race, led for a long spell by Johnny Lewis (No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650) with Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) and Briar Bauman (No. 3 Rick Ware Racing/KTM/Parts Plus KTM 790 Duke) jammed up close behind.
Eventually it was Robinson who took the third podium spot, with Bauman fourth and a charging Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Ohio Indian FTR750), fifth after circulating as low as ninth in the early going.
Lewis did well to keep Robinson and Bauman corralled behind him for the majority of the contest, but their superior pace ultimately won out, with Lewis eventually finishing sixth.
The remainder of the top ten consisted of a pair of premier-class veterans – Brandon Price (No. 92 Memphis Shades/Corbin/OTBR Yamaha MT-07) and Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750) – and class rookies Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Mission Foods/Zanotti Racing KTM 790 Duke) and Max Whale (No. 18 Latus Motors Racing/Liqui Moly Harley-Davidson XG750R) in 10th.
There were four Indian FTR750s in the top-ten, with two Yamaha MT-07s, two KTM 790 Dukes, Lewis's Royal Enfield 650 and Max Whale's H-D XG750R in 10th spot.
Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER
Reigning two-time Parts Unlimited AFT Singles king Kody Kopp (No. 1 Rick Ware Racing/Parts Plus KTM 450 SX-F) continued to build his case as the most accomplished rider in class history, earning a record-tying sixth career Short Track win.
While the victory ultimately proved a lonely one, his win was born from chaos.
Former class champion Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Racing/Certified KTM 450 SX-F) grabbed the holeshot with title fighters Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F ), Chase Saathoff (No. 88 JPG Motorsports Honda CRF450R), and Kopp running alongside while sorting out second in shadow.
In one fell swoop, that fight for second became one for the lead as Drane (ultimately second) and Saathoff (third) both went under Gauthier while Kopp ringed around the outside at the same moment despite no obvious mistake on Gauthier’s part.
Kopp continued to work the high line, using it to overhaul Drane and then make his escape in relatively short order. At that point, the top three broke apart, while Gauthier lost one final position to Aiden RoosEvans (No. 26 FRA Trust/ATV’s and More Yamaha YZ450F), who ran just removed from the lead pack for the entirety of the race for fourth with Gauthier fifth.
Kopp’s win was on one of four KTM 450 SX-Fs (plus the near identical Husqvarna FC 450), with three Yamaha YZ450F and a pair of Honda CRF450R in the top-10.
Next Up is the Mission Texas Half-Mile (Texas Motor Speedway – Fort Worth, TX on April 27; Silver Dollar Short Track (Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA) May 04 and the Ventura Short Track at the Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA on May 11. New York, New Jersey and Ohio follow in June; two race weekends in Illinois in July; Rapid City and Sturgis, SD in August; with the Springfield Mile Double Header on August 31 and September 01 before a final race weekend venue remains to be confirmed for September 06, 2024.