Daytona Short Track 2: Main Event

Perhaps you saw the result for Friday night's race and thought it would be boring to watch. I did. I was wrong.
This is a 25-lap short track national, so the race is only about ten minutes, just fast forward till you see them on the grid. Anyone who wants to see a master class in short track racing should watch Coolbeth in this race and watch how he steers into the corner. Amazing. G

Smith wins fourth consecutive SacMile

Bryan Smith left it very late to announce which team he'd be racing for in 2014, after the Howerton team decided to call it a day, but it hasn't affected his performance. He's retained the same engine and the same form that saw him losing out on the number one plate (in the twins class) at the very last year of 2013. He's won three out of eight races so far and leads the title race at the halfway point. 

Jared Mees (#9) kept the pressure on with another podium finish. I wouldn't bet against him to win the title.

Above and below. Qualifying streamlining. #44 Brandon Robinson finished fourth in the main. #7 Sammy Halbert's comparatively so-so results continued. He came seventh, losing a place to Brad Baker on the run to the line. The race he was nailed on to win, Lima, ended early when his bike broke.
#16 Young gun Wyatt Maguire made the main, coming in 14th.

Coolbeth, #2, had another great start, but faded to finish in no man's land in fifth, away from the leading four, but more than four seconds ahead of sixth.
I'm really interested in Jake Johnson and the Lloyd's Brothers' Ramspur team. This year Jake has run an XR750, Ducati 1000 and, above, a Kawasaki 650. Plus he runs a Honda on the short tracks and TTs. Who else, at the very highest level, runs four different makes of bike in one season (all in the same team's colours)?

Next GNC race is the Castle Rock TT this Saturday. 

Photos courtesy of AMA Pro Racing.

Smith wins in Hagerstown

Bryan Smith broke Harley's decades-long grip on AMA pro half-miles when he won last weekend's Hagerstown half-mile in Maryland. This is his second win of the season, after dominating the Springfield Mile. 

We have an in-depth tech feature on Smith's Crosley Kawasaki ER-6 (same engine, different chassis to this bike) in Sideburn 15. 

 Jared Mees came in second leads the championship. 

Jake Johnson has Ramspur XR750, Ducati 1000 and Kawasaki to choose from. He picked the Harley for the Maryland race and continued his good run of finishes with a sixth place.

Jake Shoemaker - who made his first main in 2012 - got his best result so far, a third on another Kawasaki. Nine Kawasakis made the main. There was one Triumph - Mikey Martin's, the rest Harleys.

After the cruel luck of breaking down while having a clear lead at Lima, Sammy Halbert came in 5th in the main, one place behind...

 ...Brandon Robinson.

Like Sammy, in the last race, Kenny Coolbeth was in the lead and way ahead when his Zanotti XR750 broke down. A few laps later his teammate, Bonsey's bike expired. Very unusual from this championship-winning team.

Like he did at Springfield, Smith won the Dash too.

Semi action. Johnny Lewis, #10, on the KTM. Mikey Martin, #91, on a Triumph, Steve Murray, #51, on a Harley. Only the Triumph rider made it to the Main.

Henry Wiles overheating on the startline.

Johnson and Halbert.

Smith and Mees.

Next race: Grays Harbor Half-Mile, Elma, WA - July 19.

All photos courtesy of AMA Pro Racing.

Coolbeth wins Knoxville Half-Mile

With the intake restrictors* removed Harley's filled the top six at yesterday's Knoxville half-mile. Kenny Coolbeth, #2, won on the Zanotti bike we featured in Sideburn 11. This is his first National win with the team he joined in the winter, and his first since losing his ride with the official Harley team.

*For years, certain bikes have had to use intake restrictors that strangle the performance of the engine, in an effort to create a level playing field (don't ask us why). They crudely allow less fuel and air charge to transfer from the carbs to the combustion area. For 2014 they're no longer being forced on teams. A Kawasaki won the Springfield Mile. A Harley won the half-mile, but I think Harleys have won every half-mile for the last 200 years).

Sammy Halbert, #7, won the Dash for Cash and came third in the main

Jake Johnson, #5, who rode a Ducati in the Ramspur colours at Springfield, was on an XR750 in the same colours and came in second.

Brad Baker was sixth, 9secs off the lead in the 12.5-mile race. We don't know if this is still a hangover from his broken leg injury or points to the much-held belief that private teams can currently get more out of the XR750 that the factory can.

Mikey Martin on the Bonneville Performance Triumph, 11th in the main. A solid result for a team that is quick but suffers from minor reliability problems just when they don't want them. 

UPDATE
both Mikey, and Shayna below, are sporting the new Super Wheels designed by Dutch Brothers Jan-Willem

Shayna Texter, #25A, earned her national number by making the 18-rider main (out of 34 riders who tried to qualify). Her Latus Castrol Triumph had horrific handling issues at Springfield, but they tested between the two races and went some way to curing it, but she was still more than a lap down. Jeremy Higgins, #82, came back after missing a few races to come 13th on the Baer Kawasaki.

After completely dominating Springfield, Jake Johnson found himself down in 7th, the first of seven Kawasakis to make the main. There were also were also two Triumphs, one Suzuki and the eight XR750s.

Never happier than when he's holding a big cheque. Sammy Halbert.

1. Coolbeth. 2. Johnson. 3. Halbert.
That's how it stands in the combined championship standings too.

Next race is Lima Half-Mile on June 28.

All photos courtesy of AMA Pro Racing.

Springfield Mile Report

I like to try get the official AMA Pro Racing photos up earlier than this, but we've been on a road trip around the USA since Springfield and this is the first chance.
Sideburn was out at the track for the first twins race of the season and we were reminded what a great show the AMA organisation and racers put on.
Bryan Smith looked unbeatable all day and ended up winning the Dash and Main on his Crosley Kawasaki, that had a new chassis for this season.

Kenny Coolbeth came in second, racing the XR750 of the Zanotti team for the first time in a GNC round.

Mikey Martin made the main on the Bonneville Performance Triumph, but didn't make it to the end of the race that had numerous restarts.

The Pro Twins, support class for up and comers - formerly called Basic Twins, were out in force. Early in the day it looked like a lot of the riders on Kawasaki framers were having trouble with stability. JR Addison was spat of his at the end of the straight in practice in a terrible looking crash.
17F, Jarod Vanderkooi had no such problems, winning his class by 6.5 secs over a 12-mile race.

Steve Morehead came out to ride in a 'parade' race for the upcoming reboot of the On Any Sunday franchise that is being filmed by Bruce Brown's son, Dana.

Jake Johnson, #5, looked a threat early in the race, but faded as the restarts seemed to take their toll on his Lloyd Brothers Ramspur Ducati.

Shayna Texter was hotly tipped, having won mile races on her 450, but her Latus Triumph had an evil weave on the straights and she parked it before the end of her semi, so didn't make the Pro Twins 18-rider main.

Dash for Cash, for the six best qualifiers, Smith #42, won from Coolbeth and Johnson, with Mees, Robinson and Wiles coming in behind in the bonus -paying four-lapper.

 Can you spot us?

Pretty much sums up the race, but it was exciting, especially as Bonsey crashed twice, once after seeming to get gently nerfed by Brad Baker.

Next race is Knoxville Half-Mile in Iowa on June 15. Get there if you can. G

All photos courtesy of AMA Pro Racing

Daytona Short Track: Day 2

Kenny Coolbeth Jr wins day 2 at the Daytona GNC season opener. He had led the previous night before a red flag, but didn't restart as well. At one stage in night two he had a 2.5s lead.

Dash for Cash (for the six quickest Expert qualifiers). #5 Johnson; #80 Bonsey; #44 Robinson; #69 J Halbert; #7 S Halbert; #13 Constantine. 

It finished Johnson; Constantine; S Halbert.

Pro Singles class action. 67M Davis Fisher.

Veteran rider (born in 1964!) Dan Ingram made the main, coming 13th. Love everything about this photo: body language; leathers and full face lid. They have so much more character than generic MX pyjamas.

Stevie Bonsey had another good night. He's won on twins and this 3rd on a single shows he has the all-round ability to challenge for the title.

 2011 champ Jake Johnson came in second.

 Sammy Halbert and Kenny Coolbeth.

 Ingram and JR Schnabel.

1. Coolbeth. 2. Johnson. 3. Bonsey
Sammy Halbert came in 4th giving him a clear points lead going to the next round, the Springfield Mile in May AND SIDEBURN IS GOING TO BE THERE!

All photos courtesy of AMA Pro Racing.

Coolbeth on Ice

There's another great Inslide Line column, by Sideburn contributor Tyler Porter. He does a fantastic job of turning these out these insider's views on pro flat track every week. There are always a few snaps, but rarely they're more than in-jokes - they're not the point of the column. This photo of Kenny Coolbeth doing a bit of mid-winter training stopped me dead, though. G

Coolbeth joins Zanotti Racing

After eight seasons and three titles with the factory H-D team, Kenny Coolbeth has joined top privateers, Zanotti. Here's the official blurb...

Kenny Coolbeth joins forces with Zanotti Racing to go after the 2014 GNC Expert Championship. Dave Atherton will build the motors and provide lead mechanic duties at the track. Kenny will be riding XR750s from the Zanotti Racing collection & CRF450s with support from Chaplin Honda. 

Kenny recently visited Dave Atherton’s shop in Michigan and had this to say “I am really excited about riding for Dave Zanotti with Dave Atherton spinning the wrenches, I am sure we will have the best equipment out there and I am looking forward to winning races and have fun doing it, I want to thank Dave Zanotti for be leaving in me and I can’t wait until Daytona”. 

Read all about Zanotti's beautiful XR750 in Sideburn 11. G