Santa Rosa Mile now on Fanschoice

Last month's Santa Rosa Mile was unforgettable for a number of reasons, good and bad. We've covered the bad, now the good. This race was something special. 25 miles of incredible skill, tension and groundbreaking performance.
It marks the beginning of Indian era.
Click Santa Rosa Mile 2016 to watch it, and you really should. G

Mees wins on Indian FTR750

Jared Mees has already competed in two big, non-championship races on the new Indian FTR750. Last weekend it was Willow Springs, and he was on the podium, this week the half-mile at Perris (the big track, adjacent to the little one more commonly used for flat track) and he won.

These races offer good prize money and attract top riders including Brad Baker on a Dodge Brothers XR750, Briar Bauman on the Zanotti XR750, Jarod Vanderkooi and Kayl Kolkman among others.

If there was any doubt that Mees would be a 2017 title threat straight out of the blocks, that should be dispelled by now.

Remember, Indian have also signed 2016 champion Bryan Smith and 2013 champion Brad Baker to race the new bike. I've been in Harley Town, Milwaukee, all week, pressing for news on their 2017 team and there have been no announcements or even hints about their plans, but they're taking the threat seriously. It might already be too late for 2017 though.

Sideburn favourite Brandon Robinson would be a good fit, but perhaps he's happy with the Kennedy team. The factory team would offer a rare well-paid ride in the world of pro flat track.  G

Springfield and Santa Rosa

I've stopped posting round-ups of AMA GNC racing the day or two after AMA GNC races because Fanschoice.tv posts full races for the world to catch up with at their leisure. It's awkward for European viewers to get to see the races live because of the time difference, so I don't want to spoil the possible excitement of watching a recorded race you don't know the result of.

There was another great race at Springfield last weekend. If you haven't seen the result, I won't mention it. Click fanschoice.tv to watch the 25-lapper. It'll take less that 18 minutes of your life and this is one of the few mains of the season that didn't get red flagged and restarted.

Mile racing is what people think of when they think of dirt track, but there isn't often the same excitement as good short track racing. This race is an example of cat and mouse and pure racecraft. I loved it.

Also on the agenda for this post: the commentators, Chris Carr and Scotty Deubler, regularly refer to Bryan Smith's appeal. Not a lot has been said about this on public AMA channels at least, just that it happened. Here's what I know....

At the previous race, the Central NY Half-Mile on August 20, Smith came second to championship leader, and reigning champ, Jared Mees. Meanwhile, there was a protest, it seems, by Mees' Las Vegas H-D, Rogers' Racing team about Smith's Crosley Kawasaki.

READ ABOUT BRYAN SMITH'S RADICAL CROSLEY KAWASAKI TWIN IN SB26

The protest, from what I can discover, was about an overweight rear wheel. If you're not 100% embedded in flat track that may sound strange. Every other motorsport spends £1000s making their wheels lighter, right? Well, yes, but a heavier rear wheel, in some circumstances and only up to a point - you wouldn't want a lead wheel, aids traction. Because of this, there is an upper weight limit in the AMA Pro Racing rulebook, for complete wheel and tyre assembly.

Riders fit the heaviest, heavy-duty tubes to help their bikes hook up, some riders have even been known to fill tubes with water rather than air to weight a rear wheel, but no one would risk that at an AMA race. So Smith was disqualified and his team appealed. Some buzz is saying they had approval to run the wheel and tyre assembly that later led to their disqualification.

Below is the report from AMA Pro Racing's tech log. It doesn't mention any pre-approval.

The Smith/Crosley Kawasaki appeal is a week today. That is crucial, because the final round is coming up on Sept 24 at the Santa Rosa Mile.

Conspiracy theorists are pointing to this being the XR750's final year and H-D doing everything they can to win the title. Firstly, teams are still going to race XR750s. No private teams are going to ditch the XR for an unproven XG750 until they're forced to, and XRs are still legal as far as I'm aware. Indian have just entered with a bespoke race engine, that has no production bikes roots.

Others point out that Mees was accused and proven to use banned tyre softening chemicals last season, but didn't lose points. Other conspiracy theorists point out that Mees now does a burn out celebration to cover up his continued use of those chemicals. I don't believe he'd risk getting caught and losing a hatful of points, he's too good and is always in with a chance of a win/podium, but what do I know?

I'll tell you what I know, Santa Rosa is going to be a great, high pressure finally. Including 2016, the season has gone down to the final race, between Mees and Smith three times in a row now. Bryan Smith has been second in the championship the previous three years (to Baker is 2013, the Mees twice). But don't believe he's going to win just because it's his turn. Ask Dani Pedrosa about coming second...

Our good friends at the CFTA are involved with promoting the Mile race. CFTA head man, Randy Kremlacek, has contributed features to Sideburn for years, before he got to busy race promoting.

There is going to be racing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

And it sounds like Sideburn is going to be there! G

WATCH - The Black Hills GNC Main

If you only watch the delayed coverage of one GNC race all year, make it this one from Tuesday night. The AMA and Fans Choice TV haven't grasped the idea of no spoilers yet, so if at all possible, and you don't already know the result, avoid reading the caption under the video window when you click the link below. I managed to watch this midweek race from Sturgis live and it had me on the edge of my hotel bed.

Here is the link.

BTW, has there been a GNC main without a red flag stoppage this year? That isn't a spoiler, it adds to te excitement. G

Charlotte Half-Mile: Tomorrow

I'm pretty busy, so this is taken straight from the press release. Watch the race for free on fanschoice.tv . Chris Carr is part of the commentary team and he's always good value for money...

Last year's Charlotte Half-Mile winner, Bryan Smith, pilot of the No. 42 Crosley Radio Kawasaki Ninja 650, heads into this year's event with a 13-point lead in the GNC1 point standings. Smith ripped off three consecutive wins in the month of May and is well within striking distance of capturing his first GNC1 championship. The Michigan native finished fourth in the Round 8 contest at Lima, which was impressive considering his strength is typically reserved for Mile circuits. If Smith wants to earn his first championship, he's going to need to continue to find success on the shorter courses, as only two of the remaining six races in 2016 are Miles.

Another hurdle that Smith is going to need to overcome goes by the name Jared Mees. X Games Gold Medalist Mees stole the X Games crown from Smith this year, and aims to recoup from last year's mechanical issue at Charlotte to take the crown in North Carolina too. Mees is the reigning GNC1 champion and has won the ultimate title three of the last four years. Sitting just 13 points back of Smith in the standings, and entering Charlotte fresh off three-straight races where he finished second or better, Mees has proven that he's more than capable of running Smith down and capturing his fourth GNC1 championship in the last half decade. The No. 1 Las Vegas Harley-Davidson XR750 pilot was poised to earn the Charlotte Half-Mile win a year ago before a bike malfunction on the last lap of the main event forced him from the race and gave Smith the victory.

 Entering Charlotte third in the point standings is Sammy Halbert, who is changing teams mid-season and arrives at Charlotte as the rider of the No. 69 Wiebler's Harley-Davidson. Halbert is coming off his worst performance of the season, 13th at the previous round in Lima and is aggressively looking to get back to the front this weekend. Replacing Halbert on the No. 23 BriggsAuto.com Harley-Davidson is Jeffrey Carver, Jr.

Lima Half-Mile

Get over to Fanschoice.tv to watch one of the most exciting races on the AMA Pro calendar. This year the Lima Half-Mile is being promoted by Jared and Nichole Mees, that means they've put up the money to make this race happen. And, I think, it's a sell-out.
Mees is in blistering form, he'll take some beating. If Brad Baker's factory Harley can actually finish a race, he's a good bet too. G

Indian Back With a BANG

We ran a big feature on Roland Sand's modified Indian Superhooligans in Sideburn 24, Travis raced one and I interviewed the President of Indian, Steve Menneto,  about his company's entry into AMA Pro Racing. Well, it's just been announced that reigning champion Jared Mees will be their development rider.

In a press release sent today Menneto said "We are very excited to return to the AMA Circuit. We have established the new Indian Chief and Scout series as the cornerstones of our production line-up, and now is the time for us to return to racing in a big way. We know that fans of Indian Motorcycle have been anticipating this announcement and can't wait to see Indian Racing back in action."

Mees is quoted, "I can't express how excited I am to be the guy to bring Indian Motorcycle back into the forefront of AMA Pro competition. We will have a lot of work to do to develop a 100 percent new race platform, but I'm committed and excited at what I have seen on the drawing boards and what the plans are for Indian Motorcycle Racing. This is history for the brand, and being a part of it is truly exciting for me and this sport."

Indian Motorcycles will race the new motorcycle at a circuit to be determined in 2016 in preparation for a full season of competition in 2017. This is on the back of news of the development of the new liquid-cooled Harley-Davidson XG750R. This are getting very exciting. G

Mees buys rights to Lima Half-Mile

This is such a great story. Two of the highest profile riders in flat track have bought the rights to one of the favourite races, the Lima Half-Mile. It's great to see riders like Jared and Nichole (both pictured above) moving into running and promoting races, while still being in their prime (though Nichole has recently retired from the GNC).

This from the website - Lima Half-Mile

2015 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Champion Jared Mees and wife Nichole entered the race promotion business for the first time today, buying rights to the historic Lima, Ohio Half-mile. Lima, which runs on the last Saturday in June each year, is one of the most highly attended and historic races on the AMA Pro Flat Track circuit, dating back to 1984. The venue has sentimental value to Mees, who won his first AMA Pro Flat Track GNC1 race at Lima in 2005. Mees also won Lima in 2007 and again in 2014, on the way to his 3rd Grand National Championship. 

“I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to buy rights to Lima,” said twenty-nine year old Mees who lives in Clio, Michigan. “It’s an old school fairgrounds cushion half-mile with a passionate, loyal fan base just a few hours from our house. Nichole and I couldn’t be more excited to take this on. Nichole is retiring from racing after this season and I don’t plan on racing forever. Promoting Lima is a business venture that will keep us involved in flat track for many years.”

“Lima is such a great event, I wanted to make sure I found the right people to hand the torch to now that I’m retiring,” said longtime Lima promoter Dean Gallup. “Jared and Nichole Mees are the perfect people to take over. They’re hard working and have a vested interest in the sport. I can now retire knowing the event is in good hands."

The next Lima Half-Mile is 25 June.

Thanks to Roger F for the lead.

Superprestigio This Saturday

UPDATE
The third of the modern Spanish Superprestigios goes off this Saturday.

This is a shot from today's practice at the Rufea track. Baker, Mees and Marc Marquez. Love seeing the different body positions. So many ways to skin a cat.

You can watch it live on fanschoice.tv but only if you're in the US. The Spanish organisers must have done a TV deal for Europe. 

Wishing the DTRA Brits all the luck in the world: Ollie Brindley (who made the grand final last December, and also the grand final of the Superprestigio of the America last month), Alan Birtwistle and five-time UK champ, Aidan Collins who is interviewed in Sideburn 23. G

Mees By Quickfall

We have a ton of new products coming up in the next week or so. Stuff we've made and stuff we've bought in because we really like it.
First up is the latest screenprint made in conjunction with Ryan Quickfall. He created the artwork of Jared Mees for the exclusive interview with the current US Grand National Champ for Sideburn 20. He also screen printed these posters himself, clever fella.

• Printed on premium stock 300gsm Somerset. 
• Size: approx 500 x 380mm (looks great even in a cheap frame)
• Hand numbered and signed by artist. 
• Posted in heavy-duty mailing tube. 
• Limited edition of 30.

£40 plus post.

NOTE: If you order with any other items your art print and the other items will be posted separately to protect the art print.

Get it at the Sideburn shop

Superprestigio Grand Final

I've been trying to track down and embeddable version of this and I finally found it. With the all-time great Chris Carr giving expert commentary.
Check out the DTRA's Ollie Brindley.

We have superb photos and analysis from Superprestigio coming up in the next issue. G

Troy Bayliss Classic

Multiple World Superbike champion, former car paint sprayer and all-round good sort, Troy Bayliss has organised another of his Classics, a kind of Australian Superprestigio.
Bayliss (pictured above at this year's Superprestigio) is now Aussie dirt track and supermoto champ and a big fan of dirt track.
He has invited Jared Mees, Henry Wiles and Sammy Halbert. Look at them pretending to tolerate each other.
There is a who's who of Australian racers from different disciplines, too.

It all goes off this Saturday in Taree.
More info at Troy Bayliss Classic.

Taree is an oil track. In the old days they'd soak the dirt in old motor oil to help keep it together and form a tacky track, now, I've read, it's vegetable oil. There are no new oil tracks because of environmental issues, but the old ones can still run.

The Australians tend to race lefts and rights. Read Andy from the Jerkyls inside line on racing as a happy amateur, in the current Aussie scene on a vintage two-stroke in Sideburn 19. G

Super-slomo-stigio

Intoxicating video with great slo-mo from last weekend's race. Well worth watching (or we wouldn't have shared it. Duh.).
Watch it big screen. G

Superfinal Video

Ben found this on YouTube.
So proud to see Ollie with his DTRA sticker on his helmet and DTRA plate on the grid in this company.
Can anyone find a YouTube post with Chris Carr commentating? G

Ollie Brindley - Hero

No apologies for harping on about the Superprestigio for the last few days. It was an amazing race.

Apparently, it's on BT Sport from 6-8am tomorrow.

In this photo of the grand finale, the Superfinal you will see:

#4 Thomas Chareyre (multiple World Supermoto champ, I said he was a dark horse) going down having been nudged from behind going into turn 1 on lap 1.
Marc Marquez is so close to crashing, but manages to stay up, but pushes Dani Ribalta (yellow and black helmet) out wide.
#1 Jared Mees gets fouled up in the crash, losing momentum and running wide.
MotoGP star Bradley Smith in the pale blue sleeves (on the podium Philip Island earlier this year) is outside Mees and outside him is…
Ollie Brindley!

Little Ollie Brindley! The DTRA's Ollie Brindley. Ollie Brindley that smashed his shoulder to pieces (ask to see the scar) just four weeks ago while racing to qualify for this meeting. Ollie Brindley who turned 16 just one week ago.

Marquez, Mees,  Smith, Brindley!

Ollie came in sixth, ahead of Smith. Kenny Noyes was an amazing third.

The list of riders who didn't make this final includes - Shayna Texter, Alex Marquez, Tito Rabat, Troy Bayliss, Taddy Blasuziak, Toni Elias, Guy Martin, Mikka Kallio, Scott Redding, Lorenzo Baldassarri, Joona Kylmakorpi, Ivan Cervantes...

Thanks from Sideburn and the British dirt track community to Kawasaki UK for sponsoring both Ollie and Alan Birtwistle (who made the Open Class final).
If anyone out there wants to help out this young lad in terms of sponsorship (or any of the other young Brits who did amazingly well in Spain - Tim Neave put in a faster qualifying time than everyone except Brad Baker, Tom Neave was only a tenth behind), contact us and we'll put you in touch. G

Dani Ribalta's Superprestigio Final

Lining up next to young Brit Ollie Brindley and alongside Marc Marquez, Jared Mees, Kenny Noyes, Bradley Smith, Thomas Chereyre, Gerard Bailo. G

Watch Superprestigio LIVE

The Superprestigio goes off tomorrow evening in Barcelona, Spain. It's arguably the most hotly anticipated dirt track race of the 21st century, and Fanschoice TV, the same great service that has brought live casts and YouTube recordings of every GNC race this year,  is offering a live feed.

If that wasn't enough, our old mate Chris Carr is guest commentator.

The official press release (aimed at Americans, hence the Eastern Time - just google it to work out what time that is where you are) says:

The Superprestigio is set to begin at 12:00 noon ET (9:00 a.m. PT) on Saturday, Dec. 13 and all of the action will be broadcast live on www.FansChoice.tv, the official home for live streaming of all AMA Pro Flat Track events.

There is an incredible line-up of riders including:

SUPERPRESTIGIO CLASS
Marc Marquez - 2014 MotoGP WC
Tito Rabat - 2014 Moto2 WC
Alex Marquez - 2014 Moto3 WC
Scott Redding
Bradley Smith
Toni Elias - 2010 Moto2 WC
Troy Bayliss - 2001, 2006, 2008 WSB WC
Kenny Noyes - 2014 CEV SBK champ

OPEN CLASS
Brad Baker (2013 GNC Champ)
Jared Mees (2x GNC champ)
Shayna Texter
Joonas Kylmakorpi (4x long track WC, who is racing a Zaeta painted by Maxwell Paternoster!)
Thomas Chareyre (3x Supermoto WC - surely a dark horse)
Fabrizio Vesprini (2x FIM Euro flat track champ)
Francesco Cecchini (2014 FIM Euro flat track champ)
Ivan Cervantes (4x Enduro WC)
Taddy Blazusiak - (5x Superenduro WC)
Guy Martin

And from the DTRA in the Open Class

Tim Neave (2014 champ), Tom Neave, Aidan Collins (4x UK champ), Ollie Brindley, Alan Birtwistle

(WC = World Champion)

The winners of each class race each other in a grand final.

Below is a photos from the @marcmarquez93 instagram feed of him practicing yesterday at the Canudas track. Many of the top riders were there.

Superprestigio - Soon

The Superprestigio organisers have moved their event from January to December, so, for 2014, there will be two in one calendar year, and it's coming up on Saturday 13 December. That leaves time for you to book a relatively cheap Euro flight out there if you fancy it.

It was a great spectacle last time, in an Olympic arena within the city, and I have a feeling it will be a 15,000-plus sell out this year.

Go to Superprestigio to find out more and order tickets (good website in Spanish, Catalan and English)

SUPERPRESTIGIO CLASS
The class for World Championship road racers.
This year there will be all three current MotoGP champions: Marc and Alex Marquez and Tito Rabat - all local riders so the atmosphere and support should be impressive.
Also from MotoGP are Scott Redding, Bradley Smith and Alvaro Bautista who are all on the provisional entry list. Spanish Superbike champion and Euro Flat Track Festival organiser, Kenny Noyes is in and Troy Bayliss is confirmed too.
No Rossi or Hayden though.

OPEN CLASS
For dirt track specialists and other disciplines, plus those who qualified through the DTRA championship and Kenny Noyes European Dirt Track Festival.
From America, Brad Baker is back and joined by 2014 number 1, Jared Mees.
UK riders include multiple DTRA champ Aidan Collins; current DTRA champ Tim Neave and European Dirt Track Festival champ Tom Neave; Alan Birtwistle and Ollie Brindley.
Dirt Quake III chopper class champion Guy Martin is racing too.
 

Pomona Half-Mile

The final race of the season. The decider. Mees, Smith and Johnson can all win it, going into this race. Smith had already won the Dash for Cash (for the top six qualifiers) by this point... 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.