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

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.

Lima Pea Gravel Protection

From Roger in Ohio

I took these with my phone while touring the pits at the Lima 1/2 mile national well before practice started. Many of these bikes have expensive paintwork and components that do not stand up well to the violent Lima pea gravel spray thrown off rear tires in the turns. You can see the extensive care taken by some of the teams to protect the bikes while maintaining the appearance of the machines. Almost the whole frame was done on Brandon Robinson's #44 Triumph.

Shayna by Yve

Shayna Texter on the Castrol Latus Triumph at Lima by Yve Assad.

See a portfolio of Yve's flat track work in Sideburn 17.
We featured Shayna back in issue 5, but that's sold out. G

Mees wins Lima

2012 champion Jared Mees was there when it mattered to win the Lima Half-Mile on a very rough and tough looking cushion track. Sammy Halbert, #7, had won the Dash for Cash (for fastest qualifiers) and had ridden away from the field in the main, when his engine let go... It looked like Bryan Smith would be the first non-XR750 to win a Pro half-mile Main since prehistoric times, but Mees hunted him down, passed him and cleared off.

Dash for Cash - Halbert, Baker, Bonsey, Smith, Mees, Bauman.
It finished Halbert, Baker, Mees.

Smith led a few laps of the main when Halbert pulled off, but couldn't hold off Mees. He faded towards the end and was passed by another Kawasaki, with Brandon Robinson (#44, below).

Jake Johnson seemed to really struggle and had to use a once-per-season get out of jail pass to make the main, when he didn't get out of his semi. It was a good gamble as he eventually came 5th in the main.

The standings are now 1. Coolbeth (who came a solid 4th at Lima) 2. Johnson. 3. Mees. 

Defending Champion, Brad Baker is in 10th in the championship after a DNF when his factory XR750 broke.

The next race is tomorrow, 5 July, Hagerstown Half-Mile. 

All photos courtesy of AMA Pro Racing.

Lima Last Lap Lunacy

I don't know what went on before this move, some argy-bargy no doubt, but this seems a pretty bloodthirsty move by Henry Wiles, edging Sammy into the fence.
And to think, it was Sammy Halbert (on the receiving end here) that got banned for dangerous riding in 2010 (see the story here).
This last lap makes my hair stand on end.
Then watch the interview with Sammy and the champagne celebration. No love lost. The sooner the TV companies wake up to the coverage they could get out of the GNC the better. G
Thanks to Roger F and Mike S for the link.

Lima Laverda

Very unusual SF750 based flat tracker snapped by Roger at Lima. The photos are a bit dark, but it's still worth showing.

From vintage display behind the grandstand. I didn't meet the owner, but I love the tank! Roger

Lima Yamaha

Roger Falasco took a bunch of snaps at the recent Lima half-mile.

This is a display bike from the AMA t-shirt trailer. It's like the Yamaha Vision Halbert rode a few years ago. Roger

Yamaha Vision? I thought. I googled it. I wish I hadn't. Those suffering from existing health problems or pregnant women are not advised to scroll down. The race team really made the best of a bad job. G

Sammy wins Lima!

We're big fans of Sammy Halbert and it was great to hear he won on the cushion half-mile at Lima last night. This means he's won short track and half-mile this year. Hope he gets a mile win soon.
Brad Baker scored another great result, fourth, on the Lloyd Brothers Ducati.
Sammy Halbert. On it. Look how much of the loose dirt is spat on the wheel rims.
#95 is JD Beach on one of four Kawasakis to make the main. Chad Chose is #49, on the only Suzuki to make the night's final.
Pro singles first corner melee.
JR Schnabel on the Werner Springsteen ER6. Came 15th in the main. Read about this bike in Sideburn 7.
No one ever asked why we called the film Drogo made for us 'Rooster'. Perhaps you all knew. If you didn't, look behind the back tyres. They're rooster tails.
Great shot of an earlier qualifying heat.
Ditto. Photos all from AMA Pro Racing.

More from Lima

From Roger
Gary, Here's a pic of a shameless individual (me) with Chris Carr and his favorite magazine to sell!
In Sideblog's Lima photos which are just excellent, Jake Johnson's Supertrapp leathers are last year leftovers, and have his old #14 on the back too.
Lima was a great race and as soon as my lovely girlfriend Patty sends along the pics I took in the pits, I'll send them along to you. The Triumph of Shawn Baer just qualified on the rough track, and in the main, actually broke the frame [PLEASE SEE UP DATE BELOW]. It separated at the top, just where the front of the seat and rear of the tank meet, and only the swingarm and shock held it together.
Wiles and Halbert rode so well! They just cleared off, and Wiles was overtaking lappers even in his 10 lap heat. They both lapped riders in the 25 lap main, but Wiles was just lights out, keeping a 1/4 lap on Halbert in second and lapping up to about 8th place or so. Looks like the XRs are still the bike on rough cushion tracks, and they still sound the best too....roger
PS The best part of Lima is scoping out all the hot chicks in the pits!
UP DATE from Bill Gately of Bonneville Perforamce:
"the Triumph frame did not break, a weld on the sub-frame broke where it attaches to the backbone. There is a support brace there as well as a stop on the swing arm that would not allow the bike to collapse as the brain trust who reported it intimates. This does not bode well for any reader who was considering our chassis.
Thanks Best Regards
Bill"

Lima half-mile photos

Henry Wiles in a pea gravel wave.
Looks like most of the gravel disappeared by the end of the night. Wiles, Kopp, S. Halbert, Mees and Johnson.
Imagine trying to qualify out of this bunch. 51 riders are trying to make the 18/19 rider main through the heats.
Kopp and Lloyd Brothers Ducati
Smith on the Werner/Springsteen Kawasaki 650. How tough does this bike look?
Wiles was untouchable all day. Fastest in practice, fastest in qualifying and won the dash for cash.
Jake Johnson. I thought his team was Zanotti, not Supertrapp this year.
Steve Bonsey
Wiles getting squirelly
Matt Weidmann
Dustin Crow styling.

Photos: AMA Pro Racing

Wiles wins again

Lima half-mile: Wiles from Sammy Halbert from Matt Weidmann (who was on an XR750 not the Wood Rotax twin). Bryan Smith on the Kawasaki was fourth. The Ducati, two Suzuki and the Bonneville Performance Triumph all made the main. GI

Halbert Brothers update

Sammy sends this out to sponsors and fans and the like. Thought you might like to read it. See how often these guys race. The next big one is today, Lima, Ohio. We have a really great interview with Sammy in for Sideburn 6 (which is coming along, no release date yet, though)
Sam is 7, Jethro is 69. GI

May 29th
Springfield, IL
TT GNC round 4
I finished second place in my heat at the Springfield, IL TT in round 4 of the newly named AMA Pro K&N Grand National Championship. I placed fourth in the Dash for Cash, then in the main event I crashed on the first lap in the tight right hand corner. I got up and was able to pass five guys over the next 25 laps to salvage an 11th place finish.

May 30th
Springfield Mile round 5
I had one really fast bike for the mile, and unfortunately the crank pin broke on that rocket ship and we could hear it making a bad noise when I was about to go out for my final qualifying session. I would have to switch to my back-up HD XR 750. I finished 3rd in the heat race, but I was struggling to get traction. I made a few big changes for the main event and I quickly found that I changed too much as the bike would go into a high speed wobble down the straight aways. It was a long 25 laps for me, and it was all I could do to hang on and finish 7th.


June 4th
Dairyland Classic
Plymouth, WI
We generally come away with some good results at this slippery short track in Wisconsin. This year was more of a struggle with our YZ 450's. I finished second in my heat race and the other half of Halbert Brothers racing Jethro won his heat race. In the main event Jethro started in second and I was in fourth. Jethro was trying to find a way around Wiles while I was slowly working my way back to finish 8th, I tried a different compound tire than we normally run here and I found that it didn't work too well. Jethro couldn't make it past the blocking Wiles and that put him off line a couple times causing him to drop back to a fifth place finish.

June 17th
Decatur, IL
All Star National Flat Track series round 6
We did this fair race on a Thursday night, it was really nice to get out on a big pea gravel cushion half-mile, I always seem to do well on these types of tracks and I really enjoy riding them. I got the day started off well by pulling a holeshot en route to the win in both my 450 expert and 750 expert heat races. I pulled another holeshot at the start of the 450 expert main event and had a great time riding out front on a fresh track with a nice layer of cushion. I felt like I was wringing the neck on my YZ 450 holding it to the pin halfway into the turn, I led every lap and was really happy to turn around after the finish and see the #69 of my brother who made a pass on Mees late in the race to complete the first Halbert Bros 1 and 2 finish of the season so far.
We didn't spray the champagne on the podium though as we had the premier race of the night coming up next the 750 expert Twins main event. I once again pulled a beautiful holeshot but this time I had to out maneuver Mees in the first turn to take the lead. I had a great time throwing my black HD XR 750 around this track, we call this bike the Vinny bike as our good friend Vinny bought it for us to use. I put it to good use and led every lap but didn't push hard enough in the final couple laps which let Mees close in, I saw him coming on the last lap and luckily I rode a near perfect last lap to seal the deal. Jethro came from the back row to finish 5th.

June 19th
Gas City, IN
GNC ST round 6
This extremely wide and banked short track proved to be very technical and challenging for us. We didn't have the greatest run in qualifying but both Jethro and I were on the front row of our heat races, Jethro finished a close 3rd in expert heat race number two of the night. I pulled a sweet holeshot in the third heat race but was passed by Wiles and I barely held off the next guy to finish second earning my spot on the front row of the main event and a ticket to the points paying Dash for Cash.
I got a decent start in the Dash but was quickly swallowed up by the pack in the first turn, over the next couple laps they shuffled me back to fifth where I finished earning just one extra point for the championship.
I felt like I was struggling just a little bit with my suspension settings, and I just didn't have as much traction as I should, I tried a few minor changes with the suspension and a different rear tire.
It proved to be a tough main event as I didn't get a great start and there were riders all around me trying different lines, we must have been three and four wide at some points. I had a great battle going with Coolbeth for the first half of the race with Jethro slowly starting to pull away using the low line. Then we had a restart, I started in 8th but was able to get clear of Coolbeth and pressure Jethro and Pearson for fourth. I was starting to find a good line by using a combination of the high and low lines I felt like just as I was starting to get within striking distance of Pearson for 5th the white flag came out and I wasn't able to do anything. Pearson had a fast last lap and edged Jethro out for 4th by .06 Jethro finished fifth and I crossed the line in 6th. I felt like we put in pretty good rides and gave it everything we had but we just have a little work to do and some more learning to pick up that last tenth of a second or two on these types of tracks on our Yamaha's. I have a couple idea's on what I could have done differently.

Now I am coming into Lima tied for 5th place in points in the Grand National Championship, this is a perfect track for me to get things rolling so I am shooting for the win to get me back in this championship battle.

Next event
June 26th,
Lima, OH
GNC round 7

Lima Styling

Wow. That top shot, of Sammy Halbert (wearing completely different kit to that which he won his first national in a couple of weeks ago), reminds me of the famous Corky Keener one. Incredible. GI
Photos AMA Pro Racing