DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(July 28, 2024) – Briar Bauman
(No. 3 Rick Ware
Racing/KTM/Parts Plus KTM 790
Duke) left no doubt in Sunday’s
World Famous SC2 Peoria
TT presented by Backroads
Saloon, Round 11 of the
2024 Progressive
American Flat Track season,
sanctioned by AMA Pro
Racing.
For three years running, the
Rick Ware Racing ace had come
second in the fabled race held
annually in the Peoria
Motorcycle Club Race Park’s
natural amphitheater, each time
watching as TT maestro
JD Beach (No. 95
Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT)
left Peoria, Illinois, with top
honors.
The two-time series champion was
provided with an unexpected
opportunity for revenge when
Beach was made a late addition
to the entry list, riding in
place of injured Mission
AFT SuperTwins championship
leader Dallas Daniels
(No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha
MT-07 DT).
However, it was reigning
Grand National Champion Jared
Mees (No. 1 Rogers
Racing/SDI Racing/Indian
Motorcycle FTR750) who grabbed
the early lead, securing the
holeshot with a full-throttle
trip up the grass banking
leading to the jump on the
race’s opening lap.
Bauman didn’t take long to make
his move, slashing through in
Turn 2 on the race’s second lap.
Beach was desperate to work
through himself, hoping to
prevent Bauman from clearing
off. And he in fact lost a few
tenths in the handful of laps it
took him to find his own way by
Mees.
Even when Beach did have clear
air in front of him, it was
evident this was Bauman’s day.
While the Estenson Racing super
sub was undeniably impressive to
finish second after jumping on a
dirt track machine for the first
time all season long, Bauman
managed to open up more than
eight second’s padding at the
front while threatening to lap
his way into the top five. He
ultimately claimed a
4.569-second margin-of-victory
over Beach, a gap that narrowed
considerably on the final lap
due to an extended victory
wheelie to take the checkered
flag.
The win was Bauman’s second at
the Peoria TT, backing up his
2019 triumph. He said, “First
and foremost, my heart goes out
to Dallas Daniels right now.
I’ve been through it myself and
I know Jared has been through it
too. I don’t have any words… I’m
sorry. And beating JD today… you
want it to count, but I don’t
think it does. He hasn’t been on
a flat track bike all year, so I
could tell he was a little bit
uncomfortable.
“But no matter what, huge thanks
to Rick Ware Racing. The team
deserves this. I want to get
better on the ovals, but we took
advantage of the TT and
strengths of the KTM. And we’re
going to keep working, that’s
all I can say.”
Nine-time series king Mees
closed to within a single point
of Daniels (216-215) with his
eighth podium of the season. Due
to Daniels’ continued absence,
the focus will soon shift to
Mees versus Brandon
Robinson (No. 44
Mission Roof Systems Indian
FTR750). On that front, Robinson
did well to minimize the damage,
finishing one position behind
fourth-placed Jarod
Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC
Motorsports/Fairway Ford Ohio
Indian FTR750) to earn his
first-career Peoria top five.
As a result, Robinson has
collected 201 points on the
season and the gap that
separates him from Mees is just
14 points with five races left
to go. Meanwhile, Bauman has
quietly (or not so quietly)
snuck back into contention at
192 points, less than a
single-race points haul behind
Mees.
Trevor Brunner
(No. 21 Mission Foods/Zanotti
Racing Indian FTR750) bolstered
his Rookie of the Year campaign
in sixth, followed by fellow
class newcomer Max
Whale (No. 18 Latus
Motors Racing/Liqui Moly
Harley-Davidson XG750R).
Meanwhile, Davis Fisher
(No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob
Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian
FTR750) came home eighth,
followed by third rookie
Declan Bender (No. 70
GOMR/BriggsAuto.com/Martin
Trucking Indian FTR750) and
Cameron Smith
(No. 34 RVR/KTM/Schaefer’s
Motorsport KTM 790 Duke).
Parts Unlimited AFT
Singles presented by KICKER
Chase Saathoff (No.
88 JPG Motorsports Honda
CRF450R) outdueled double
defending Parts
Unlimited AFT Singles presented
by KICKER champion
Kody Kopp (No.
1 Rick Ware Racing/Parts Plus
KTM 450 SX-F) to claim a second
consecutive victory in his home
state of Illinois.
Fresh off his triumph at the
high-speed DuQuoin Mile,
Saathoff did the business under
very different circumstances on
Sunday at the twisty Peoria TT.
An aggressive Saathoff first
worked his way into the lead
with a bucking overtake of
Tom Drane (No.
59 Estenson Racing Yamaha
YZ450F) and then appeared fully
capable of clearing off en route
to victory.
However, a red flag following a
fall by Hunter Bauer
(No. 24 Vinson
Construction/American
Harley-Davidson Yamaha YZ450F)
reset the order and gave the
champ another shot at victory.
Kopp took full advantage of the
second chance, diving up the
inside of Saathoff with less
than four minutes remaining and
then pulling an immediate gap of
his own.
The race’s complexion shifted
yet again when Kopp made a minor
mistake with less than a minute
left on the clock. Back within
striking distance, Saathoff
struck at the first available
opportunity, reclaiming first
place with only 30 seconds to
go.
That back and forth also brought
Drane back into the fight. But
even with Kopp and Drane
lurking, Saathoff was perfect
over the final two laps to close
out a Saathoff-Kopp-Drane 1-2-3.
Saathoff said, “I don’t even
know what to say. I came to
Peoria the last two years and
couldn’t even make it on the
podium. I knew I had the speed
to go run up front at this
track; it was so hard to figure
out my corner speed here, and we
finally got it done today. I’d
like to give a huge shout out to
my mom and dad for everything
they’ve done for me. I’ve been
coming to this track since I was
a 65(cc). I remember doing the
exhibition race here in 2015.”
Some seven seconds in arrears,
Tarren Santero
(No. 75 Vinson Construction/P&M
Motorcycles Honda CRF450R) came
out on top of a four-rider scrap
for fourth. He edged
Evan Renshaw (No. 265
American Honda/Mission Foods
CRF450R) for the position with
brothers Jared Lowe
(No. 63 BigR/Little Debbie
Racing Honda CRF450R) and
Trent Lowe (No.
48 American Honda/Mission Foods
CRF450R) close behind in sixth
and seventh, respectively.
James Ott (No.
19 1st Impressions Race Team
Husqvarna FC450), Tyler
Raggio (No. 55 Raggio
Racing/Sluggo Racing KTM 450
SX-F), and Travis Petton
IV (No. 82 ECG
Racing/A.M Ortega KTM 450 SX-F)
completed the top ten.
While winless since Bridgeport,
three consecutive runners-up
have allowed Kopp to maintain a
healthy advantage in the
championship chase, now with 246
points to Saathoff’s 218 and
Drane’s 206.
Next Up:
Progressive American Flat Track
kicks off its 84th
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
doubleheader with the
Black Hills Harley-Davidson
Black Hills Half-Mile presented
by The City of Sturgis at
Black Hills Speedway
in Rapid City, South Dakota, on
Tuesday, August 6. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/black-hills-half-mile-86674
to reserve your seats today.
For those who can’t catch the
action from the circuit,
FloRacing is the live
streaming home of Progressive
AFT. Sign up now and catch every
second of the on-track action,
from the first practice to the
victory podium, at
https://flosports.link/aft.
FOX Sports coverage
of the World Famous SC2
Peoria TT presented by Backyards
Saloon, featuring
in-depth features and thrilling
onboard cameras, will premiere
on FS1 on
Sunday, August 4,
at 1:00 p.m. ET
(10:00 a.m. PT).
For more information on
Progressive AFT visit
https://www.americanflattrack.com.
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