DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(August 9, 2024) –
History is now mere days away.
On Sunday, August 11, the stars
of Progressive American
Flat Track, sanctioned
by AMA Pro Racing,
will take the Grand
National Championship
into the Streets of
Downtown Sturgis, South Dakota,
for the inaugural
Arrowhead Brass Sturgis TT
presented by Rick Ware Racing &
The CAT Rental Store.
The innovative event, developed
and promoted in collaboration
with AFT Events,
Øuterkind and
the City of Sturgis,
reconnects the city to its
legacy of motorcycle racing that
dates back to the very origins
of the fabled Sturgis
Motorcycle Racing, now
in the midst of its 84th
edition.
Equal parts heritage and
modern-day spectacle, the
Arrowhead Brass Sturgis TT will
not just honor the past by way
of the present but also look to
the future with the highly
anticipated introduction of the
all-new AFT
AdventureTrackers™ class.
However, the season’s headlining
story continues to be the quest
of reigning Mission AFT
SuperTwins champion
Jared Mees (No.
1 Rogers Racing/SDI
Racing/Indian Motorcycle FTR750)
to become the first rider in the
seven-decade history of the
series to claim a tenth Grand
National Championship. That
mission came even more clearly
into focus this past Tuesday
night when Mees moved to the top
of the points race for the first
time this season.
A victory this weekend would
push him that much closer to the
unprecedented achievement, but
it will not come easily. When
the series last did battle on a
hybrid TT circuit that combined
dirt and asphalt at the 2021
Atlanta Super TT, JD
Beach (No. 95 Estenson
Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) was
fastest in every practice and
qualifying session, won both his
heat and the Mission
#2Fast2Tasty Challenge, and ran
away with the Main Event victory
by several seconds. Despite
spending the bulk of his season
racing a Tytlers Cycle BMW
Superbike, Beach is already back
at the top of his dirt track
game as evidenced by his
runner-up finish at the Peoria
TT and a first-career Half-Mile
victory at Black Hills Speedway.
The fact that Beach was beaten
at all in Peoria underlines the
fact that Briar Bauman
(No. 3 Rick Ware
Racing/KTM/Parts Plus KTM 790
Duke) is a rider to watch this
weekend as well. Besides being a
rider with the all-around
talents to excel at the circuit,
he’s also one who will be
looking to make amends coming
off a difficult Main Event in
Rapid City.
But perhaps no rider is more in
need of a big day than
Brandon Robinson (No.
44 Mission Roof Systems Indian
FTR750), who currently ranks
second to Mees in the
championship race. While TTs
have never been Robinson’s
forte, the Mission Roof Systems
rider has improved in the
discipline, and the novel nature
of the circuit provides ample
opportunity to shock the world.
Pit up against a 17-point
disadvantage with four rounds
remaining, Robinson would be
well served to put riders
between himself and Mees.
Fortunately for his championship
hopes, Beach isn’t the only wild
card with the potential to run
up front; Multi-time TT winner
Sammy Halbert
(No. 69 OnlyFans/Martin
Trucking/ Castro Yamaha MT-07)
is back in the mix following a
run of hugely impressive rides
earlier this season.
Several series regulars could
also play the role of spoiler,
including the likes of
Jarod Vanderkooi (No.
20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford
Ohio Indian FTR750),
Davis Fisher (No. 67
Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s
BMC Racing Indian FTR750),
Brandon Price
(No. 92 Memphis Shades/Sody
Ent/OTBR Yamaha MT-07), and
Dalton Gauthier
(No. 79 Moto Anatomy X Powered
by Royal Enfield 650), not to
mention red-hot rookies
Trevor Brunner (No. 21
Mission Foods/Zanotti Racing KTM
790 Duke) and Declan
Bender (No. 70
GOMR/BriggsAuto.com/Martin
Trucking Indian FTR750), who
both claimed maiden
premier-class top fives earlier
this week.
Parts Unlimited AFT
Singles presented by KICKER
Double defending Parts
Unlimited AFT Singles presented
by KICKER king
Kody Kopp (No. 1 Rick
Ware Racing/Parts Plus KTM 450
SX-F) has a chance to secure one
of the few remaining
accomplishments that has thus
far eluded him during his
record-breaking stint in the
class. Now holding either sole
possession or a share of the
all-time lead in championships
as well as career,
single-season, Half-Mile, and
Short Track victories, Kopp has
yet to stand atop the podium at
a TT.
Doing so this Sunday would also
tilt the balance of power back
in his direction after seeing
the last four races go to his
primary rivals, Chase
Saathoff (No. 88 JPG
Motorsports Honda CRF450R) and Tom
Drane (No. 59 Estenson
Racing Yamaha YZ450F), who
figure to once again be Kopp’s
biggest threats this weekend.
Tarren Santero
(No. 75 Vinson Construction/P&M
Motorcycles Honda CRF450R),
Evan Renshaw
(No. 265 American Honda/Mission
Foods CRF450R), and
Jared Lowe (No. 63
BigR/Little Debbie Racing Honda
CRF450R) were next best in
Peoria. However, those results
should be considered, at best, a
rough guide of what may
transpire this weekend, with the
Arrowhead Brass Sturgis TT
promising to be a different
beast entirely.
Meanwhile, Trent Lowe
(No. 48 American Honda/Mission
Foods CRF450R) and James
Ott (No. 19 1st
Impressions Race Team Husqvarna
FC450) will resume their fight
for fourth in the championship
hunt and hope to do so by adding
to their seasons’ tally of
podium finishes.
AFT AdventureTrackers
One of the fastest growing and
fiercely competitive segments of
the global motorcycle market
will take their respective
claims of supremacy to the
Streets of Downtown Sturgis with
the long-awaited debut of the
AFT AdventureTrackers. And as a
showcase for Dual Adventure
bikes specifically designed to
dominate any and all terrain
they are confronted with, the
hybrid TT course couldn’t
possibly be more perfectly
suited for the task at hand.
The AFT AdventureTrackers class
has been designed around
production-based race bikes that
are as close to street stock as
is feasible. And in turn, an
incredibly decorated and diverse
collection of riders has been
recruited to demonstrate exactly
what these versatile machines
are capable of.
Saddlemen Race Development will
field a Daytona 200 legend and
big-bike specialist in teammates
Danny Eslick (No.
64 Saddlemen Race Development
Harley-Davidson Pan America
1250) and Frankie
Garcia (No. 14
Saddlemen Race Development
Harley-Davidson Pan America
1250).
Meanwhile, Memphis Shades/Vinson
Honda comes armed with a
championship-winning dirt
tracker in Dan Bromley (No.
62 Sody Enterprises/Memphis
Shades/Vinson Honda Africa
Twin).
And Triumph has its bases well
covered with big-name riders
hailing from across dirt track,
world enduro, stunt riding, and
Superhooligan in Sammy
Halbert (No. 69 Triumph
Racing Triumph Tiger 1200),
Robby McLendon (No.
169 Triumph Racing Triumph Tiger
1200), Ivan Cervantes
(No. 25 Triumph Racing Triumph
Tiger 1200), Nick ‘Apex’
Brocha (No. 777 Triumph
Racing Triumph Tiger 1200), and
Kole King (No.
80 Triumph Racing/Triumph
Indianapolis Triumph Tiger
1200).
Which style will prove superior
for these machines and this
course? That’s a fascinating
question that won’t be answered
until the AdventureTrackers’
rubber hits the road (and dirt)
for the first time in history
this Sunday.
Due to its setting in Downtown
Sturgis on the final day of the
84th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally,
race fans will obviously have a
huge number of off-track
attractions at their disposal.
Included among them are the
Progressive Insurance
Sturgis TT Demo & Display Lot,
numerous vendors, expansive food
and beverage options, and live
music from the Rally Point stage
performed throughout the day by
country music star and The
Voice alum Joey
Green.
Attendance for Sunday, August
11’s inaugural Arrowhead
Brass Sturgis TT presented by
Rick Ware Racing & The CAT
Rental Store is free of
charge. Fans also have a unique
opportunity to witness history
in comfort from ideal vantage
points offered by legendary
Sturgis Main Street bars
Loud American and
One-Eyed Jacks Saloon. These
Arrowhead Brass Sturgis
TT VIP Experiences are
available for $175 at
https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/sturgis-tt-112510.
Practice will start at 2:00 p.m.
ET (11:0 a.m. PT) with Opening
Ceremonies scheduled to begin at
4:45 p.m. ET (1:45 p.m. PT). You
can catch the livestream of all
the weekend’s racing activities
on FloRacing. Motorsports fans
can subscribe to FloRacing to
enjoy over 1,000 live
motorsports events in 2024.
FloSports is available by
visiting
https://flosports.link/aft
or by downloading the FloSports
app on iOS, Android, Apple TV,
Roku, Amazon Fire and
Chromecast.
The Arrowhead Brass
Sturgis TT pre-race
show will air on FS2 on
Saturday, August 17,
at 1:00 p.m. ET
(10:00 a.m. PT), immediately
followed by the race broadcast
on FOX at
2:00 p.m. ET
(11:00 a.m. PT). The complete
two-hour pre-race and race
package will then re-air on
FS1 later that
evening, starting at
9:00 p.m. ET (6:00 p.m.
PT).
For more information on
Progressive AFT visit
https://www.americanflattrack.com.
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