KODY KOPP AND MAX WHALE DELIVER RED BULL KTM PODIUM DOUBLE IN ARIZONA SUPER TT
Round 4 – American Flat Track Championship
CHANDLER, Arizona – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo Kody Kopp and Max Whale both earned podium results in Saturday’s fourth round of the 2023 American Flat Track Championship at the Arizona Super TT, with defending champion Kopp continuing to hold the AFT Singles points lead.
Kopp dug deep throughout the day at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park after qualifying in eighth position, powering to third place in Heat 2 and setting him up with a second-row start in the Main Event. From there, a strong start saw him immediately in podium contention, eventually able to slot his way into a well-earned P2 result following a late restart.
Kody Kopp: “We definitely rode our heart out, left it all out on the track! I qualified eighth, which was my second-worst of the year, and we had to dig ourselves out of a hole. I had the first pick on the second row for the Main, and that was probably one of the better starts of my career. That helped me so much, because I had the speed, but just couldn’t get a start earlier on. I ran third for the first four minutes of the race, made a really risky pass on Chad Cose going into turn one, and made it stick – that was all I had! You’ve gotta sometimes just take what you can get, can’t push it too much on a sketchy track, so hats off to my team for this P2, we still have a one-point championship lead and still have the red plate.”
Following his victory last time out in Senoia, Whale had momentum on his side and qualified in position two. He continued that form with second in Heat 2, before claiming fourth in the Dash-for-Cash. That set him up for a strong Main Event and, while he too displayed significant pace, track position led him to third place on the podium and he’s also P3 in points.
Max Whale: “I qualified second, was second in my Heat race and I felt like the track was really one-lined today. The start was very different from one side to the other, so I had tough starts all day and had to work my way through… We were fourth in the Dash and finished third in the Main, just ran out of room to pass and it was just difficult out there in this one.”
The Arizona Super TT AFT Singles Main Event was won by KTM-mounted 2019 champion Dalton Gauthier, making it a KTM 450 SX-F podium sweep at round four of the 2023 season.
Next Race: Dallas Half-Mile – Mesquite, Texas – April 22, 2023
Round 4 Results
AFT Singles Main Event
1. Dalton Gauthier, KTM
2. Kody Kopp, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
3. Max Whale, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
OTHER KTM
6. Hayden Gillim, KTM
8. Justin Jones, KTM
16. Olin Kissler, KTM
2023 AFT Singles Point Standings
1. Kody Kopp, 86 points
2. Dalton Gauthier, 85
3. Max Whale, 71
OTHER KTM
9. Justin Jones, 36
13. Logan Eisenhard, 22
15. Hayden Gillim, 14
18. Travis Petton IV, 12
19. Shayna Texter-Bauman, 11
20. Hunter Bauer, 11
22. Tanner Dean, 9
29. Clarke Morian V, 5
30. Olin Kissler, 4
