Jake Johnson off to a good start with Estenson Racing, Kolby Carlile looks ahead to Atlanta Short Track
After months of preparation, Estenson Racing was back in action at Daytona International Speedway for the American Flat Track season opener, the DAYTONA TT, on March 15.
Two-time Grand National Champion Jake Johnson got off to a great start in his first outing with the team on the Yamaha FZ-07. He had a solid top five in qualifying, a second-place finish in his Heat and third in the Semi. In the AFT Twins Main, Johnson didn’t get the start he had hoped for and got caught up in traffic, allowing the lead five riders to pull away. He was getting closer to the lead pack, but started to have some moments. With lots of racing ahead this season, Johnson has the experience to know discretion is the better part of valor at Daytona.
On the AFT Singles side of the garage, the day started out great for Kolby Carlile with solid qualifying results and a dominant Heat race win on the Yamaha YZ450F. Unfortunately, it all went wrong in the Semi when another rider came together with Carlile on the start and put the reigning champ on the ground. Carlile was able to rejoin the race and made an heroic effort to come back from the back of the grid and finish seventh, earning a transfer to the Main event.
With his goal of repeating his championship of a year ago in mind, Carlile decided it was best to opt out of the Main and seek medical attention as a precaution. Although he is feeling a little beat up, Carlile is focused on preparing for round two in Atlanta in three weeks’ time.
Jake Johnson — AFT Twins #5:
“I felt good all day. Come Main event time, I just got a bad start and got battling with a few guys on the first lap. Once I got clear the top five were gone. Seemed like for a little bit there I started chipping away at it [the gap] and felt like I was getting a little bit closer, but then I started having some big moments. There were a lot of opportunities to end up on the ground. We somehow got through it.
“Obviously, I was hoping to come away with more, but for Daytona… a new team, new bike and with a limited amount of time on it; I’ll take it. You can’t win it in Daytona, but you can sure lose it. So we’re still there. We learned a lot today. We’ll just keep plugging away.”
Kolby Carlile – AFT Singles #1:
“My team did a great job prepping my YZ. I felt great on the bike all day, and won my Heat. It’s really disappointing what happened because I felt that I was in a good place to take the win last night. But Daytona is Daytona. We’re going to put it behind us and focus on the other 17 rounds.”
Catch the DAYTONA TT on NBCSN on March 25 at 2:00 p.m. ET as American Flat Track makes its debut in its new time slot for 2018.
Racing resumes on April 7, for round two of the season at the Atlanta Short Track in Woodstock, Georgia. Click here for tickets: https://www.showclix.com/event/atlanta-short-trac…
More, from a press release issued by Indian Motorcycle:
INDIAN MOTORCYCLE RACING & JARED MEES WIN 2018 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK SEASON OPENER AT DAYTONA TT
Reigning 2017 AFT Champion Repeats in Daytona; Five Indian Scout FTR750 Riders Finish in Top 10
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – Indian Motorcycle Racing and reigning 2017 American Flat Track Champion Jared Mees, aboard his Scout FTR750, repeat with another win at the Daytona TT. Along with Mees, a total of five Indian Scout FTR750 riders finished inside the top 10, including Brad Baker, Kenny Coolbeth Jr., Bryan Smith and Rob Pearson.
Winning both his heat race and semi-final event, Mees began the main event from the second starting position. He was one of several riders pushing at the front of the pack in the first few laps and made passes to get into second. In a move that reminded race fans of why he’s earned the nickname “Jammer,” Mees made a bold move at the jump, taking an aggressive inside line with his Scout FTR750, actually making contact with Baker to literally wrestle away the lead – a lead he would never relinquish.
“It’s awesome to come back here to Daytona and repeat. My team had the Indian Scout FTR750 dialed in,” said Mees. “It’s a long season, so to start out with a win and get an early lead is huge. With the number one plate this year, we know we have a target on our back. But we embrace the competition and can’t wait for Atlanta Short Track.”
Including Mees, five of the six Indian Scout FTR750 riders competing in the main placed within the top 10. Fellow Wrecking Crew riders Brad Baker and Bryan Smith placed fifth and ninth, respectively. In their first season on the Scout FTR750, privateers Kenny Coolbeth Jr. and Rob Pearson finished eighth and 10th, respectively.
“It was incredible to return to Daytona after only one year and see so many Scout FTR750s on the track,” said Gary Gray, Vice President – Racing, Service & Technology for Indian Motorcycle. “The entire night was filled with great racing, as we even had some tight battles in the semi-finals where a few Indian privateers just missed the main. In the end, though, just as we saw many times last year, Jared hit a rhythm and took over. Congrats to Jared and his team on the repeat.”
The Indian Wrecking Crew and stable of privateers aboard the championship-winning Scout FTR750 will continue its season on April 7 at the Atlanta Short Track. In 2017, the Wrecking Crew swept the podium in Atlanta, as Mees, Baker and Smith finished 1-2-3, respectively.
For the 2018 season, Indian Motorcycle Racing has committed more than $350,000 in contingency incentives, including $25,000 for a Championship, $5,000 for first-place wins, $4,000 for second-place, $3,000 for third-place finishes, and payouts for up to 10th-place finishers.
For more information on Indian Motorcycle Racing, backed by Allstate Insurance, the Indian Wrecking Crew and Scout FTR750, visit IndianMotorcycle.com and follow along on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. For information on purchasing a Scout FTR750, please contact [email protected].
ABOUT INDIAN MOTORCYCLE®
Indian Motorcycle is America’s First Motorcycle Company®. Founded in 1901, Indian Motorcycle has won the hearts of motorcyclists around the world and earned distinction as one of America’s most legendary and iconic brands through unrivaled racing dominance, engineering prowess and countless innovations and industry firsts. Today that heritage and passion is reignited under new brand stewardship. To learn more, please visit www.indianmotorcycle.com.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Yamaha bLU cRU Riders Claim Podium Finishes at Opening Round of the 2018 American Flat Track Series
JD Beach Takes 2nd in Twins Class on MT-07, Jesse Janisch Follows Suit in Singles Class on YZ450F
Daytona, Fla. – March 16, 2018 – Daytona’s “Bike Week” festivities continued with Thursday’s DAYTONA TT, the opening round of the 2018 American Flat Track (AFT) Series at Daytona International Speedway. Yamaha bLU cRU riders JD Beach and Jesse Janisch battled hard to claim second-place finishes in the Twins and Singles classes respectively.
JD Beach made his first of two appearances with the G&G Racing Team in the 2018 American Flat Track Series, and the 2015 MotoAmerica Supersport Champion emerged with second-place in the highly-competitive Twins class on his MT-07. Roof Systems/West Bend Harley/Rock River Yamaha’s Jesse Janisch maneuvered his YZ450F through a chaotic Main Event in the Singles class to bring home a second-place finish from the DAYTONA TT.
AFT Twins Class Notes
The Yamaha MT-07 is proving to be a formidable challenger in the American Flat Track Twins class, and the DAYTONA TT Main Event was contested by four riders on MT-07’s:
JD Beach – G&G Racing
Mikey Rush – G&G Racing
Jake Johnson – Estenson Racing
Kayl Kolkman – Kolkman Racing
Ultimately, it was Beach who set his sights on the race leader and series’ reigning champion, Jared Mees, as he passed Brad Baker to position himself in second-place just prior to the halfway point of the race. Beach then turned it up a notch, and closed the gap to within 0.462 seconds of Mees when the checkered flag waived, bringing home a very respectable second-place finish.
LJ Gronek – G&G Racing Team Manager
“The Yamaha MT-07 is a strong platform – JD finished ahead of a lot of other riders who have big teams and big budgets behind them, including five of the six factory riders. We learned a lot from last season, made some changes and it’s great to see them pay off and to know that we’re working in the right direction.”
JD Beach, AFT Twins #95 – G&G Racing
“My night went great! I definitely have to thank the G&G Racing guys, they worked hard on the bike. We got a little bit of time on the bike on Tuesday and it felt great then. We unloaded it here and made a few changes throughout the day but it was a great bike – it was fast! We’ll go to race two with what we learned and try to get a win.”
AFT Singles Class Notes
It was a tough start to the season for the defending Singles Champion, Estenson Racing’s Kolby Carlile, as he was sidelined from the season-opening Main Event due to a shoulder injury sustained during a crash in the Semi.
The Singles Main Event proved to be challenging with two red-flag restarts, during both of which Jesse Janisch was able to steer clear of high-speed crash incidents. Janisch battled for the lead with eventual race-winner, Dan Bromley, as the duo created a race of their own, far ahead of the rest of the pack.
The American Flat Track Series will head to Woodstock, Ga. on Saturday, April 7 for Round 2 of the 2018 season.
Twins Class Results
1. Jared Mees, Indian
2. JD Beach, AFT Twins #95 – Yamaha MT-07
3. Henry Wiles, Kawasaki
Singles Class Results
1. Dan Bromley, KTM
2. Jesse Janisch, AFT Singles #132 – Yamaha YZ450F
3. Shane Narbonne, Honda
For more Yamaha racing news, results, photos, and videos, visit http://www.YamahaMotorsports.com/Racing
Also, check out “YamahaMotorUSA” on your favorite social media site.