Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1111003
FLAT TRACK AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 4/APRIL 27, 2019 WILD HORSE PASS MOTORSPORTS PARK/CHANDLER, ARIZONA P80 95 JD BEACH 1ST AFT TWINS "We thought that, in the main, if I could get the start on him (Bauman), I could slow him up a little bit," said Beach. "He got the holeshot, and he was gone. I just knew that I had to keep pushing. With five laps to go, we were really close. He made a couple of mistakes, and I got by him. On the last two laps, I tried to be as smooth as I could. My last lap was my fastest lap of the race. I knew I was struggling a little bit through the last turn. Briar was getting through there really good. I wanted to try to have a gap before then if I spun up or something, he couldn't get by me before the line." 1 JARED MEES 3RD AFT TWINS "It was probably the most boring race I've ever been in," said Mees. "The lap times were so long, and I was all by myself. It was like, when are you going to throw the white flag? Briar and JD were just faster than me. Once JD got around me, I just couldn't keep up. I was really glad for JD to win his first race. It is not only good for him, but it's good for the sport. Even Indian would acknowledge that it's good for another brand to be competitive. It was probably a good thing that JD was able to pass me as quickly as he did because I was holding him up. If I would have held him up for another lap or two, JD wouldn't have been able to catch Briar. JD winning helps me in my point battle with Briar. The tracks are turning back to my favor the next few rounds [half-mile and miles]. We should be able to make up some ground." 23 JEFFREY CARVER 4TH AFT TWINS "Those guys were just really moving. I started on the second row in the heat. We blew a shock out and broke a set of brakes," said Carver. "We were six teeth off from where we ended up in the main event. All in all, I was just happy to get a front row in the main event. I was probably a little tentative on the first lap or two, with a different bike setup. I made a little mistake, but those guys were faster than me today. I was a fourth-place guy today. From all the adversity that we had to overcome, I'm really happy. The first couple races of the year haven't been the best for me. I'm just happy running back up front again and build some momentum. With the long lap times, that's the longest main event that we've ever been to. My tongue was dragging a little bit. I was pushing really hard until around halfway. I heard tires squeal and I figured someone was on me. I looked back and saw that I had a gap. That's when I slowed down my pace. I slowed down a little too much and let Jake catch me. That's just the way it goes. At least we know where we are at." 5 JAKE JOHNSON 5TH AFT TWINS "That was a tough one. I knew it was going to be a long race," said John- son. "I had a bad starting spot. I probably should have gone to the second row outside on the groove. I thought I could get a decent jump down there. I just didn't get that good of a start. I just kind of had to play catch up the whole race. I battled with Bronson for the first half. It seemed like he was starting to have some trouble. It sounded like his bike started missing. I was able to get by him. Carver was a long way ahead. I just kept charging, charging, charging. Finally, in the last five I got close to him. I would get close, and I just struggled coming out of the right-hander. I would spin up bad, and he would kind of get away. It took about the whole lap to get right back to him. I was there but couldn't do anything with him."