Cycle News

FLAT TRACK AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 5/MAY 11, 2019 PERRIS AUTO SPEEDWAY/PERRIS, CALIFORNIA P68 iii My Own Race: 44 BRANDON ROBINSON 1ST AFT TWINS "When I got the lead I was riding kind of tense. I was kind of in protection mode," said winner Brandon Robinson of his night. "I was spinning up the tire. We went with a little softer compound tire tonight. I was chewing it up there. When the red flag came out, Brent [Armbruster] said, 'You need to calm down. You need to go in a little higher, a little harder roll. Just do what you normally do.' He calmed me down enough that when I got out front on the restart, I just slowed everything down in my head. Honestly, the slower I felt like I was going, the faster I went. I just concentrated on hitting my marks. It felt effortless, basically. It was awesome. Before the red flag, I knew someone was there. I didn't know it was Sammy. I wasn't even trying to take a peek back. When I saw the red flag, I looked back and thought, 'Oh wow, okay.' I knew someone was there but was riding too tense in the beginning and just needed to calm down. Once I did that on the restart, it was like lights out kind of deal." 14 BRIAR BAUMAN 2ND AFT TWINS "I was excited to see that restart. I was in a position that I felt I had the speed to be with the lead guys," said Briar Bauman. "The restart was a big bonus for me. I couldn't have asked for a better spot on the track with the dirt. I came off the line with a good drag and got behind Brandon right away. I figured I would follow him for a while and see where we were at. Then I hit that hole. It happened when I came into turn one with a head of steam thinking that I was going to win the thing. I let off and just free-wheeled. I had no engine brake because it was so low in the rpms. You could probably see my line because I skidded all the way up to the fence. I almost bought the farm. Luckily, we saved it. At that point, I didn't know what to do. I figured those guys would catch me. I looked back with two to go, and I had a huge gap on the next guys. It was an up and down night. We were fast in the first two free practice sessions. I was thinking we were in a great position. Then the track did some crazy stuff. I wasn't ready for it. Luckily my team dug me out of that hole. Dave [Zanotti] and Michelle [Disalvo] are great. We are on a streak. Five podiums this year, I can't complain at all." 69 SAMMY HALBERT 3RD AFT TWINS "Before the restart, I was going strong. I was pressuring Robinson and getting ready to make my move for the lead," said Halbert. "I had a line that was working well for me. I almost took the lead once, but I figured that I had plenty of time. On the restart, I just kind of spun it up on the start. I ran wide and ran off the groove in turn two. I just about crashed and dropped far back. Luckily the Harley-Davidson was running strong. I was able to fight my way back up to the podium. It was hard to pass. I had a line that was working for me. I was squaring off turn four. The Harley had some pull. She had some yank to her to get up there." 1 JARED MEES 5TH AFT TWINS "We were running eighth when Wiles crashed, and it definitely helped me," said defending champ Jared Mees. "We really had an off night here. To line up the main event in 15th and get fifth, we made up some ground. It was a terrible day going into an okay night. I wouldn't call it a good night, because good nights are podiums and wins. The first two times in practice I was okay. From the last one on, we just sucked. We tried a lot of different things. I give big hats off to my team for working extremely hard. We changed the bike over and over. It was great that we landed the best bike for the main event. We'll move on, we are going to move on to three miles in a row. I am looking forward to them for sure." 37 BRONSON BAUMAN 6TH AFT TWINS "The restart didn't do me a single favor," said Bronson Bauman. "I just made a rookie mistake. I didn't get it all the way into second gear. I got a good jump, just didn't get it all the way into second gear. On a track this fast, with everyone racing as tight as we are, the race was over for the win. It was a good night. We made progress. From the first practice, we just went onward and upward from there. I am happy to end the night with a top ten. Obviously, I'm not happy because I felt I was in contention for the win. It is what it is. We will move on to next weekend with more confidence."

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