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/1162518
FLAT TRACK ROUNDS 15 & 16/AUGUST 31 & SEPTEMBER 2, 2019 ILLINOIS STATE FAIRGROUNDS/SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS P72 AMERICAN FL AT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP you were going to see that in the Production Twins," said Rispoli. "I knew my game plan. Dalton was riding awesome all day. He was fantastic in three and four. I thought I would just hang in there, and he would just suck me right along, it was the perfect plan. It was just a shame for him to blow up or whatever happened techni- cally on the back straightaway." Rispoli was able to hold on for two laps, but on the last lap, Carlile was able to grab the win. "I knew I had the bike to win this thing. I was confident the whole race," said Carlile. "There was just so much traffic. I kind of got sucked into it a little bit. I was kind of letting those guys shake it out. The red flag came out, and James and Dalton took off, and I fell back again. I wasn't going to follow. I knew my bike was strong enough to catch those Harleys. I thought me, James and Dalton would have a three-way battle for the win. in second place at the end of lap one behind Kolby Carlile. Lap two found Gauthier with a narrow lead over Carlile but pull- ing away. Cody Johncox slid into second with Rispoli, Cose, Car- lile, Varnes and Morgen Mischler (DPC Racing/Racing Unlimited, Kawasaki Ninja 650) all bunched together. Gauthier motored away, post- ing a nearly two-second lead when the red lights came on. Max Whale (RKE/Glen's Autobody, Kawasaki Ninja 650) fell in turn three on lap nine. The restart saw Gauthier jump right back into the lead with his teammate Rispoli staying close. The two had just started to open a gap when Gauthier's hopes for a repeat were dashed. Rispoli took over as Gauthier coasted to a stop. "We had Harleys running one, two until the last three laps. I think that was going to be the first time IIIMY OWN RACE: 23 JEFFREY CARVER 2-10 AFT TWINS "I did put the res exactly where I wanted them on the last lap, but you couldn't see where the moisture started and stopped," said Carver of his Saturday race. "They don't water the top rim on this racetrack. I just got a foot too far into the actual dust stuff, and I just killed my drive. I was se ng it up exactly like that. I was going to swing in super hard and cross, just missed it by a couple feet. I placed it where I wanted it. It just wasn't there. I played the wai ng game and didn't want to be a acking in the beginning. I thought there was a good chance that we could get a gap on the rest of the guys." Monday was not so good. "I was having some weird issues all day. The bike I wanted to be our primary bike had some brake issues. The thing acted like it wanted to free- wheel itself. When everybody would break apart and go in and stop, I almost ran into Briar in the semi. In the heat race, I almost got into somebody. In the main, I got real close a couple mes, so I started buzzing the top. I just didn't feel comfortable pu ng myself up in the mix with it, with that going on." PRODUCTION TWINS The Production Twins main event was a battle of attrition as only nine of the 17 riders finished all 15 laps. Saturday's winner Dalton Gauthier was forced to use his provisional start card after his Harley-Davidson came up lame in his semi. Engine swap, back row start—no problem, despite start- ing from row three, Gauthier was Gauthier also won Saturday's Production Twins race. He was also leading Monday's race when his bike broke.