riders into lappers without the
risk of coming under attack dur-
ing those vulnerable moments.
Bauman then called off his
assault, allowing Beach to take
the checkered flag 3.210 sec-
onds up the dirt.
Mees was the next rider
to hit the stripe but only after
being passed and dropped by
Vanderkooi at mid-distance. A
miscue by Vanderkooi brought
more than a second back of
Beach at that point. The champ
did well to inch back that gap,
nearly drawing to within strik-
ing distance by the time the two
charged up on that big pack of
riders squabbling over fifth late
in the race.
However, a couple small
mistakes on Bauman's part pro-
vided Beach the breathing room
required to relegate the slower
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 34 AUGUST 24, 2021 P81
MYOWNRACE
18 MAX WHALE
2ND AFT SINGLES
AFT Singles tle contender Max Whale was
the day's biggest winner who didn't stand
atop the box. Despite reclaiming the tle
lead with his clutch runner-up finish, the
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing had his rivals
who had crashed in the front of his thoughts
rather than his personal gain. He said, "Good
race. I was a li le bit off the pace compared
to Henry, but I'm super thankful to be on the
podium. All my thoughts go out to the fallen
riders. I hope they're all good."
96 JESSE JANISCH
3RD AFT PRODUCTION
TWINS
Despite his Peoria prowess, it was something
of a gamble for Vance & Hines to put Jesse
Janisch on their twin-cylinder XG750R for the
weekend. That gamble ul mately paid off in
the form of a podium result even if he was
hoping for more. Janisch said, "I've only start
-
ed that motorcycle twice before the main, and
that was the prac ce start and the semi start,
which I kind of bombed a li le bit. So I wanted
to make an adjustment. And I honestly think
I had the holeshot. Ben (Lowe) came around
the outside of me, so I got him back over the
jump because he chopped. I knew I had to
push, and if there's one thing I really struggle
with, it's a greasy track. This has happened to
me now three Peorias in a row with like a wet,
greasy track. I was just kind of struggling out
there. It was a privilege to ride for this team,
and I feel I kind of let them down."
