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/1481963
finales for the duo. Both dropped a position in the final rankings on the weekend as Bauman leapt past both, making it the fourth straight season in which Mees and Bauman finished 1-2 in one order or the other. Still, it was a hugely promising year for Estenson Racing after years of investment and work to reach this level. Beach led the series in main event wins at four and has an old-school Grand Slam (Superbike win included) firmly in his sights, while the sky remains the limit for the uber- talented Daniels. But for all the accomplish- ments of Bauman, Beach, Dan- iels, Robinson and Vanderkooi, this year, like so many others before it, belongs to Mees. He now boasts the '12, '14, '15, '17, '18, '21 and '22 Grand National Championships, the 2009 and 2011 GNC1 Twins Champion- ships, and the 2012 GNC1 Singles Championship. And since there was no com- bined GNC awarded from 2006- 2009, that '09 GNC1 Twins title officially counts as a full-blown Grand National Championship, upping Mees official tally to eight. That leaves him just one short of Scott Parker's all-time record. In other words, there's no reason to fear any lack of motivation from Mees looking ahead to 2023. He said Saturday, "It feels awesome. They always ask which is your favorite, and it's always the most recent. It was a long, hard-fought season. Big shout out to the team for all the hard work and dedication. After last night, I knew it was going to be a hard one to lose. But there's always a chance, and those are the ones that actually make you more nervous. "Eight championships is awe- some. I've got to give a big shout out to ole Scotty Parker. He's got nine, and I'm not going to lie, I want it. He gets me up out of bed every day to push really hard for that next one. I want it bad." AFT SINGLES It took actually winning the championship in order to provide an accurate reminder of just why Red Bull KTM's Kody Kopp is this year's Parts Unlimited AFT Singles Champion. Leaving his points concerns back at Cedar Lake Speedway where he clinched the title two rounds early, Kopp was able to ride like the prodigy who stormed to six wins in the sea- son's opening nine races. He hadn't so much been on the podium since while nursing his mammoth championship margin en route to the title. Finally back off the leash, Kopp slithered up through the field en route to a dominant Friday win, finishing a couple seconds up the road from second and third, Mission Foods/Al Lamb's Dallas Honda's Trent Lowe and Turner Racing Honda's Dalton Gauthier. That put Kopp in reach of Dal- las Daniels' single-season record of eight wins on Saturday. How- ROUNDS 17-18 / OCTOBER 14-15, 2022 VOLUSIA SPEEDWAY PARK / BARBERVILLE, FLORIDA P66 FLAT TRACK I PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN FLAT TRACK MYOWNRACE and two TTs—among his 13 podiums (including at both of the season's Short Tracks). While properly vindicated, the Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson rider's immediate praise was directed elsewhere rather than internally. He said, "Honestly, I'm stoked for Cory (Texter). It's cool for him to get a win in his last race. That's pre y awesome. We had a great year ba ling. It's funny, because we're good friends and we literally train together. We spent quite a bit of the offseason training together, and he made me be er. It's awesome to win the championship. This team deserves it." 44 BRANDON ROBINSON 8-2 SUPERTWINS Mission Roof Systems's Brandon Robin- son ended the year on a tear, winning two of the season's final four races and finishing second in another. He said, "Ending the season with a win is huge. It kind of feels like 2020 all over again. I got hot at the wrong me of the year. We started clicking on all cylinders toward the end of the season. It was a li le too late, but be er late than never. Unfortu- nately, JD (Beach) had a mechanical. It would have been a pre y good race be- tween us, I think. But some mes you've got to take the luck and capitalize on it. I'm pumped to end the season like this. We'll go into the offseason feeling like the baddest dude, minus the champion."