ing that reputation with a com-
pelling romp through the streets
on
a course at which road racer
Drane might have been expect-
ed to excel in the same way his
premier-class
teammate did.
Instead, Kopp was in dominant
form en route to claiming his
first career TT victory and, in the
process, closing out his mission
to earn a Singles Grand Slam.
Kopp was aided in another of
his missions by Vinson Con
-
struction's Tarren Santero, who
ran
ahead of second-ranked/
fourth-placed Saathoff through-
out the contest, and then outdu-
eled Drane on the final lap to
steal away second
at the flag.
"It was strategic," Santero
said of his battle with Saathoff.
AFT SINGLES
Mees could very well be joined
in making history at Springfield
by Rick Ware Racing's Kody
Kopp, who picked the pace back
up in his march to an unprec-
edented third Parts Unlimited
AFT
Singles title in Sturgis.
Four consecutive finishes of
second, second, second and
third is a boon unless you hap-
pen to be named Kody Kopp.
While his
championship lead
didn't suffer during his wins
"drought," his aura of invincibility
had been dented by rivals, JPG
Motorsports' Chase Saathoff
and Estenson Racing's Tom
Drane, who'd split the wins over
the previous four races.
Kopp went about reconstitut
-
after the Mission Roof Systems
pilot left Sturgis with a 10th-place
finish. And Mees is now 27 points
up on third-ranked Bauman.
And while Bauman has won at
Springfield once and Robinson
twice, Mees has done so on
eight occasions. If the champ
Mees even slightly outperforms
Robinson and only slightly
underperforms Bauman, history
could be made before the series
arrives at the inaugural Lake
Ozark Short Track finale.
The remainder of the top 10 in
Sturgis was filled out by Only
-
Fans/Martin Trucking's Sammy
Halbert,
Latus Motors' Max
Whale, Zanotti Racing's Trevor
Brunner, and Royal Enfield's
Dalton Gauthier.
ROUND 13 / AUGUST 11, 2024
STREETS OF DOWNTOWN STURGIS / STURGIS, SOUTH DAKOTA
FLAT TRACK I AMA PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN FLAT TRACK
P82
The Sturgis TT is one of the most
unique tracks on the AFT circuit.
