VOLUME 62 ISSUE 39 SEPTEMBER 30, 2025 P125
The season finale at Peoria
proved to be standard-fare
insanity. Janisch survived a
last-lap, last-
corner Hail Mary
haymaker from
Eslick to hang
on for the win.
Bromley, mean
-
while, happily
inherited second
in the chaos,
claiming the
position after
Eslick took his
Saddlemen Race
Development
Harley-Davidson
Pan America
1250 for some
impromptu off-
roading following
his desperate
attempt to steal
away the victory.
Bromley's second was more
than good enough to seal the
deal and secure another Pro
-
gressive AFT title on top of his
'18
AFT Singles crown. At the
time, no one knew it would serve
as a fitting send-off for a rider
who'd already decided that 2025
would be his last as a full-time
professional in the sport.
The newly crowned champ
said, "This is a class that brings
back that old-school fun. It's
getting a little serious, and rightly
so; you know, we're racing for a
national championship. But at
some point, you've got to make
it fun and just enjoy it. It's cool
to know I have that number-one
plate. I can be proud when I end
my career at Lake Ozark knowing
I'm a two-time champion."
CN
"Oh, you're serious. Like,
you're in?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, but we have to make it
fun."
With Harris on the BMW and
Luczak on the Honda, the two
transformed the near-1000-mile
trek from Sturgis, South Dakota,
to Peoria, Illinois, into a genuine
adventure, one that included a
muddy slog through the trails of
Deadwood during a rainstorm, a
swing by the Sioux Valley Cycle
Club for some practice, and a run
through Lake View OHV Park just
south of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
After finishing eighth in his
maiden pro race, Harris hatched
a plan straight out of the 1930s,
back when Class C racers were
expected to ride in on the race
bikes, with hauling or towing the
bikes prohibited by the regs.
Speaking to Mike Luczak,
whose son Austin Luczak
earned his first Progressive AFT
podium aboard the Memphis
Shades/Black Hills Powersports
Honda Africa Twin at the Jack
-
pine Gypsies II, Harris said, "Hey
man, you want to
ride these
things [to] Peoria?"
"Yeah."
WE'RE TAKING THESE
500-PLUS-POUND
MOTORCYCLES
AND JUST, I MEAN,
THERE'S NO NICE
WAY OF PUTTING IT,
BEATING THE HECK
OUT OF THEM. WE'RE
RACING THEM SO
INCREDIBLY HARD
– Jesse Janisch
