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/397402
VOL. 51 ISSUE 41 OCTOBER 14, 2014 P55 for Smith to not feel good about his year. As usual he was strong on the twin and even stronger on the miles, with only a revived Kenny Coolbeth Jr. giving him a run for his money and taking Indy and the second Springfield Mile. Smith still struggled a bit on the singles and scored no points in the first round at Daytona by not making it into the main with a flat tire, but what stands out as the pivotal moment was that stroke of bad luck at Calistoga in the form of a rock that met a little oil site glass window. So at Pomona Smith not only needed to be perfect, he need- ed a bit of luck, in the form of a reversal of fortune for friend and championship rival – Mees. Mees and Smith were locked in a tight battle for a better part of the season with Mees winning two Nationals while scoring nine po- diums. Mees also scored points in every round. After the Dash for Cash, Mees only lost one point to Smith, so settling into fourth in the Nation- al was enough to take the title. When you're in the championship driver's seat being conservative is often necessary, but can make for a long race to the checkered flag, especially when it's a track you struggle on. "Yeah it always does [make for a long race] here when you're in a championship hunt," Mees said. "I just did what I had to do and kind of rode pretty conservative." On the flip side, Smith was in his element and once the hot Southern California sun set, the track really started com- ing around and played right into Smith's hand. "I knew once the sun went down and they watered it that it'd be better for both my bike - the Kawasaki - and also my riding style is a little more aggressive, riding higher in the cushion," Smith said. "You couldn't really Briefly... will have to under go surgery to have the bones screwed back together. Bryan Smith wasn't the only one to get bit by Calistoga, the whole Za- notti team – Stevie Bonsey and Kenny Coolbeth Jr. – we're sidelined with injuries from the Northern Cali- fornia event. Bonsey suffered a bro- ken collarbone and Coolbeth ended up with a broken hand and an injured back. Carrying the banner for the Zanotti team at Pomona was Henry Wiles, who opted for the ride over his normal mount with the Don's Kawa- saki team. With the 2014 season at a close, planning for 2015 goes into full force and for National number five Jake Johnson those plans are wide open. "Everything's up in the air right now," Johnson said. "Got to figure out what we're going to do. Just wanted to get through this last race and focus on that. I guess first thing Monday morn- ing figuring out what's going on." The two-time Grand National Champion had a solid, consistent season and finished third in the championship. The 2014 AMA Pro Flat Track sea- son may have come to a close, but last year's Grand National Champion Brad Baker will be taking his steel shoe overseas for the famed Su- perprestigio in Barcelona, Spain, in December and for the Troy Bayliss Classic in Australia early next year. "Looking forward to the off-season if you want to call it that," Baker said. "Got a trip to Spain coming up and got a trip to Australia first part of the year coming up. And then we'll be ready for Daytona again." continued on next page At the end of the night Brad Baker (1) had to hand over his number-one plate Mees (9).