VOL. 52 ISSUE 3 JANUARY 20, 2015 P87
own heats, qualifying events and
finals, meant spectators were
treated to over nine hours of
competition, but it was the 21-lap
battle between Mees and 2014
TBC Champion Troy Bayliss him-
self that they came to see.
Mees, fresh from his defeat
at the hands of Marc Marquez
in the Superprestigio, was in no
mood to take another second.
His lead up to the final, in which
Briefly...
his next heat race but was forced to
pull in after four laps.
Henry Wiles, once again, loved his
time in Australia, as he took a brief
escape from the freezing Michigan
winter. "It's been great. We've been
out riding, surfing, there's hardly
been a moment which hasn't been
action-packed. My kind of holiday,
really," he said. Wiles was back in the
country with more fire-power than he
had this time last year, namely a ma-
chine running on methanol built by
renowned Kawasaki Australia engine
builder Glenn McDonald. "We've
done a lot of headwork and we're
running a longer con-rod, but the
methanol makes the biggest differ-
ence around here," McDonald said.
"The engine needs to produce good
torque to get out of the sweepers
smoothly, and the extra horsepower
certainly doesn't hurt." Wiles also had
Kawasaki Australia General Manager
Murray Sayle in his corner for most
of the day, signaling this event meant
more to Team Green than just another
dirt track race in Taree.
YouTube star Masatoshi Ohmori
was back for another go at the TBC in
2015. The Japanese rider's claim to
fame is his sliding trick that enables
him to lay the bike completely flat,
grinding the peg with both tires off the
ground, before flicking it back on two
wheels without the inevitable crash
that befalls most mortals. Ohmori's
skills however did not translate to TBC
glory this time as he failed to make the
final of either the TBC 21 lapper or the
Americana events.
Paul Gaslick
makes the early
running from
Superbike rider
Josh Hook
and Mees after
taking the
holeshot.
Just after half race
distance in the 21-lap
final and Mees gets
ready to pounce.
Wiles was letting
it all hang out
as he tried
desperately to
close the gap
to Mees and
Caslick.
