Cycle News

Cycle News 2015 Issue 23 June 9

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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especially when you throw in the fact that it was a track that was not so flat (the rear wheels were bouncing more than a hyperac- tive kid with a sugar rush in a bouncy house). While it wasn't optimum condi- tions for a flat track race; it was riveting. And in the end it still highlighted the best parts about the sport—close racing and a group of talented racers not afraid to hang it all out. It also was a display of the classic roller coaster drama of racing. Las Vegas Harley-David- son's Jared Mees—the reigning AMA Grand National Cham- pion—had a perfect race until a half a lap left in the race when disaster struck and a mechani- cal had him going from a shoe- VOL. 52 ISSUE 23 JUNE 9, 2015 P67 Briefly... Back-to-back Daytona 200 winner Danny Eslick made his second flat track appearance this year (Spring- field Mile being his first). The road racer has returned to his dirt track roots for some select races and is starting to feel right at home, qualify- ing 10 th . Unfortunately for Eslick, he ended up on the ground in his heat, forcing him to try and make it through in the LCQ and ultimately was unable to transfer to the main. "Coming from the starting gate it's quite dusty and just dry marbles and that gets all drug up across the groove," Eslick said. "So everybody was kind of skating it off and running wide. I had every- thing slowed down and was turned and I'm not sure who it was—some- body T-boned me and kind of spun the thing around. Went from prob- ably making it I would say fairly easy out of the heat race to ending up in the dirt and having to come from the last chance. Definitely not the way you wanted to come and spend the X Games but we're here. I qualified 10th fastest and that just makes me want to come out and do a few more and maybe get a little payback out there." For Eslick two races are not enough, he's hoping to get out there for some more. So has he caught the dirt track bug again? "I never lost it," he said. "My priorities were on the asphalt and just the way things are now it will kind of work out for me to go play in the dirt a little bit." Initially the thought was that Jared Mees' mechanical misfortune was a broken chain, but that wasn't the case. "I came across the white flag and went into turn one and tried to come out of turn two and there was continued on next page AMA PRO FLAT TRACK STARS MADE THEIR X GAMES DEBUT IN SPECTACULAR FASHION WITH CLOSE RACING AND PLENTY OF DRAMA The fans were on their feet as AMA Pro Flat Track regulars put on a fantastic display of racing in rough conditions at the inaugural X Games Harley-Davidson Flat Track event.

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