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/807150
VOL. 54 ISSUE 13 APRIL 4, 2017 P93 My Own Race: 69 SAMMY HALBERT 3RD AFT TWINS Sammy Halbert was faced with a comeback after hitting the ground last week and was faced with a similar challenge this week after a hard spill in turn three during qualifying. "I had a spill in practice that kind of beat me up a little bit," said Halbert. "I was a little timid early on after that, but we made some changes to the bike and it was a little better in the main. It feels really good to get the Estenson Racing's bike on the podium. I was glad to get on the podium and thank those guys. They've been working so hard for me. It's just been a tough couple weeks for me, so it was nice to get to spray a little champagne after crashing out last week." 94 RYAN WELLS 4TH AFT TWINS 2016 AMA Pro Racing GNC2 Champion Ryan Wells had by far his best AFT Twins finish, bringing his Johnny Goad-tuned XR750 home in fourth after running as low as 12th. "I'm glad that I showed that in my first 25-lap main event I moved forward," said Wells. "To get up and run with those guys is exactly what I wanted to do, no matter what place I got. I couldn't be happier. I didn't think that the Harley would work well off the bottom. I thought I would have to keep my momentum up on it, but I passed dang near everybody up the inside. That was surprising for me. It was funny, I would pass the guys on the inside and as soon as I would pass them I would go right to the top. That's where the thing would work the best. It was different to have to adapt to passing lines and race lines, that's for sure." 23 JEFFREY CARVER 5TH AFT TWINS After missing a week due to illness, Jeffrey Carver was back with a vengeance. "I needed to get some points for missing last week. I was really sick, it was like pneumonia," said Carver. "I had to come from the second row. I had some really good dive-bomb lines, cutting off a lot of racetrack. I think we are up to sixth now in the points. After missing last weekend, it's awesome. I couldn't pass anywhere I wanted, but I had a couple lines where I would apex down the straightaway high and then drive across the corner. I could make up a whole bunch of time while everybody else was just spinning up high through the center of the corner. I was just cutting off racetrack. I would get in front of them coming off and then the Kawi would pull me down the straightaway. I felt really good about being the highest place Kawi. My goal today was to be in the top five." 2 KENNY COOLBETH 6TH AFT TWINS While certainly not satisfied with a sixth-place finish, the Harley- Davidson Motor Company's Kenny Coolbeth feels it's a big step in the right direction. "It was a good outing for me. I felt good on the bike," said Coolbeth. "I figured the track out. The track had more grip at the beginning and the bike was working better then. It got slick and rubbered up quite a bit. I had to kind of go into survival mode a little bit. When Davis [Fisher] passed me he was way low. It seemed to be working so I cruised down there. I pretty much moved around everywhere trying to make it work." cont. on next page