Cycle News

VOL. 54 ISSUE 30 AUGUST 1, 2017 P73 My Own Race: 69 SAMMY HALBERT 2ND AFT TWINS Coming off his impressive win at the X Games, Sammy Halbert looked poised to capture his first AFT win, but it was not to be tonight. "The heat race went well, I won the heat race," said Halbert. "I got pinched off on the start a little bit, so not a great start in the semi. I was coming through and catching first, then something changed. I don't know if my tire got greasy or what. I strug- gled the second half of the semi. Then we kind of put our heads together in the pits, and came up with a good setup for the main. It was pretty solid in the main. On the restart, I was able to keep it in second, but I didn't have anything for Jared. He could put his bike wherever he wanted. He could come in on the groove and then come off below it. I was pretty much just riding the groove. I couldn't get my bike to go below the groove like his. We were good, but obviously not as good as him." 6 BRAD BAKER 3RD AFT TWINS Brad Baker posted his ninth podium finish of the year, but is still looking for his elusive first victory of 2017. "The track was a lot more technical than previ- ous years. Usually here, there is lots and lots of grip," said Baker. "I didn't get a very good start. I almost got tangled up with Sammy and Bryan in the first corner. I think I was like back in sixth or so with Briar, Sammy and Bryan. I picked Briar and Bryan off and then we had a restart. I thought, 'okay, cool.' I felt really good before the restart. After the restart I wasn't able to drive forward off the corners. I was pressuring Sammy for a little while and then I overheated my tire or something. I had to back it down a little bit and lost Sammy. Someone was breathing down my neck. I can hear the distinct sound of an Indian now, so I knew it had to be Bryan. He was close coming into the corners. Bryan's a really good rider. He could have really forced the issue and stuffed me and ran me off the groove or done something, but he's not the type of rider to do that. It kind of sucks for both him and I to be struggling for third and fourth, while the other Indian is spanking us. It's definitely not sitting well with us. We need to start winning again." 1 BRYAN SMITH 4TH AFT TWINS It was another frustrating night for the defending champ. Bryan Smith was able to win his semi, but couldn't capitalize on his front-row start, as he hit the first turn in sixth place. "Getting the holeshot was 90 percent of the whole race. Jared and I were about the same in lap times essentially in the semi, but he got the start. He just outsmarted me on the start and I got shuffled back," said Smith. Early in the race Smith had a real scare. "There was a little bit of a draft going down the front straightaway, it felt like. I didn't think there was a draft , but Halbert and Bauman went side by side right in front of me going into turn one. It was like getting sucked into the corner at Springfield. I was kind of picking up speed and at the same time, trying to not run into the back of them and I just skated right off the groove. I think I lost four or five spots." 14 BRIAR BAUMAN 5TH AFT TWINS Briar Bauman had a great start, but fell victim to the tricky race track. "I came off the line second and dropped back to fifth. The tire was kind of spinning real badly," said Bauman. "I was struggling myself and missing my marks and whatnot and then the bike came in perfect at the end. We caught up to Bryan and Brad, but didn't have time to make anything happen. I'm actually happy with fifth this weekend. We were close, really close at the end. I didn't think that the track would be as technical as it was. You had to hit your marks. You really had to be consistent. One little mishap and you would lose two or three- tenths on the next guy. Sometimes on race tracks a little bobble you would lose a 10th or so at the most, but this place you lost a reasonable amount of time, so you couldn't mess up."

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