VOL. 54 ISSUE 31 AUGUST 8, 2017 P69
Grand National motorcycle racing
returned to Sturgis for the first time
since 1955, when the races were run
at the Sturgis Fairgrounds' half mile.
The return of the "big twins" to TT rac-
ing was a big hit with the large crowd
drawn to the 77th Annual Sturgis
Rally. The action on the specially built
race rack served as the opening act
for the musical group Shine Down.
Many thought the 450 Singles
would be much faster than their big
brother twins, but qualifying would
show that both classes were about
the same. Henry Wiles was fast-
est on his hybrid Kawasaki with
a 32.264 lap. Jesse Janisch was
the fastest single on his Yamaha at
32.602.
The first big event in the Twins main
was when defending Grand National
Champion Bryan Smith fell in the
tight left hand turn after the jump.
Smith quickly remounted and ran
down the end of the field. Smith was
not able to take advantage of the red
flags, but through attrition did finish
in 12th. With Jared Mees finishing
in second, his points lead grows
to 31 over Smith. Sammy Halbert
and Brad Baker continue to swap
third place. This week, Halbert leads
Baker by a single point.
AFT Singles points leader Shayna
Texter was involved in a turn-one
crash in her heat and failed to ad-
vance out of the Last Chance quali-
fier. This was somewhat tempered
by the fact her main challengers
finished fifth (Kolby Carlile) and 10th
(Brandon Price). Texter's lead has
shrunk to 15 over Carlile with Price
another six back.
Briefly...
Bauman's win is his second of the year.
