IN
THE
WIND
P50
CARLILE PASSES TEST
E
stenson Racing's Kolby
Carlile completed a success-
ful two-day test at Travelers Rest
Speedway in preparation for
the American Flat Track season
opener at Daytona International
Speedway on March 15.
"The test went really well,"
Carlile said. "Being able to have
my mechanic Andrew [Butler]
and my motor builder Mike
[Stauffer] here to watch the bike
and watch how the engines
were pulling and how everything
was going was really beneficial.
It's one thing for me to say how
it's doing, but it's another thing
when they can see what the
bike's doing and agree with what
I said is happening."
Over two days the team had
the opportunity to test the bike
in varying conditions on both the
half-mile and TT track, allowing
Carlile and his Estenson Racing
crew to get his brand-new 2018
Yamaha YZ450Fs dialed in.
"We were able to learn a lot
about what the bike likes and
doesn't like," Carlile said. "Also,
we were able to find different
setups for the half-miles and the
TT's, as well as when the track
dries out and at night time when
the moisture comes up. I feel
like we kind of got a little bit of a
head start on what to do at those
points in the race day."
Carlile was also happy to put
the new YZ through its paces,
and feels the '18 model is an
improvement. "The new Yamaha
is a lot better than what I was
racing last year," he said. "Those
bikes were good, but this one's
a lot better. Different frame, dif-
ferent engine—there are a lot of
different ergonomics on this new
bike that I enjoy. It benefits the
way I ride the motorcycle and it
makes my job a little easier." CN
AFT Singles
champion Kolby
Carlile completed
a two-day test at
Travelers Rest
Speedway in
preparation for
the upcoming AFT
season.
