AMA Flat Track: Henry Wiles Talks AMA Flat Track Singles Championships and More

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2-Time AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Singles Champion Henry Wiles hoists the winners check on the podium after winning the Dash and clinching his second Singles Championship in the process at the Springfield Short Track round of the AMA Pro K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship Series on September 4, 2010. Henry's team owner, former Grand National Championship full-time competitor Ronnie Jones (and former National #16) can be seen in the background right on his #74G Jones Brothers Kawasaki getting ready to roll out for one of the final semi races of the evening. Ronnie missed the main that night, but Henry again won it all on the night to close out the Singles Series events for the 2010 season.
The Monster Energy/Jones Brothers/Shift Racing/Don's Kawasaki-sponsored rider has pretty much owned the Singles Series side of the Grand National Championship Series the last few years, and in particular the '09-'10 seasons. In winning every round held in the State of Illinois in the 2010 season, plus his win at the Gas City Short Track in June of '10, Wiles has set the bar in the class.
No one has won more events overall in the last two seasons in the series, and his win on the Lima Half Mile in late June of 2o10 also showed the rest of the competition that his Twins Series prowess isn't to be overlooked, either. Riding for the Mike & Eddie Atkins H-D XR750 team during the 2010 Twins Series season, consistency, however, was up and down the charts, and missing the main at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile at the end of August pretty much quelled any chance of making a run at the overall championship. If the stars align properly for this young man, that could very well change in the upcoming season.
The personable young man who calls Clio, MI. home, is still working on putting a competitive Twins Series effort together for the 2011 season. With just over three months left before the first Twins event kicks off the season on May 1 in Arizona, Dave Lloyd of Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, is still working diligently to put together sponsorship to bring Henry back into their fold on a full-time basis. With their past efforts on the Aprilia together, this could be a team 'made in heaven' should all of the particulars fall together, and if/when it does, could vault LBM and Hammerin' Hank to the top of the championship contenders list for that coveted Grand National Championship, and would very likely give the rest of the competitors in the series a big target to shoot for while they are chasing them down. Stay tuned!
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With just over six weeks to go before the first event of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Series season at Daytona on March 10, 2-Time AMA Flat Track Singles Champion Henry Wiles is still in the process of putting together a competitive Twins Series program for the year. Yes, he will be returning with the Monster Energy/Jones Brothers Kawasaki team for the Singles Series events, but the Twins Series events are still up in the air.

With his results up and down the charts on the big bikes during the 2010 season, Henry's program for the upcoming season is still hanging in the balance, and sponsorship availability is also still being worked out to bring Henry and the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team together for a run at the 2011 AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship. Dave Lloyd is still working on putting together the needed sponsors to get Hammerin' Hank into the team's fold again full-time for the upcoming year. Should this all fall together for this great group of people in time for the first Twins Series event on May 1 at Yavapai Downs in Prescott Valley, AZ., it could be the coming of a great run at the overall championship in the series for the 2011 season. Having worked together in the past on the Aprilia effort, and Henry having ridden recently for the team at the Stockton Mile late last fall, the familiarity and comaraderie between LBM and Henry could and would most likely prove to be unbeatable on the big tracks.

This could really stir the pot in the series for the upcoming season, and we will be bringing you the news if/when this falls together straight from Dave himself. Last word over the weekend was that there were 'three potentials taking serious looks' at the LBM program for a run at the 2011 season, although at this time no guarantees as of yet.

We're keeping our fingers crossed for this group of fine people and hoping that the stars align-and the dollars start rolling in-to bring this great effort together, in what could help to be an even better year in the AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship Series then what we saw in the 2010 season. And if that is possible, you better get your ticket punched now because The Rolling Thunder Show is getting ready to amp up into a swift and fast run.

Don't miss out on this great series and the great movement overall expected this year!
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Paul Carruthers has this interview from earlier this month with Henry at Cycle News.com:

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/flat-track/2011/01/15/interview-henry-wiles-wanting-the-grand-national-championship
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Adam Waheed posted this interview with Henry earlier this month over at Motorcycle USA.com:

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/779/8972/Motorcycle-Article/Henry-Wiles-AMA-Flat-Track-Interview.aspx
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I had to throw this great pic in of Henry on the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Aprilia at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile from the 2009 season, taken by Tim White. Hopefully this is another flash of great things to come in the upcoming season:

http://tswphoto.blogspot.com/2010/12/wednesday-wallpaper-mille-mile.html
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Mike Lloyd of the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team talks about their 2010 season with Joe Kopp in the seat of the team's Ducati 1098. LBM and Kopp made history in May 2010 by winning the Arizona Mile on the big twin, being the first manufacturer other than Harley-Davidson to win a Twins event since Rich King won the Joliet Half Mile on a Corbin Honda RS750 in August of 1998:

http://www.vimeo.com/17893126
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You can still reach Dave Lloyd @ 614-402-3446 to help sponsor this super group for the 2011 season!
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