AMA Flat Track: Gerit Callies Gets KTM Their First Win in the Pro Singles Series at Hagerstown Half-Mile Round 6

Gerit Callies is shown on his #76L Fun Mart Cycles/Rod Lake/Power Brokers/Gillespie-sponsored KTM 450 SX-F during one of the qualifying rounds at round 5 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Championship season at the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, OH. on June 30.

Callies took his 3rd win of the season at the Hagerstown Half-Mile round of the season on July 7 after having won round one at Daytona and at the Springfield TT round earlier in the season, but what was even more significant to the current series points leader was he did it this time on his KTM, making the brand the fourth overall winner in the Pro Singles class since the series' inception in the 2009 season.  Callies was listed at Daytona as riding his KTM but actually won on his back-up Honda CRF450R.  This leaves only Kawasaki as the lone brand in the Pro Singles class that hasn't garnered a win yet in AMA Pro Flat Track's feeder series.

The current point leader over Weirbach Racing's Ryan Wells (79-69) after six rounds of the 16-round scheduled season, Callies has been one of the dominant forces in the series the last two seasons, finishing last year in the 3rd-place spot in the championship behind Mikey Martin and Mikey Avilia, and winning three races during the 2011 campaign to boot (Daytona Short Track II, DuQuoin and Castle Rock.)  Of note, after winning the opening round at Daytona the South Dakota resident failed to qualify for round 2, and also failed to qualify for round 4 at the Springfield Mile I event after winning the previous night's outing.

At Lima on June 30 as shown above, Callies finished with a solid 12th-place effort on his KTM, making him three-for-four on the 2012 season in terms of wins.  Zakk Palmer (Lima), Ryan Wells (Daytona Short Track II) and Jake Cunningham (Springfield Mile I) are the other winners at this point in the series' season.

You can check out the press release below from AMA Pro Flat Track, and be sure to keep an eye on Gerit Callies and his KTM for the rest of the season as he looks to nail down his first AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Championship while battling the other young guns in the Pro Singles class.

(Please note-the press release below lists Callies as the 2011 winner at Hagerstown, but that round was actually won by eventual series champion Mikey Martin, with Callies placing in the runner-up spot.)

Callies Repeats at Hagerstown Speedway in AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles

Michigan's Steven Vanderkuur (Parkinson Brothers Racing / Performance Cycle & Dyno) nailed the hole shot in the 16-lap AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles main over last year's winner Gerit Callies (Fun Mart Cycles) and Weirbach Racing's Ryan Wells. The Michigan cushion specialist looked to have the wide red groove dialed in only to have the red lights flash on at the end of the third lap. Danny Koelsch (Hump Racing) and Jamison Minor (Rochester Motorsports) tangled in turn two with only Koelsch making the restart. The race complexion changed completely on the restart as Callies pushed his KTM under Vanderkuur's Honda and into the lead he would not relinquish. "Restarts will kill you but my team put together a great bike and really gave me a great chance to win," Callies said. "I can't thank my team enough." Fast qualifier, Adam Bushman (Midwest CNC / Powerbar Honda) took full advantage of the restart to climb into second and closed to within four tenths of a second of the leader, but that is where his charge finished.                                 Adam Bushman, Gerit Callies and Ryan Wells are shown celebrating their 2-1-3 finishes on the victory podium at round 6 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Championship season at the Hagerstown Half-Mile on July 7.  AMA Pro Flat Track photo by Dave Hoenig.     Wells finished third over Highs Dairy Stores Jason Isennock and Vanderkuur. Jake Shoemaker (Montgomeryville Cycle / Bob Weirbach), Eric Stump (Markbilt Race Bikes / Eyeball), Wyatt Maguire (Kirkland Racing), Jake Quick (Markertech) and Shayna Texter (DFW Honda) rounded out the top 10. Callies now leads the Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles points chase by 10 over Wells with Isennock another 10 back.   Pro Singles Race Results Gerit Callies, 16 Laps Adam Bushman, +0.344 Ryan Wells, +0.943 Jason Isennock, +2.527 Stephen Vanderkuur, +2.714 Jake Shoemaker, +3.187 Eric Stump, +3.389 Wyatt Maguire, +4.025 Jake Quick, +4.306 Shayna Texter, +4.458 Dustin Cassidy, +5.804 Michael Bickerton, +5.861 John Long III, +5.989 Mike Poe, +6.923 Nick Mataya, +7.971 Danny Koelsch, +12.661 Robert Treinen, +15.034 Jamison Minor, +3 Laps Pro Singles Point Standings Gerit Callies, 79 Ryan Wells, 69 Jason Isennock, 59 Jake Shoemaker, 52 Stephen Vanderkuur, 50 Zakk Palmer, 43 Jake Cunningham, 43 Eric Stump, 41 Shayna Texter, 40 Wyatt Maguire, 37 Next Up The stars of AMA Pro Flat Track will return to the Sacramento Mile on July 28, 2012. For tickets and information, please visit http://www.sacramentoflattrack.com/.

Photos from Hagerstown Speedway   Sacramento Mile July 28, 2012   Event Info | Tickets

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.  For additional information contact: AMA Pro Racing Communications, (386) 492-1014, communications@amaproracing.com