Jared Mees Comes Up Just Shy of Getting Around 2014 Superprestigio Dirt Track Race Champion Marc Marquez During Yesterday's Event in Barcelona, Spain

2014 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Champion Jared Mees ended up with the best finish of the American contingent of riders that headed across the pond to contest the 2nd annual Superprestigio Dirt Track Race held in Barcelona, Spain yesterday. Mees won all of his heats races in order to punch his ticket to the main event, but came up just shy of equaling 2013 AMA Grand National Champion Brad Baker's inaugural win in the event held in January. Double MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez was able to take the win after crashing out of last January's event while battling with Baker for the lead.

Mees, Shayna Texter and Baker were all great representatives at the event for the American-based AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship series, but Baker crashed early in the day during one of the practice sessions that saw the former champ take a nasty highside and dislocate his shoulder. Texter wasn't able to qualify through the hectic system in order to represent the Americans in the main event, but American Kenny Noyes, fresh off winning the 2014 FIM CEV International Superbike Championship, was able to bring his ride home in 3rd-place to round out the podium and show the world his title in Spain's high-ranking road racing series was not only not a fluke for the popular rider, but that he hadn't forgotten his flat track skills along the way.

In the shot above, Mees and tuner Kenny Tolbert put the finishing touches on changes to The Jammer's Honda CRF450R 'A' bike in the #1 Montgomeryville Cycle Center/National Cycle/Rogers Racing-sponsored pit area between the practice session and qualifying sessions held at the Peoria TT on August 11, 2013.

You can check out the final of the Superprestigio event here thanks to YouTube and you can also view all of the results here on the official website of the Superprestigio Dirt Track Race. AMA Pro Racing's press release can also be checked out below.

A big congrats to The Jammer, Jared Mees for a stellar 2nd-place finish, to 2013-14 MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez for taking the victory in Barcelona yesterday, and to all of the contestants and representatives of the United States for giving it their all in one of the premier 'off-season' events of the year!

Jared Mees, Marc Marquez thrill international audience in Superprestigio flat track event

BARCELONA, Spain (Dec. 13, 2014) - The world was able to witness the excitement of flat track racing on Saturday, and it was able to see reigning AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Champion  Jared Mees come up just short in a thrilling battle with Spanish road racing superstar and two-time defending MotoGP champion Marc Marquez. Barcelona, Spain played host to the Superprestigio short track exhibition race, featuring some of the best riders from nearly every form of motorcycle racing in the world, including an American contingent representing AMA Pro Flat Track, the world's preeminent flat track racing series. Marquez held off a hard charge from Mees in the showcase's main event, the Superfinal. Mees settled for second in the race, which was broadcast around the world. 2014 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Champion Jared Mees displays his 2nd-place trophy after coming up just short of the win in yesterday's 2nd annual Superprestigio Dirt Track Race in Barcelona, Spain. Photo courtesy of AMA Pro Racing. "I had an amazing time, it was my first time in Spain," Mees said. "I can't say enough for everybody that invited me, Marc Marquez and everybody that put the event on. It was amazing, I had a lot of fun. ... I hope I can come back next year." Mees dominated both heat races and all three finals to win his Open class. But in the Superfinal, Mees got caught up behind a downed rider in the first corner and nearly stalled his bike while running wide to avoid the crash. He was in the middle of the pack for the first time all night and one spot in back of Marquez. Methodically and impressively, the two picked off riders before they found themselves in front. Mees drew even with Marquez's back tire by the final lap, but ran out of time before being able to make a move for the lead. He settled for a hard-fought and well-deserved second." Marquez is a large supporter and fan of flat track racing, and uses it, like many top road racers, to train. In January, the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Champion, Brad Baker, won the Superprestigio after a thrilling battle with Marquez. This time around, the practice Marquez put in specifically in hopes of winning the Superprestigio really showed. "He kept his wheels in line very well," Mees said. "Keeping the wheels in line is the faster way to go around the race track, so hat's off to him. He definitely had amazing style for being a road racer (primarily)." Baker suffered a shoulder injury in practice on Saturday morning and was unable to compete. Leading up to the event, he had been the fastest rider in practice. "First and foremost, I would like to say thanks to Jared. He came from America to here, and also Brad," Marquez said. "I was worried for (Brad) because the crash this morning was scary." AMA Pro Flat Track's Shayna Texter, the only female rider in the event, crashed in her first heat race and found herself in unlucky spots on the track during later heats. She eventually bounced back and finished fourth in her Last Chance Qualifier. Fellow American and 2014 FIM CEV SBK International Superbike champion Kenny Noyes was third in the Superfinal. All three riders on the podium are current champions in their respective series. Additional AMA Pro Flat Track flare was provided by flagger Kevin Clark, who was invited to return for a second time to the event. The thrilling exhibition stoked plenty of interest in the sport, and fans only have to wait until March 12-13 for the 2015 AMA Pro Flat Track season to get underway with a doubleheader at DAYTONA Flat Track. Like the Superprestigio, every AMA Pro Flat Track race in 2015 can be seen live atFansChoice.tv.

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.

Jared 'The Jammer' Mees Takes the Win at Lima Half-Mile AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Round 5

2012 AMA Grand National Champion Jared Mees took advantage of fast man and two-time Lima winner Sammy Halbert's misfortune last night and cruised to the win by just over 2.6 seconds ahead of runner-up Brandon Robinson and by just over 2.8 seconds ahead of 3rd-place finisher Bryan Smith at the Lima Half-Mile, round 5 of the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship.

Mees, on the Kenny Tolbert-tuned #9 Rogers Racing/Las Vegas H-D/Blue Springs H-D-backed XR750, took his third win at the track where he won his very first AMA Grand National event in 2005 and then won again in 2007. It was The Jammer's 13th-overall win of his Expert career.

Halbert, who was fast all night from the get-go setting fast time, winning the fast heat and powering to just over a 1.5 second win in the Dash for Cash, looked to have it sewed up for what would have been his third win in-a-row at the Allen County Fairgrounds, saw his dreams disappear in smoke-literally-when the engine on his #7 South East H-D XR blew up just shy of the half-way point of the 25-lap Grand National main.

Robinson, who had started on the second row, was able to get around mid-point leader Smith and took the runner-up spot on the #44 USC Racing Kawasaki, while Smith rounded out the podium on the #42 Villa-Esparza Kawasaki mile rocket. Obviously, the Kawi teams are getting closer to getting the parallel twins worked out on the half-mile tracks, especially last night's pea gravel cushion. Although only two other Kawis finished in the top-10 (Jake Shoemaker #55 in 8th-place, Jake Constantine #13 in 10th-place), the gap seems to be closing in spite of Kawis only having garnered 7th-10th places two weeks ago at Knoxville.

Points leader Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. ended up in 4th-place on the #2 Zanotti Racing XR, while 2nd-place points man Jake Johnson rounded out the top-5 on the #5 Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati, his fourth top-5 in-a-row for the 2010-2011 AMA Grand National Champion.

Coolbeth still holds the point heading into Hagerstown this coming Saturday, July 5, with Johnson still in the 2nd-place slot (95-86). Mees moved up a spot in the standings into 3rd-place with his win last night and now only sits a single point behind Johnson (85 points). Robinson sits another 12 back in the 4th-place spot (73 points), while Halbert now sits in the 5th-place slot with 72 points. Smith now sits in the 6th-place spot with 60 points on his revamped team for the still young 2014 season.

In the shot above, Mees heads to the line after rider intros at the Springfield Mile I on May 25 during round 3 of the 2014 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship, while the second-winningest tuner in Grand National history, Kenny Tolbert, rolls the #9 Rogers Racing/Las Vegas H-D/Blue Springs H-D-sponsored mount towards the starting grid.

This season is turning into an epic battle with 11 races left to go in the season heading to the Hagerstown Half-Mile this Saturday, where defending AMA Grand National Champion Brad Baker got the first win of his young career last season. Baker wasn't a factor last night after the #1 Harley-Davidson Motor Co-sponsored XR wasn't even able to complete a single lap in the main.

Full results from last night's spray-fest at Lima can be found here, while Cycle News' own Larry Lawrence filed this brief race report in the wee hours of the morning today, and below you'll find AMA Pro Flat Track's official report on last night's event.

Jared Mees wins third career Lima Half-Mile, Kyle Johnson cruises in second-consecutive Pro Singles victory

LIMA, Ohio (June 28, 2014) - In a wild and entertaining showdown between some of the most prominent names in the game, Jared Mees took home the Lima Half-Mile main event victory on Saturday night at the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, Ohio, aboard his Rogers Racing Harley-Davidson.   "I got a great start and it feels great to get this win," said Mees. "I saw several guys up top on every turn but I decided to stick with my plan and stay low. I got a little better each time I went out and I felt I was finally perfect once the main event came around. I knew I wasn't going to get tired and that I just needed to get through it. It's just so great to have such a strong team behind me, I couldn't have accomplished this without all of their hard work." It's safe to say Mees knows his way around the pea-gravel oval, as the 2012 Grand National Champion holds 2005 and 2007 main event victories at Lima.           Jammin' Jared Mees took the win last night at the Lima Half-Mile on his #9 Rogers Racing H-D XR750, the third win of his career at the Allen County Fairgrounds and the 13th overall for the 2012 AMA Grand National Champion. AMA Pro Flat Track photo by Dave Hoenig.         Though Mees won by an impressive 2.663 seconds, his victory wasn't as smooth-sailing as it appeared. In fact, there's a good chance that the Clio, Mich., product wouldn't have earned his 14th overall Grand National victory if it hadn't been for Sammy Halbert's extremely costly bike malfunction on lap 12. Halbert maintained a massive lead for the entire first half of the race before his South East Harley-Davidson blew up on the backstretch and started smoking, causing the Graham, Wash., native's night to be cut short and result in a lackluster 16th place finish.   After Halbert's mishap, it was Bryan Smith, aboard his Crosley Radio/Villa-Esparza Kawasaki who briefly took control of the lead. Between turns one and two on lap 15, however, Smith went too wide and coughed up the lead to Mees. The rest is history. Mees ripped the lead from Smith and never looked back, earning his first win of the 2014 season and catapulting himself to third in the overall Grand National Championship point standings.   Smith fell back to third place by the race's conclusion, as Brandon Robinson claimed the impressive runner-up finish aboard his USC Kawasaki after starting ninth on the grid to begin the main event. Kenny Coolbeth, aboard his Zanotti Racing Harley-Davidson and Jake Johnson, aboard his Ramspur Winery Ducati rounded out the top five, respectfully.   AMA Pro Singles   Kyle Johnson started from pole position and crossed the finish line first to take home the coveted AMA Pro Singles main event victory Saturday night aboard his Parkinson Brothers Racing Honda. Johnson, who also won last weekend's Knoxville Half-Mile, has caught fire as of late, as he claimed the Lima Half-Mile checkered flag by a whopping 5.439 seconds.   "It was a great race all around," said Johnson. "I got off to a great start and really got some great drives in there and was fortunately able to walk away with the win. We're on a roll right now and I hope we can keep it going to make up some ground and get up there close to the points lead." After back-to-back main event victories, Johnson has propelled himself to fourth in the AMA Pro Singles point standings in just his second season as a professional motorcycle racer.   Davis Fisher finished second aboard his TJ Burnett Farms Honda despite starting from sixth on the grid. Fisher was riding in fourth place for most of the main event but managed to turn on the jets on the race's final two laps to earn his second second-place finish of the 2014 season. Robert Descenna, aboard his Bob Weirbach Racing Honda closed out the podium with a solid third place finish while Brandon Wilhelm, aboard his Sylvester Farms Honda, and Dylan Morin, mounted on his Arai KTM, rounded out the top five finishers, respectfully.   Next Up The stars of AMA Pro Flat Track will head to Hagerstown, Md., for the Hagerstown Half-Mile at Hagerstown Speedway on July 5, 2014. Footage of the Lima Half-Mile will be available to view on AMA Pro Racing's YouTube portal at www.youtube.com/amaprovids in the coming days. How to Watch  FansChoice.tv will be the official home for live streaming coverage of AMA Pro Flat Track and AMA Pro Road Racing events in 2014. The site will also provide coverage of IMSA's development and single-make series, and NASCAR's touring and weekly series. About AMA Pro Flat Track AMA Pro Flat Track is a national motorcycle racing series in North America and is considered one of the oldest forms of motorcycle racing. Sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, the Series is highly regarded as the most competitive form of dirt track racing in the world. The 2014 schedule consists of 16 rounds on the country's finest flat track courses. For more information on AMA Pro Flat Track, please visit www.amaproracing.com/ft.

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

29th Annual Dairyland Classic Set to Run in Plymouth, WI on Friday, May 31

After a rain-delay of two weeks, round 12 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship season finally got rolling at the Springfield Short Track, located inside the comfy confines of the Illinois State Fairgrounds. 

Jared Mees lays down a lap in the final qualifying session that would put him in the 9th-place spot on the #9 Montgomeryville Cycle/National Cycle/Lucas Oil/Rogers Racing-sponsored Honda CRF450R out of the 48 riders on-hand who took a timed lap, and his run to a 3rd-place finish in the National main (behind winner Henry Wiles and runner-up Brad Baker) would catapult him to the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Singles Championship that evening and the 2012 AMA Grand National Championship he would earn at the end of the season in Pomona.

For the 29th time since it's inception, the Dairyland Classic flat track race will take to the grounds of the Sheboygan County Fair Park in Plymouth, WI. on Friday, May 31 and will provide the thousands of fans in the area for the Road America round of the Geico Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing Series a chance to see some of the best racing on the planet, and promoted by one of the longest-continual supporters of flat track racing in one Mr. Bert Sumner.

Since it's first race in 1985, the Dairyland Classic has drawn some of the best and fastest racers who continually travel the continent in The Rolling Thunder Show known as the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship.  Long considered by many fans, racers and supporters to be one of the best-run and best-supported events on the calendar, the non-National (or 'outlaw' event as used back in the so-called 'hey day' of the sport) has drawn some of the top names in the series like Chris Carr, Joe Kopp, Kenny Coolbeth, Jr., JR Schnabel, Rich King and a boat load of past and current campaigners of the greatest racing show on two wheels in the world.

Past winners in the Dairyland Classic include Carr, King, Coolbeth and Schnabel, who other then Jared Mees, is the only rider to have won four events in a row in the Sheboygan County event.  Mees, the most current winner in Plymouth, has owned the event since 2009 and looks to break all the records when the racers convene on Friday, May 31. 

This is a must-see event for any fan of motorcycle racing, let alone high-speed flat track racing, so if you are in the area on May 31 and are looking for something to do other then hanging out at your campsite bench racing the weekend away, we highly suggest you attend this year's Dairyland Classic just a few minutes down the road from Elkhart Lake's Road America.  A full night of racing is scheduled and tickets are only $10 or less--so you can't beat the cost of seeing some of the best stars in the sport take to the grounds of the Wisconsin fairgrounds to battle it out for the top Dairyland prize.  We can guarantee you if we make it to Road America this year, we'll be on-hand at the Sheboygan County Fair Park to see some of the best going at it!

Thanks to Bert Sumner for the event flyer below, which will give you all the details on the great racing coming up at the 29th Annual Dairyland Classic in Plymouth, WI.

You can find out more about the Dairyland Classic here to go along with the event flyer below.


Note: Right click/open in new window to view full-size.

29th Annual Dairyland Classic event flyer courtesy of Bert Sumner.

AMA Flat Track: Cycle News.com's Larry Lawrence Talks With 2012 AMA Grand National Champion Jared Mees

2012 AMA Grand National Champion Jared Mees can be seen talking in the pits while being filmed by the Lucas Oil Motorsports MavTV crew during round 4 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Springfield Mile I event on May 27.  Crew chief Brent Armbruster works on the fleet of #9 Rogers Racing/Blue Springs H-D/Saddlemen/Lucas Oil-sponsored XR750s in preparation for the day's events at the Illinois State Fairgrounds running of the Memorial Day Weekend classic during the fan walk, which is hosted by AMA Pro Flat Track at each and every event on the series' calendar.

Mees wrapped up his title a little over two months ago at the season-ending round at the Pomona Half-Mile after battling it out again with 2-Time AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson and Sammy Halbert, the three riders who have dominated the competition in The Rolling Thunder Show for the last four seasons, and for what should most likely be several seasons to come.

The Rogers Racing team and Mees announced shortly after the season-ending round that crew chief Armbruster would be leaving the team (to crew for the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team with rider Henry Wiles) and that 7-Time AMA Grand National Championship-winning tuner and master XR wrench spinner Kenny Tolbert would be coming on-board to helm the mechanical efforts for the team's mounts in the upcoming 2013 season.

Round 14 of the 2010 AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season found the Rogers Lake Racing crew going about applying the finishing touches on rider Jared Mees' #1 Rogers Lake Racing/Blue Springs H-D/Rockysonline.com/Lucas Oil-sponsored XR750 at the Springfield Mile II on September 5.  Mees can be seen talking with crew chief Brent Armbruster and team owner Craig Rogers during a break in the on-track action at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

The 2009 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Twins Series Championship will again get to have the #1 plate adorn his mount for the upcoming 2013 season after winning the overall championship this season over runner-up Sammy Halbert and 3rd-place finisher and defending 2-Time AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson.

From 2006-2009 the series championships were awarded to each of the Singles and Twins Series contenders and Mees won the final 'separate' Twins Championship in the '09 season based on his overall finish in the split championship battle, without winning a single event in the series.  In each of the following seasons, the #1 plate was worn by each series' champion at each of the Singles and Twins Series events on the schedule.  From the 2010 season on, AMA Pro Flat Track again combined the overall championships while still recognizing each series' accomplishment with a ceremonial #1 plate and trophy to go along with it, but only one person thusly will wear that special #1 plate for the full season.

Mees consistency won him the overall championship (and the Singles title as well) during the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season, while still winning the Hagerstown Half-Mile round in early July, his only win of the 2012 season after winning a series' leading five events and finishing runner-up to Johnson in the 2011 season.

Check out what the champ has been up to since wrapping up the crown at the Pomona Half-Mile on October 13 as Larry Lawrence interviews Jammin' Jared in the season wrap-up issue of Cycle News below.  Mees talks about, among other things, departing crew chief Brent Armbruster and new crew chief Kenny Tolbert, his close friendship and association with team owner Craig Rogers, and whether or not he will choose to campaign a Kawasaki (or other brand) in the upcoming 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season's mile events.


Thanks again to my close friend and traveling companion Larry Lawrence for another out-of-the-park interview with 2012 AMA Grand National Champion Jared Mees, featured in the year-end issue #50 of Cycle News:

http://cyclenews.coverleaf.com/cyclenews/20121218#pg71