AMA Flat Track: Pomona Half-Mile Season-Finale Video From Dirt Illustrated

Round 6 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series kicks off the Twins Series part of the schedule for the season at the Springfield Mile with heat one in the rain-delayed program getting ready to roll for the day.  In what would normally have been a top-4 go to the main event race, the top-6 were guaranteed a spot in the National on this sunny Memorial Day weekend afternoon due to the revamping of the program, with AMA Pro Flat Track dropping the semi races in order to get the show in for the day. 

In what would end up being the fastest heat of the day, eventual-Saddlemen Rookie of the Year Brad Baker took the #12 Lloyd Brothers Motorsports/TeamHurtByAccident.com/Foremost Insurance/ENI USA-sponsored Ducati 1098 to the win over defending and eventual-repeat AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson on the #1 Zanotti Racing/Schaeffer's H-D/Boughner Racing/Arai-sponsored H-D XR750.  Johnson would finish the day in 3rd, while Baker fought a handling problem that saw him fight for a very strong 5th place finish.

The duo finished the season at Pomona 1-2 in the main, with Johnson taking his 4th win of the season and second-in-a-row to end the season, while Baker would hound The Champ as much as he could in the final to come home 2nd, his best finish of the season and his very young Expert career.  Even with the two re-starts, there was no touching Johnson on his day.

Rob 'Bugs' Pearson would bring his #27 American H-D/Matt Reecy/RPM/WKR-sponsored XR home in 3rd in heat one, and would eventually go on to finish 10th in the main.  The Morton, IL. resident took another turn on the USC/Universal City Kawasaki at Pomona and took the 650R-based machine to a 6th place and very promising finish in the season-finale, and ended the season ranked in the 11th overall spot in the championship.

Johnny Lewis' year saw the #10 Scott Powersports/Dubach Racing Development/Triple J Racing/Saddlemen-backed and Kawasaki 650R-mounted rider move up three spots in the championship chase in a year that started with his 4th-place finish in heat one back in May and an eventual 8th place finish in the National main.  The Pennsylvania rider garnered his first AMA Grand National Twins podium at Hagerstown and also led his first laps in a Twins event at the Springfield Mile II round over Labor Day weekend.  JL10 wrapped up his excellent year with a 4th place finish at Pomona that also saw him finish 7th in the overall championship for the year.

Californian Jimmy Wood (behind Lewis) debuted his new #37 Southland Racing/M.E.H. Corp/Race Tech/Hostility Clothing-backed Kawasaki 650R-based Twins machine at Springfield, and although he missed the main still showed promise on the machine with two top-10 results at Hartford and Brainerd.  Wood missed several rounds due to his Peoria crash, but still finished the season ranked in the 13th spot after finishing 14th at the Pomona round.

Luke Gough played double-duty all year in the Twins class, debuting the #62 Digger/Dick Ford/KK Cycle/Eaken Racing-backed Kawasaki 650R at Springfield in late May.  Swapping back and forth between the Ricky Howerton-built and Danny Ingram-tested Kawasaki and the team's XR, Gough finally made the main with the team's new mount at Sacramento (9th) and again at Springfield II (15th.)  But a 4th place finish at the penultimate round at Calistoga was his and the bike's best-ever finish to date.  The former Australian flat track champion finished the season ranked in the 16th spot and swapped-back to the XR at Pomona to finish 13th in the season-finale.

JR Schnabel, Jr. in all likelihood had a year he would probably like to forget (except for his fine 3rd place finish at the Springfield TT after also winning the Dash event.)  But the rider of the #33 Werner-Springsteen Racing/Monster Energy Kawasaki/Cedar Creek Motorsports/Wossner Pistons-sponsored Kawasaki 650R-based mount never seemed to 'get the feel' so-to-speak for the little Twin, and by the Peoria round in late August was out from under the Werner-Springsteen camp and the rest of the season.  Missing the first  Twins race of the season, the long-time contender in the AMA Grand National Championship only scored points at the Lima round afterwards, and ended the season ranked 21st.

Brandon Robinson ended the first Twins event by finishing 5th in heat one, and taking his #44 Action Motorsports/Big Dawg Racing/Arai/Power Bar-sponsored XR home in the 13th spot of the National main at Springfield I.  Only contesting a partial schedule this season, BRob44 ended the season ranked 20th after having an off-year while still recovering from several surgeries early in the year from his Lucas Oil Indy Mile crash in August of '09.

Chad Cose and the #49 Waters Auto Body/Bell Helmets/Arlen Ness Products/D&D Power Sports-sponsored KTM/Suzuki team struggled to get the team's KTM into the field during the Twins events this year, although they did score a 16th place on the Suzuki at Lima.  Gerit Callies used his Pro Singles provisional to put the KTM in the Pomona main, and finished 16th in the season's final outing.  Cose finished the year ranked in the 18th overall position.

And after having his bike burned from the team's transporter fire earlier in the day, Jesse Janisch on the #45 Weirbach Racing/General Engineering/Jerry Wilhelmy/Arai Helmets-sponsored Suzuki failed to make the main at Springfield.  Janisch and the Weirbach team did a remarkable job even getting the bike ready for the heat earlier in the day from when this shot was taken.  Janisch finished the season ranked in the 30th position.


So take another look at the season's final round from the Pomona Half-Mile as we all get ready for the long lay-off until the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Series season kicks off in mid-March at Daytona.  A big thanks to Dirt Ilustrated.com for some outstanding footage of round 20 at the Pomona round!
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Take a look at this high-speed video from the great folks at Dirt Illustrated.com (thanks guys!), where we see season-finale highlights from round 20 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com at the Pomona Fairplex:

http://www.dirtillustrated.com/content.php?contentID=155
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AMA Flat Track Salinas TT & Short Track Rounds 4 & 5 Preview & Race Guide for Easter Weekend

The intensity is in the air and can be seen in the riders' eyes as the main event gets ready to roll off in round 3 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series inside the confines of the Southern Illinois Center at DuQuoin, IL. on Saturday, April 16.  With the first indoor short track on the series' schedule in over six years getting ready for 'go time' for the 30 lap main, riders take their position and get their last breath before fighting it out on the bullring track that proved to be fast, furious and exciting.
With experience triumphing over youth at DuQuoin, round 3 showed that it's not always the fast and the young that get it done, but that veteran leadership all-to-often plays out when it comes to making it to the end.  The top three finishers on the bullring at DuQuoin had a combined 115 + wins amongst them, as well as over 14 total AMA Flat Track Championships on their resumes.  End results of the event were far from what many had thought and predicted, only to show that at any given time, anything can and likely will happen in the Rolling Thunder Show.
Riders chomping on the bit on the front row of the DuQuoin Indoor Short Track above are #37 Jimmy Wood on his Southland Racing Honda CRF450R, #45 Jesse Janisch on his #45 Weirbach Racing Honda, #49 Chad Cose on his M.E.H. Corp. Honda, followed by #9 Jared Mees on his Montgomeryville Cycle Center Honda, #4 Chris Carr on his DFW Honda, and event winner Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. on his #2 Chaplin Kawasaki KX450F.  Carr followed The King of Cool home in second (.606 seconds shy of the top spot on the box) for his best finish on a short track in over five years, with defending GN Champ Jake Johnson coming home third on his Zanotti Racing Honda 1.625 seconds back from Coolbeth.  Mees and Slammin' Sammy Halbert on his #7 Woody Kyle Yamaha rounded out the top five.  Will Fulford from The Fast and Dirty.com can be seen on the right side of the shot getting final adjustments made to on-board cameras for the event.
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Salinas Preview: Rounds 4 and 5 of the AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Flat Track Championship

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (April 21, 2011) - The AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Flat Track Championship is set to invade the West Coast for the first time in 2011 over the Easter weekend, as Salinas, California's Salinas Sports Complex plays host to Rounds 4 and 5 on April 23-24. Saturday will feature a TT Steeplechase, followed by a Short Track on Easter Sunday, all adding up to one can't-miss event.

For the history buffs out there, this isn't the first Grand National to be held in Salinas ... a Half Mile National was staged in the Monterey Country city back in 1968, a race in which none other than former Grand National Champion Mert Lawwill took victory. Amateur and Pro-AM TT racing at the Sports Complex dates back to the early 1960s.

Fast forward to 2011, and the all-new cast of characters that makes up the AMA Pro Racing "Rolling Thunder Show" is getting set to continue the tight, handlebar-banging action that's typified the 2011 season. Three-time Grand National Champion Kenny Coolbeth is fresh off his first Short Track National win (at last weekend's DuQuoin event) and will be looking to notch his first TT win on his Chaplin Kawasaki-backed Kawasaki.

Current points-leader Sammy Halbert (Fredericktown Yamaha/Woody Kyle Racing) backed up his pair of Daytona wins with a come-from-behind fifth-place result at Round 3, but he's looking to expand on his 16-point lead in a big way. Meanwhile, Coolbeth is tied for second in the points chase with defending Grand National Champion Jake Johnson. And though Johnson's a Pennsylvanian, Salinas will be something of a of a hometown event for his crew, as the Zanotti Racing Team is based in California.

Henry Wiles, who's dominated Grand National Singles racing over the last few years, will be trying to straighten out what's been a trying year for the Monster Energy Kawasaki/Don's Kawasaki-backed effort. After getting banged around at last weekend's DuQuoin event---- and coming away with a dismal 19th-place finish---- Wiles is twelfth in points, but that deficit probably won't last long.

Salinas's own Stevie Bonsey will be looking to keep the victories local as he brings his potent Mack Daddy Racing Honda out with a chance to perform in front of friends and family. (Watch for an upcoming "Notes From the Blue Groove" column on Bonsey, who doubles as a quick road racer, and check out Mark Gardiner's DuQuoin-to-Salinas column right here:

http://www.amaproracing.com/ft/news/index.cfm?cid=42468

And here:

http://www.amaproracing.com/ft/news/index.cfm?cid=42412

South Dakota's Gerit Callies has taken possession of the Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles points standings after his dominant performance in DuQuoin. California's Mikey Avila had been tied with Callies, but his ninth-place finish at Round 3 leaves him 14 points back, in second. Another Californian, Mikey Martin, rests third in the points.

For information and tickets to Rounds 4 and 5 of the AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Flat Track Championship at the Salinas Sports Complex, April 23-24, click here. To see the entire 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track schedule, 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
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The AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series returns to the west coast for Easter Weekend for rounds 4 & 5 of the 2011 schedule.  The first National to be held in Salinas (the home to such motorcycle racing notables as the late Ricky Graham, 3-Time AMA Superbike Champion Doug Chandler and 3-Time 500CC GP World Champion & '83 AMA Superbike Champion Wayne Rainey) since the late 60s, should provide a high level of excitement on the TT and short track at the Salinas Sports Complex.

With practice scheduled to roll off at 1300 EDT/1000 PDT today, it's time to strap on that steel shoe and get ready for the best racing on wheels anywhere in the world.  Everything you need to know to follow this weekend's exciting line-up of racing on the left coast can be found below.  So sit back, hang on and get ready for AMA Pro Flat Track Series action as it gets ready to hit the track for Easter Weekend.  Let's go racing!
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(NOTE on all links below: If you are like me and can't be AT the races, you want every advantage you can have to keep up with the action.  All links below will keep you up to date with on AND off-track action, and all can be opened into a seperate window-so you don't have to navigate back and forth.  If you are using Windows XP or 7 and at least IE8, all links can be right-clicked and opened into either 'new tab' or 'new window' for easier viewing.  If you're like me, you'll have several open to better navigate the action!)

AMA Pro Flat Track Live Timing and Scoring here:

http://live.amaproracing.com/ft/

Miriam Deitcher, Ms. AMA Pro Flat Track Live, will be reporting all weekend from the Salinas Sports Complex via her Flat Track Live Facebook page.  She's already got some pics up to get you fired up for today and tomorrow's action:

http://www.facebook.com/FlatTrackLive

AMA Pro Flat Track Facebook here:

http://www.facebook.com/AMAProFlatTrackSeries

AMA Pro Flat Track Twitter here:

http://twitter.com/#!/AMAProFlatTrack

AMA Pro Flat Track Salinas round 4 TT event info here:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/events/results.cfm?year=2011&eid=2011021115

AMA Pro Flat Track Salinas round 5 Short Track event info here:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/events/event.cfm?year=2011&eid=2011021116

AMA Pro Flat Track results and info (PDF versions/updated within minutes) for round 4 at the TT in Salinas can be found here:

http://results.amaproracing.com/live/results/pdfresults/ft/2011/F1115/default.aspx

AMA Pro Flat Track results and info (PDF versions) for round 5 at the Short Track in Salinas can be found here:

http://results.amaproracing.com/live/results/pdfresults/ft/2011/F1116/default.aspx
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Info can be found here on the Salinas Sports Complex' Easter Weekend TT & Short Track events, rounds 4 & 5 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship Series:

http://www.salinasflattrack.com/

Salinas, CA. weather courtesy of The Weather Underground:

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=93906
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AMA Flat Track: Weirbach Racing Announces Team for '11 Grand National Expert & Pro Singles Series

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Jesse Janisch's #45 WKR/Midaties Motorsports/Arai/Motion Pro-sponsored Kawasaki gets rolled through the pits by Weirbach Racing's Ted Weirbach during the AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship round at the Springfield Short Track in September 2010. Janisch was announced as a new rider addition to the Weirbach Racing team for the 2011 season in the Expert Class, and will ride Honda 450s for the team in the Singles Series, and will also mount a challenge in the Twins Series aboard the team's Suzuki SV650-based twin.
The team also will see the return of #20T Mike LaBelle and #91Y Mikey Martin to the Pro Singles Class for the upcoming season. LaBelle and Martin finished 1-2 at the season finale in Prescott Valley aboard Weirbach's Honda 450s in a finish that came down to the wire. The riders also finished 5th and 6th in the final 2010 AMA Pro Motorcycle Superstore.com Pro Singles Championship.
Weirbach is no stranger to the AMA Pro Flat Track Series. Founding owner Dick Weirbach has been around the series for several decades and has campaigned bikes for a list of riders including Henry Wiles, James Rispoli, Sammy Halbert and Davey Durelle, among others. Their sponsors include Motion Pro, Saddleman, Barnett Clutches and K&N Filters along with a list of many others. This will be the team's first year foray into the Grand National Expert Series Class after having competed in the Pro Singles Class during the 2010 season.
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One of the great year-end announcements for the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Series season was the addition of Weirbach Racing to the Expert Class for the upcoming year. Having campaigned Honda 450s for Mikey Martin and Mike LaBelle during the 2010 AMA Pro Motorcycle Superstore.com Pro Singles Series, the team has been working on a Suzuki SV-650-based twin, and National #45 Jesse Janisch will be doing the twisting of the throttle in the Twins Series Class on this new machine. Janisch will also ride Weirbach's Honda 450s in the Expert Singles Series. The SV650, which is eligible for the new '750' platform rules for the 2012 season, has also seen development in the 2010 season with the Waters Auto Body team.

Weirbach, based out of Ottumwa, Iowa, has roots in the AMA Flat Track Series going back to the late 60s/early 70s with team founder Dick Weirbach, and son Ted has also apparently caught the flat track bug (like many of us other fans through out the years) and also recently joined the team per their website. 2011 should be a great year for AMA Flat Track as well as Weirbach Racing with this super line up of young talent in both highly competitive classes.

Congrats to the Weirbach team on their recent announcement and we'll be keeping a close eye out for this up and coming team in the 2011 season!
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Here's the official press release from the Weirbach Racing team as posted on the AMA Pro Flat Track site this week:

http://amaproracing.com/ft/news/index.cfm?cid=40811

You can check out the team's website here:

http://www.weirbachracing.com/Weirbach/Weirbach_Racing.html
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