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Moto News Weekly Wrap
August 2, 2023

What’s New:

• Strong entries for 2023 FIM International Six Days of Enduro
• Injury halts Geerts charge
• NSW Senior Track Coffs Harbour title comeback a big success
• WA MX Round Three at Bunbury
• E-Xplorer FIM World Cup Round Three
• Lettenbichler wins Romaniacs
• Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup Final
• MXGP of Finland Wrap
• Peoria TT Report

Strong entries for 2023 FIM International Six Days of Enduro

With the 2023 FIM International Six Days of Enduro (ISDE) just over three months away (6-11 Novemberin Argentina) 28 nations from five continents are to be represented with entries from twelve Latin American countries enjoying the ISDE in their own backyard.

With the registration process remaining open until 31 August, the number of pre-registered riders for the 97th edition currently stands at 453, but is expected to increase considerably in the lead-up to the closing date.

Competitors from Latin American countries comprise 77 per cent of pre-registered riders. Competitors will set-off from the event headquarters at the Circuito San Juan Villicum in the northern city of San Juan, that lies to the east of the Andes Mountain range.

Argentinean riders make up 38 per cent of the pre-registered entries received so far, a figure that is much higher than usual for a host nation, but they will face stiff opposition from the World’s leading Enduro nations.

Included among the favourites are the defending World Trophy and Women’s World Trophy teams from Great Britain but unfortunately it looks as though Australia will not be defending the Junior World Trophy.

At this stage a Team Australia campaign in the other two main categories is also in doubt due to cost concerns. There is a slight chance that Australia might be a late entry, depending on availability of competitive motorcycles for competitors, and of competitors themselves, but many other leading nations in the discipline of enduro are also not expected to be fielding top tier teams this year.

Injury halts charge of Geerts

Geerts was involved in an incident over the weekend, at the MXGP of Finland, when another rider fell in front of him on the opening lap of MX2 Race One. Unable to avoid the fallen rider’s bike, the Belgian collided with it and went over the handlebars.

Although he was able to walk off the track without assistance, he experienced pain in his left clavicle and immediately sought medical attention at the onsite medical center. Further assessment confirmed the fracture.

This injury temporarily interrupts Geerts’ impressive season, which includes 11 race wins and nine podium finishes, of which six have been Grand Prix victories on his YZ250FM. He has returned to Belgium to begin his recovery.

Nepean Classic Dirt Track Charity next weekend!

The City of Penrith Motorcycle club will stage its 16th Classic Dirt Track Charity meeting at the Nepean Raceway this coming weekend, August 5-6. Feature of the weekend will be the 2023 New South Wales Classic and Post Classic Dirt Track Championships which has attracted over 220 machines to do battle in the various classes of competition.

Many riders seem to have emptied their garage or shed as the majority of competitors have entered multiple machines for the meeting. There will be lots of old bikes, and of course lots of old riders, along with a few younger riders generally riding bikes that had previously been ridden by fathers or uncles.

The two days are always marked by some great camaraderie between competitors, at least before the race and after the checkered flag falls. But when the gate drops to start a race everyone will have a ‘race face’ on – even though they will not be racing for ‘sheep stations’.

Track action will commence at 10 am on both days with similar programmes of seven championship classes and seven support classes on both Saturday and Sunday.

Support classes are for those categories with smaller entry lists that have been insufficient to warrant championship status – not that it lessens the intensity of competition in those classes. All classes will be decided over five rounds.

One age group that does require a minimum number of entries for championship status is the Super Senior Classic for the Over 70s. On both days the racing will wrap up with a 25-lap race – on Saturday the Post Classic Pre ’90 and Period 20 machines and then on Sunday for All Powers Pre’75 and Evolution class machines.

Classic classes feature machines as old as Pre 1960, while Post Classic is for machines in Pre’85, Pre ’90 and Pre ’95 categories. Two big names jump out among the entries with former superbike star Shawn Giles and multiple Australian Dirt Track champion Luke Gough sure to attract plenty of attention.

Modern day speedway sidecar rider Jackson Bond has dusted off one of his family’s old dirt track sidecars for the meeting, while the versatile Jack Passfield will be one of a number of busy riders on the weekend. A number of competitors have been regularly involved in this meeting in the past and treat the weekend as a ‘must-do’ event.

Special mention must be made of a number of long-distance travelers who are heading to Nepean for this weekend. Queensland clubs Ayr, Whitsunday, Brisbane, North Brisbane, Ipswich and the Gold Coast are represented while riders from the Mud’n’Tars club in Adelaide and the Harley Club of Victoria have also boosted the entry numbers.

A canteen will be operating and spectator entry is $10.00 per vehicle which is a tax-deductible donation to this year’s chosen charity.

Funds raised from the weekend will be donated to the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation (SCHF) and will be directed to the Newborn & Paediatric Emergency Transport Service (NETS).

NSW Senior Track Coffs Harbour title comeback a big success

With Peter Baker

Championship motorcycle racing returned to Coffs Harbour with a bang as a hugely successful 2023 Adventure Powersports & Outdoor New South Wales Senior Track Championship meeting was staged last weekend (July 29-30).

Competitors in all divisions – on two, three and four wheels – were lavish with their praise of the Coffs Harbour Motorcycle Club track while fans were constantly enthused by the exciting action turned on over both days.

The newly titled Brian Mallet Long Track is one that competitors will gladly return to in the future after getting their first outing on the revamped circuit.

While a number of classes produced clear cut winners overall there were many races where at least some of the placings were subject to close finishes.

The only ‘downer’ for local fans was that all four championship classes for two-wheel categories were stolen by Queenslanders.

Gold Coast teenager Cyshan Weale was the standout performer winning both the MX Open and premier Pro 450 classes.

Cyshan Weale

“Man I needed this! So happy to win both the MX Open and Pro 450 Championships over the weekend, this means so much more to me than just two state title wins! I haven’t a win like this in so long and man it feels good, all the hard work from everyone around me and myself finally paid off, just the perfect weekend. Pauly Neal from Moto Shox had my KTM 450 dialled all weekend massive thanks to him. I can’t thank everyone enough who continue to support me, all the hard work they put in is insane. I’m forever grateful to them! Let’s keep the momentum rolling of the Australian Title in two weeks time.”

In the MX Open he was unbeaten in his heats before winning the final ahead of Bailey Spencer, a local returning to the track after a lay-off, with Jacob Richardson third.

It was not as clear-cut in the Pro 450 where Weale won his first three heats before he was excluded in his last heat after a high-speed coming together with another Gold Coast teenager Seth Qualischefski, who managed to win the rerun and be the unbeaten top qualifier, but he withdrew from the finals.

Weale had to go to the Repechage, which he won, but he had a less favourable gate position for the final and it took him half of the race to haul in Daniel Wicks with Cody Lewis coming home third.

Rory McQualter was unbeaten as he cleaned up the Pro 250 title leading home Cody Lewis and Grant Charnock in the final.

The Womens class produced no upset as Brisbane rider Briony Hendrickson dominated leaving Sharnelle Sippel and Ashlea Bates to claim the minor placings.

Another dominant performer was in the Dirt Track Sidecar class where Jarred Marko / Shaun Fuller took the title after winning all five rounds – albeit by narrow margins from the always threatening Corey Forde /Darren Fraudenstein with Samantha O’Meley / Brendan Denzel taking third overall.

Matthew Griffiths looked to be the standout in the ATV Open class, and he did win, but in the final he took until the third lap to haul in Jeffrey McKee, with Chevy Green third.

All the support classes added to the excitement over the two days with some close action despite the winners being unbeaten – local rider Reid Battye (19” Flat Track TT), Benjamin Gordon (Over 35s), Kenny Angel (Flat Track Twins), Daniel Wicks (Pre ’90s) and Matthew Griffiths (ATV 450cc).

Junior winners were Thoren Openshaw, Levi Layton, Hugo Holmes and Lucy Heaton-New.

2023 New South Wales Senior Track Championship Results

2023 WA Senior State MX Round Three Wrap

Round Three of the WA Senior State MX Championship took place over the weekend at Shrubland Park near Bunbury on what eventually became a brutal rutted up track.

MX1 saw John Darroch take the overall, sweeping both races ahead of a consistent Jayden Rykers who went 2-2. Rounding out the overall podium by a narrow margin was Stuart Eardley-Wilmot, his 4-3, overcoming the 3-4 of veteran Dean Porter.

Rykers leads the overall standings on 161-points, to Darroch’s 158, with Porter a distant third on 130.

In MX2, Deacon Paice took the overall with two race wins for 50-points. Dylan Hennessy the runner up in both, and Seth Manuel 3-3 for third overall.

The round saw Paice extend his standings lead to 165-points, Hennessey on 144 and Minnear third on 127-points.

Seth Shackleton topped the MX3 class, running 1-1, with Patrick Butler second overall with a 2-2, and Jake Rumens completed the podium with two third place finishes.

Shackleton moved up the standings with his sweep, promoted into third on 147-points, just short of Butler on 150 and Rumens on 152.

WA MX Championship Bunbury MX1 Results

WA MX Championship Standings – Top 15 MX1

WA MX Championship Bunbury MX2 Results

WA MX Championship Standings – Top 15 MX2

WA MX Championship Bunbury MX3 Results

WA MX Championship Standings – Top 15 MX3

2023 Red Bull Romaniacs

For results and a full report see:
KTM 300 EXC 1-2-3 at Red Bull Romaniacs

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Manuel Lettenbichler easily powered clear of the field to win round three of the 2023 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship season at Red Bull Romaniacs and maintain the perfect start to his world title defence.

Hart wrapped up his debut podium and became the first Canadian to finish in the top three of the world’s toughest Hard Enduro Rallye as Bulgarian rider Kabakchiev overhauled 2021 world champion Billy Bolt brilliantly late on to claim the final podium place.

Win for Gravity at E-Xplorer FIM World Cup Round Three

The dramatic volcanic mountains of the Auvergne region of central France served as the backdrop for the third round of the E-Xplorer FIM World Cup.

Changing weather was the main protagonist with heavy rain during the early heats followed by hot sunshine for the finals creating challenges for the teams in this all-electric motorcycle World Cup.

At the end of the weekend, it was Gravity who took the top rostrum position with Robbie Maddison’s Madwill team in second and Championship leaders, MIE taking third this time.

There were also a few casualties along the way with superstar freestyle Australian motocross rider, Robbie Maddison dislocating his shoulder on the first day of testing and handing his ride to Swiss enduro rider, Jonathan Rossé, who arrived late on Friday evening and joined the team having never raced an electric motorcycle. He adapted very quickly steering his way to second with team-mate Sandra Keller.

It was not such a happy ending for the Australian Team Flair who field the husband-and-wife duo of Jack Field and Rhianna Buchanan. They had to withdraw from the event on Saturday afternoon when an injury to Rhianna’s knee did not recover in time for her to race.

For the winning team, they were delighted to produce a home win for Camille Chapeliere and Italian Kiara Fontensi was thrilled with the fairy tale result having stepped late into the saddle of Tjasa Fifer who had commitments elsewhere.

2023 Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup Final

Polish hero Maciej Janowski admits he “exploded” with emotion after sealing victory in an historic Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup Final thriller in Wroclaw on Saturday.

In one of the greatest world team finals in the sport’s 100-year history, Poland, Great Britain and Denmark went into a last-heat decider all in contention for gold in the first Monster Energy FIM SWC since 2017.

After an epic wheel-to-wheel battle with GB hero Robert Lambert, Janowski dived under his Speedway GP rival to snatch the all-important second place behind Australia’s Max Fricke in heat 20 which earned Poland a record-breaking ninth gold medal – 18 years after they first lifted the iconic Ove Fundin Trophy in Wroclaw in 2005.

Janowski’s heroic pass sent the Polish team and fans wild as the legendary Olympic Stadium was shaken to its foundations as Poland triumphed on 33 points, with GB finishing second on 31, Denmark third on 29 and Australia fourth on 27 after the closest Final in living memory.

After watching Poland win their first FIM SWC as a child from the Wroclaw terraces, Janowski could not contain his delight as he crossed the finish line for his fourth Monster Energy FIM SWC gold medal.

Maciej Janowski

“It feels fantastic – in front of my home crowd. I was screaming. I couldn’t hear my brain when I crossed the finish line. I just looked at the fans and they were going crazy. I exploded also, so that was amazing.  I am proud of my team, proud of the fans and proud of everybody who was around us.

“To be honest, I was pretty chilled going into the last race. I knew the changes we had made for the last heat gave me not-so-bad speed. It was maybe not working the best on the outside, but when I moved to the inside, I felt I could be in that fight for second position.

“The boys were fighting each other, and I thought I could maybe use the gap. I saw the gap at the end of the third lap. I used a good line, and it was actually working.

“Big thanks to the rest of the teams because I think we showed great racing. It was very emotional. I think for the fans, it was amazing. That’s why they come to the stadium – to get those emotions and get that feeling. For us, it was also good. A win is a win, and it doesn’t matter how you get it.

“We found enough to fight for the gold and get it. We were calm; no stress about anything. Everyone did their job, and I am glad.”

Having gone from cheering on the sport’s biggest stars at the Olympic Stadium to writing his name in speedway history, Janowski admits his epic journey over the past 18 years is proof that dreams can come true.

Joint GB team manager Oliver Allen is delighted with how much his Lions have progressed since the Brits struggled to fourth place at the last Monster Energy FIM SWC Final staged in Leszno in 2017.

Having won 2021 FIM Speedway of Nations gold in Manchester, followed by the FIM SON silver medals in Vojens last year, the Lions have now extended their run in the world’s top two to three straight seasons as Lambert, Dan Bewley, Tai Woffinden, Tom Brennan and Adam Ellis starred for GB.

But Allen admits missing out on what would have been their first gold medal over the four-team format since 1989 was tough to take.

Oliver Allen

“Simon and I are really lucky to have the job at the time we do, when we have three top riders. It was a good result. If you had asked me six years ago whether a silver medal would be good in Poland, I would have said yes. But after tonight, it feels not so good. It was a fantastic advert for speedway and anyone who watched that meeting would have been fascinated by the sport. It was a really good event – it went down to the last race between three teams. We thought it was going to be tight and it never looked like anyone was pulling away. I know we started the meeting well, but we knew we had this block of gates where we had gate three three times. We dropped points there. It was really tight, really good racing and congratulations to Poland and Denmark for a good meeting.”

Danish star Leon Madsen admits a sluggish start cost the Danes as they bagged the bronze medal in triple world champion Nicki Pedersen’s first tournament as rider-manager.

Leon Madsen

“We got the start we didn’t want to get. It was a terrible start for Team Denmark. In the first four races, we only scored three points. It couldn’t have been a more catastrophic start to the meeting, but we kept being positive and kept working together. We fought our way through and finally we managed to find better setups and get back into the meeting. We battled all the way, and it was very tight all the way to the end. I predicted that before the meeting that it could go down to the wire, and it did. It was a fantastic meeting for everyone – the sport as well. It was an incredible meeting in a great atmosphere. Hats off to the Poles. They did very well, and they deserved the win on the night.”

Despite winning two of the last five heats, the Aussie quintet of Jason Doyle, Max Fricke, Jack Holder, Jaimon Lidsey and Chris Holder just fell short of dislodging Denmark from the final spot on the podium.

The Aussies finished on 27-points, two behind Denmark, while Poland’s ninth win in the SWC format came with a 33-point haul. Great Britain completed proceedings on 31-points as the powerhouses of world speedway battled it out for SWC supremacy for the first time since 2017.

After keeping its powder dry in the first block of heats, Australia came out swinging in the middle stages of the SWC final, with Jack Holder doing most of the heavy lifting after stirring victories in heats 10 and 11 – the second as a tactical substitute for Lidsey.

Doyle’s second place in heat 12 was also invaluable as the Aussies moved into third, 4pts behind Poland –which had just moved into the overall lead for the first time over the fast-starting Great Britain. But there was more high drama to come.

Doyle won again in heat 14, but the next outing was a hammer blow for Australia – which had booked the final spot in the SWC final after powering through the race-off the day before – when Jack Holder high-sided after contact with Dane Rasmus Jensen. A battered Jack was unable to make the restart, and was replaced by his older brother, Chris, who finished third.

Jason Doyle

“It’s not looking good for Jack (Holder). He’s complaining of a wrist injury. All the best for him. He flew through the air and landed on his wrist, so it’s not looking good. It was so close all night and Jack was a massive key. We knew that it was going to be difficult to get back into the game. But that’s speedway! What a great night of racing, very close. Over the last couple of days, I have really enjoyed riding for Team Australia. It is a great week for our sport and our country. Not the result we wanted, but fair play to Poland. What a great night!”

The CBS Bins-sponsored Australia rallied at the death knell, but victories for Doyle (heat 17) and Fricke (heat 20) weren’t enough to dislodge Denmark from third place.

Poland is now five wins ahead of Denmark (four) on the SWC honour board, followed by Sweden (three) and Australia (two) – those victories coming in 2001 and 2002.

With the Monster Energy FIM SWC coming to a thrilling finale, the action switches back to Speedway GP, with the OlyBet FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga coming to Bikernieki for the first time on Saturday, August 12, with the Latvian capital also staging FIM Speedway of Nations – SON2 for the sport’s top under-21 teams on Friday, August 11.

Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup

1. POLAND 33
   Bartosz Zmarzlik 11
   Patryk Dudek 6
   Maciej Janowski 7
   Dominik Kubera 9
   Janusz Kolodziej 0
2. GREAT BRITAIN 31
   Tom Brennan 0
   Robert Lambert 12
   Tai Woffinden 7
   Adam Ellis 3
   Dan Bewley 9
3. DENMARK 29
   Leon Madsen 9
   Rasmus Jensen 13
   Mikkel Michelsen 2
   Nicki Pedersen 0
   Anders Thomsen 5
4. AUSTRALIA 27
   Max Fricke 7
   Jack Holder 8
   Jason Doyle 10
   Jaimon Lidsey 1
   Chris Holder 1

2023 MXGP Round 14 – MXGP of Finland Wrap

For the full report see:
Febvre gets the better of Prado in Finland | Adamo sweeps MX2

The MXGP of Finland made up round 14 of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship in Vantaa over the weekend, where Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre took his personal record to five Grand Prix victories in a row.

Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado finished second once again, including the race two win to keep Febvre honest, and closing out the overal podium was Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Glenn Coldenhoff, making it a back-to-back podium as his form continued.

In MX2, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Andrea Adamo took his first perfect GP win with an excellent 1-1 that extends his lead in the Championship.

Filling out the MX2 overall podium and getting his fourth podium in a row was Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Simon Laengenfelder in front of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Liam Everts who made the return to the podium for the first time since Sumbawa-Indonesia, with a consistent weekend.

A rapid getaway saw Aussie Mitch Evans prominent entering the first turn in race one but he emerged eleventh after being pushed wide and, dropped to twelfth, then eventually regained eleventh seven laps from the end of the race.

Ninth for twelve laps in race two, he eventually surrendered one position as he faced vision problems with broken goggles to come home tenth for the same placing overall on the day. The Australian remains fourteenth in the series standings but is now just fifteen points from a top-ten ranking despite missing the opening four rounds of the series.

Mitch Evans

“I felt more comfortable today; it’s just a shame about race two. A rock hit the cannister on my roll-offs on the first lap so I was wiping my goggles all moto.”

MXGP of Finland, Vanta – Video Highlights

2023 American Flat Track – Peoria TT

Trevor Brunner scored his first victory of 2023 in a surprising conclusion to a topsy-turvy Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER Main Event at the Peoria TT, complete with red-flag.

Prior to a mid-race red flag, team-mates Kody Kopp (No. 1 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) and Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) had put themselves in first and second, making a KTM dominated podium seem likely.

Kopp took the lead after successive overtakes of Estenson Racing team-mates Brunner and Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F), Whale had a bigger job for himself after slipping back to sixth early despite starting from the front row.

By the time Whale stormed around the outside of Drane to move into second, Kopp had opened up nearly a one-second-plus lead at the front. Whale’s uphill climb was made substantially less steep due to the red flag, which resulted in a staggered restart with just over three minutes remaining on the clock.

With all of the focus on the reset Red Bull KTM brawl for the win, red-hot Drane had another idea. The up-and-coming Aussie jumped out into the lead and displayed renewed strength, actually pulling away from Kopp, Brunner, and Whale with relative ease.

But Drane’s cruise to the checkered flag was interrupted, due to the appearance of a second red flag, which resulted in one final restart with just three laps to determine the winner.

This proved to be Brunner’s golden opportunity, after previously looking to be out of victory contention. The Indiana native blasted off the line and won out in the opening-corner melee, seizing the lead ahead of Drane and Kopp.

He then held on in the brief showdown to claim the win before his rivals had a chance to mount an effective counter.

Trevor Brunner – P1

“This is awesome. We were pulling starts really well today, but we were having trouble getting out of the ‘flat track’ corners. We were kind of struggling with traction getting out of there, so each restart really benefited me a lot because I was able to come back. The last one, I got a great start and really pulled it out.”

Drane picked up his seventh podium in his last eight outings by finishing 0.230 seconds behind in second position while Kopp solidified his championship advantage in third.

Kody Kopp – P3

“The day started off really well with qualifying first, sat on pole for the Heat race, but just got a bad start there. I rode my way up to second for a front row start in the Main Event, and didn’t get off to a great jump there, but moved my way up into the lead, then the red flag came out. We had a couple of those today, and they just didn’t work out for me, but we salvaged a third place and are off to the next one!”

Max Whale – P4

“This was a tough one for me! Felt really good early in the day, practice and qualifying went really well – qualified second to Kody by a tiny margin. Heat race, I finished second which was good, then won the Dash-for-Cash after I rode consistent in that and got the job done. Then in the Main Event, got off to an average start, but charged my way back into second place, then the red flag came out and that really disrupted my rhythm. My line was super dry by that point, which was tough to ride, and I think I over-rode the track a bit, but managed a fourth place. Excited for the next one and huge thanks to the team!”

Two-time Peoria TT winner Whale came home fourth a little over a second off the win with Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Racing/Certified KTM 450 SX-F) nipping at his rear wheel in fifth.

Meanwhile, Chase Saathoff (No. 88 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R) finished sixth with Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), Chad Cose (No. 49 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450), Morgen Mischler (No. 13 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), and Jared Lowe (No. 63 Mission Foods/Helmet House Honda CRF450R) completed the top ten.

Kopp still leads by a healthy 40 points over Brunner (273-233) as Drane continued his climb up the order, now ranked third at 228.

AFT Singles Main Result

AFT Singles Standings – Top 20

Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle

JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) strengthened his claim as one of the greatest TT riders in the long history of Progressive American Flat Track on Sunday afternoon.

The Estenson Racing hero was his spectacular self in the 76th running of the World Famous SC2 Peoria TT presented by Country Saloon, once again dominating at the Peoria Motorcycle Club in Peoria, Illinois.

While obvious in hindsight, that end result wasn’t quite so easy to predict while the day unfolded. Reigning Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle king Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Rogers Racing/SDI Racing FTR750) was fastest in practice, Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) took control during qualifying, and Briar Bauman (No. 3 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 790 Duke) won the four-lap Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, but come the Main Event it was all Beach.

Beach then seemingly robbed the race of all drama from the start, slotting into the lead off the line and clearing off at the front.

Even the race behind Beach settled into a seemingly processional affair – emphasis on “seemingly” – as Daniels held down second, followed by Bauman and Mees. But with Beach several seconds out in front and just one lap and one corner to go, the championship chase was thrown with a wicked curveball.

Positioned to stretch out his points lead, Daniels lost the front and crashed from the race, bringing out a very late red flag. However, when presented with the threat of a title-sinking disaster, his crew rose to the occasion, repairing the #32 bike’s broken shifter with just seconds to spare before the restart.

Having lapped all the way up to sixth, Daniels was gifted a most fortunate position on the staggered restart grid. Once back underway, race-long leader Beach survived the three-lap shootout to secure his eighth TT win in his last nine attempts, with Bauman collecting second and Mees taking third.

JD Beach

“I’ve just got to thank my crew. This day was hard. I felt good all day but my times were only okay. I was sitting third or fourth pretty much all day. In the Main, I was just like, ‘I’ve got to do my work.’ I got a great start and I just kept doing my laps. I messed up once over the jump and I messed up once in Turn 3. I could hear my bike so I thought it was Dallas right on me. It’s a bummer for him and the team for him to go down with two laps to go, but it was a great race.”

Bummer, yes, but ultimately, Daniels didn’t just salvage enough points to stay alive, he came home with a solid fifth-place result behind Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Indian FTR750). Despite losing his title lead and seeing his season-long 13-race podium streak come to an end, the championship hopeful walked away from Peoria facing just a one-point deficit to Mees (296-295) even after the near catastrophe.

Peoria TT legend Henry Wiles (No. 17 BriggsAuto.com/Martin Trucking Indian FTR750) was the final rider remaining on the lead lap in sixth, while Johnny Lewis (No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650), Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), Ben Lowe (No. 25 Rackley Racing/Mission Foods Indian FTR750), and Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) rounded out the top ten, respectively.

SuperTwins Main Result

SuperTwins Standings – Top 20

2023 Racing schedule

Revised 2023 MXGP Calendar (Remaining Rounds)

2023 FIM EnduroGP World Championship Calendar

2023 American Flat Track Calendar

2023 FIM World Supercross Calendar