American Flat Track – Springfield TT
Springfield Mile I rescheduled for August 31, 2019
Jesse Janisch claimed top honours in the standings at the Springfield TT, taking the main event win from Rush and Bromley, with Aussie Max Whale seventh overall. The Springfield Mile I event meanwhile was postponed due to weather.
Janisch appeared to be facing an uphill climb to keep his perfect 2019 TT win streak alive heading into the 15-lap Main Event at the Illinois State Fairgrounds due to the impressive pace of scrub-jumping two-wheeled legend Ryan Sipes.
And in fact, Sipes stole the holeshot from pole and threatened to pull an immediate gap. However, the ISDE superstar threw away a likely victory on lap 3, allowing the rear end to get around on him mid-corner and he fell to the dirt.
Janisch gladly picked up the reins and registered a series of flawless laps at the front. The result wasn’t without any addition drama through, as a hard-charging Mikey Rush kept him honest all the way to the checkered flag.
Earlier, Rush worked overtime to find a way past last year’s Springfield TT winner Dan Bromley. Once through, he slashed into Janisch’s advantage but failed to get close enough for even a Hail Mary attempt on the final lap.
The win was Janisch’s third in three TTs this season and his fourth TT win in a row dating back to last year’s Peoria TT. His big night was made even more monumental due to the misfortune of title rival Dalton Gauthier.
Gauthier entered the event as the AFT Singles’ points leader, but was unable to advance past the heat races after being assessed a 10-second penalty for twice jumping the start. As a result, Janisch now leads Gauthier 111-96 following 6 of 18 rounds. Additionally, Rush and Bromley have also moved into striking distance with 91 and 90 points, respectively.
Jesse Janisch
“Getting the win was absolutely awesome, it was unfortunate for Ryan, I think he definitely had some speed on us today, but I’m certainly going to take it. The Roof Systems of Dallas, Texas team has been awesome this year; I think my results speak volume for how great the team has been and how much they’ve propelled me forward.”
Mikey Rush
“I had a fun time doing that race, but I wish it was a few laps longer, for sure. It took my awhile to get by Dan. We had a nice, clean race. When I got by him, I put my head down and tried to put in smooth laps and hit my marks. I realized I was catching (Janisch), but I knew I was going to run out of laps. But I kept charging and charging. My team works their tails off for me. I’ll continue to keep chipping forward, and hopefully I’ll get that win soon.”
Dan Bromley
“I was over-riding a little bit. I tried pushing in the corners and got on the gas a little too soon and it would upset the bike a little bit and I’d pretty much lose my drives. Jesse and Mikey rode one heck of a race.”
Spanish flat track star Ferran Cardús got the better of a hyper-aggressive Chad Cose in a tight duel for fourth. Meanwhile, Cole Zabala picked up sixth ahead of Max Whale, Andrew Luker, Michael Inderbitzin, and Ben Lowe who rounded out the top ten.
2016 class champ Ryan Wells fought his way back from an early crash to finish 11th, one position ahead of Sipes.
AFT Singles Main Event – Springfield TT
- Jesse Janisch 0:28.932
- Mikey Rush +0.630
- Dan Bromley +4.736
- Ferran Cardus +7.100
- Chad Cose +7.373
- Cole Zabala +9.044
- Max Whale +9.430
- Andrew Luker +9.857
- Michael Inderbitzin +10.424
- Ben Lowe +10.868
AFT Singles Standings following Springfield TT
- Jesse Janisch 111
- Dalton Gauthier 96
- Mikey Rush 91
- Dan Bromley 90
- Ryan Wells 64
- Chad Cose 61
- Morgen Mischler 52
- Michael Inderbitzin 51
- Shayna Texter 46
- Oliver Brindley 44
- Max Whale 37
