2014 Lima Half-Mile AMA Pro Flat Track Video
Since there’s no TV coverage of AMA Pro Flat Track, AMA Pro Racing uploads the entire videos to its YouTube Channel.
The latest is attached above of the Lima Half-Mile AMA Pro Flat Track main event held at the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, Ohio.
Taking the overall victory was Rogers Racing Harley-Davidson’s Jared Mees – the 2012 Grand National Champion. He also won at Lima in 2005 and 2007.
The rider of Clio, Mich., was joined on the podium by USC Kawasaki’s Brandon Robinson and Crosley Radio/Villa-Esparza Kawasaki’s Bryan Smith.”
“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.”
Following is the official report from AMA Pro Racing:
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.