Third for Tom Drane at Peoria TT | Whale P7 in SuperTwins

2024 USA Track and Field Championships
Round 11 – Peoria TT

Image courtesy of AFT, by Tim Lester

AFT Form – Peoria TT

Chase Saathoff defeated AFT singles champion Kody Kopp for his second straight win in his home state of Illinois.

Fresh off his win at the fast-paced DuQuoin Mile, Saathoff was working under very different circumstances on Sunday at the winding Peoria TT. An aggressive Saathoff first took the lead by passing Tom Drane and then seemed to have the potential to pull away en route to victory.

However, a red flag after Hunter Bauer’s fall restored order and gave the champion another chance to win. Kopp made the most of the second opportunity, charging inside Saathoff with less than four minutes remaining and then opening up an immediate gap of his own.

The race changed again when Kopp made a small error with less than a minute left on the clock. Back in attacking range, Saathoff attacked at the first opportunity, reclaiming the lead with just 30 seconds to go.

That back-and-forth also brought Drane back into the fight. But even as Kopp and Drane stalked, Saathoff was flawless in the final two laps to finish Saathoff-Kopp-Drane 1-2-3.

Chasing Saathoff

“I don’t even know what to say. I’ve been coming to Peoria for the last two years and I haven’t even made it to the podium. I knew I had the speed to get up front at this track; it’s hard to find my corner speed here, and we finally did it today. I want to give a huge thank you to my parents for everything they’ve done for me. I’ve been coming to this track since I was a 65(cc) racer. I remember doing the demonstration race here in 2015.”

Around seven seconds behind, Tarren Santero surged through the four-rider field to take fourth. He passed Evan Renshaw for the spot with brothers Jared Lowe and Trent Lowe close behind in sixth and seventh.

James Ott, Tyler Raggio and Travis Petton IV rounded out the top ten.

Despite not winning since Bridgeport, three consecutive runner-up finishes have kept Kopp in a commanding lead in the championship race, with 246 points to Saathoff’s 218 and Drane’s 206.

AFT Singles Key Results – Peoria TT

AFT Singles Ranking – Top 20

SuperTwins Mission – Peoria TT

Briar Bauman cruised to a commanding victory at the Peoria TT on Sunday, Round 11 of the 2024 American Flat Track season, despite finishing second in the legendary race for three straight years, each time seeing TT master JD Beach leave Peoria, Illinois on top.

The two-time tournament champion got an unexpected chance for revenge when Beach was added to the roster late, replacing Dallas Daniels, who was injured during the Mission AFT SuperTwins Championship.

However, it was Grand National Champion Jared Mees who took the lead from the start, securing the lead with a full-speed charge onto the grass bank leading to the jump on the opening lap.

It didn’t take long for Bauman to make his move, passing at Turn 2 on his second lap. Beach was desperate to get past himself, hoping to prevent Bauman from getting away. And he did lose a few tenths in the few laps it took him to find his own way past Mees.

Even with Beach having fresh air in front of him, it was clear that this was Bauman’s day. While the Estenson Racing superbike was impressive in second place after jumping on an off-roader for the first time all season, Bauman managed to open up a lead of more than eight seconds while threatening to break into the top five. He eventually won by 4.569 seconds over Beach, a gap that was significantly narrowed on the final lap thanks to a long victory lap to take the checkered flag.

This is Bauman’s second win at the Peoria TT, following his 2019 victory.

Bauman hemp

“First and foremost, my heart goes out to Dallas Daniels right now. I’ve been through it myself and I know Jared’s been through it. I don’t have any words… I’m sorry. And beating JD today… you want it to count, but I don’t think it does. He hasn’t been on a road bike all year, so I could tell he was a little uncomfortable. But either way, a big thank you to Rick Ware Racing. The team deserves it. I want to improve on the ovals, but we played to the TT and the strengths of the KTM. And we’ll keep working, that’s all I can say.”

Nine-time series king Mees closed in on Daniels (216-215) for his eighth podium finish of the season. With Daniels continuing to miss out, the focus will soon shift to Mees versus Brandon Robinson. On that front, Robinson did well to minimize the damage, finishing one spot behind Jarod Vanderkooi in fourth to earn his first career podium at Peoria.

As a result, Robinson has amassed 201 points for the season, and the gap between him and Mees is just 14 points with five races to go. Meanwhile, Bauman has quietly (or not so quietly) sneaked back into the race with 192 points, less than a race behind Mees.

Trevor Brunner consolidated his Rookie of the Year campaign in sixth place, followed by class newcomer Max Whale.

Meanwhile, Davis Fisher finished eighth, followed by third-place rookie Declan Bender and Cameron Smith.

SuperTwins Key Results – Peoria TT

SuperTwins Ranking – Top 20

Progressive American Flat Track will kick off the 84th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally with the Black Hills Harley-Davidson Black Hills Half-Mile sponsored by the City of Sturgis at Black Hills Raceway in Rapid City, South Dakota on Tuesday, August 6.