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Other Moto Racing
AMA FLAT TRACK: Castle Rock TT Review
Sammy Halbert shined at his home circuit to win the Castle Rock TT.
Fredericktown Yamaha's Sammy Halbert (Photo: AMA Pro Racing/Dave Hoenig)
Following a short trip up the coast from Sacramento, Calif., the Castle Rock TT ended AMA Pro Flat Track's first West Coast swing of 2012 and signaled the end of the first half of the AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com and Lucas Oil.
The night was a big homecoming for Sammy Halbert (Fredericktown Yamaha) along with several other series regulars, but it was Halbert, who had started his motorcycle racing career on the slick little TT, who came out on top.
Halbert returned home with a Castle Rock GNC winning streak alive, the track was the site of his first GNC win in 2007 and last year's race. No GNC races were held at Castle Rock in 2008, '09 and '10.
Good starts were the key to success at the Mount St. Helens Race Park. That's exactly what Sammy Halbert got on his Yamaha YZ450F.
"We pulled some great holeshots in the Dash for Cash and main event. It feels so good to win again in front of the hometown crowd," said Halbert. "It's a big boost in the arm for our program. It feels awesome to win it on the new Yamaha. I was riding my 2012 fuel injected Yamaha 450 and it was working great."
When the 18 rider field hit turn one for the 25-lap national, Halbert was in the lead, but just as quickly, the red lights flashed on when Brandon Robinson (Action Motorsports) and Mikey Rush (Machette Energy Drinks) tangled in turn two. Both would make the restart, but Robinson pulled off seven laps into the race.
While the restart did not affect Halbert, current AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship points leader Jared Mees (Montgomeryville Cycle / National Cycle) benefited greatly from it. Mees had been mired in about sixth place on the first start, but came out right on Halbert's rear wheel the second time around.
"That was most of the race, but you still had to put it together," said Halbert. "You had to go fast and get on the straightaway good. It was really tricky getting onto the front stretch. If you messed up right there, someone could definitely get a wheel on you and make a pass. I had to make a pass in the heat race there. Luckily I kept it smooth and didn't make any big mistakes for the win."
Mees was charging hard, as he had defending Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Champion Jake Johnson (Zanotti Racing) breathing down his neck.
"When I settled down, I started making some good corners. I had a really good line coming into one with that tight left," said Mees. "I was making huge gains there. I was right there and he (Halbert) went into that tight three and got a hold of a hay bale with his foot. It flung out and I came around and smacked right into it. I about went over the bars."
A couple times it sounded like he maybe wasn't right on me, but I never looked back," said Halbert. "I just assumed he was there and kept my head down and rode as hard as I could. It was a little bit of a moment when I hit the hay bales and the next lap around there was hay all over the track. I was a little scared to go through it, but everything was fine."
The night was a big homecoming for Sammy Halbert (Fredericktown Yamaha) along with several other series regulars, but it was Halbert, who had started his motorcycle racing career on the slick little TT, who came out on top.
Halbert returned home with a Castle Rock GNC winning streak alive, the track was the site of his first GNC win in 2007 and last year's race. No GNC races were held at Castle Rock in 2008, '09 and '10.
Good starts were the key to success at the Mount St. Helens Race Park. That's exactly what Sammy Halbert got on his Yamaha YZ450F.
"We pulled some great holeshots in the Dash for Cash and main event. It feels so good to win again in front of the hometown crowd," said Halbert. "It's a big boost in the arm for our program. It feels awesome to win it on the new Yamaha. I was riding my 2012 fuel injected Yamaha 450 and it was working great."
When the 18 rider field hit turn one for the 25-lap national, Halbert was in the lead, but just as quickly, the red lights flashed on when Brandon Robinson (Action Motorsports) and Mikey Rush (Machette Energy Drinks) tangled in turn two. Both would make the restart, but Robinson pulled off seven laps into the race.
While the restart did not affect Halbert, current AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship points leader Jared Mees (Montgomeryville Cycle / National Cycle) benefited greatly from it. Mees had been mired in about sixth place on the first start, but came out right on Halbert's rear wheel the second time around.
"That was most of the race, but you still had to put it together," said Halbert. "You had to go fast and get on the straightaway good. It was really tricky getting onto the front stretch. If you messed up right there, someone could definitely get a wheel on you and make a pass. I had to make a pass in the heat race there. Luckily I kept it smooth and didn't make any big mistakes for the win."
Mees was charging hard, as he had defending Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Champion Jake Johnson (Zanotti Racing) breathing down his neck.
"When I settled down, I started making some good corners. I had a really good line coming into one with that tight left," said Mees. "I was making huge gains there. I was right there and he (Halbert) went into that tight three and got a hold of a hay bale with his foot. It flung out and I came around and smacked right into it. I about went over the bars."
A couple times it sounded like he maybe wasn't right on me, but I never looked back," said Halbert. "I just assumed he was there and kept my head down and rode as hard as I could. It was a little bit of a moment when I hit the hay bales and the next lap around there was hay all over the track. I was a little scared to go through it, but everything was fine."
Photos
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