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Went to the Lima round of the AMA Pro Flat track series on Saturday, now promoted by Mr. & Mrs. Jared Mees. It was good.
They've been running this race on the last Saturday in June since I've been motorcycling and this may be the best one I've been to. It was a beautiful day and night and the racing was good. The track looked pretty rutted by the end of the night but the riders didn't do a lot of complaining. There were a couple of crashes but no serious injuries and the place (Allen county fairgrounds, just off Harding highway (northern Ohio loves Ohio's own Warren G Harding!) in Lima) was packed. Brandon Robinson and Flyin' Ryan Wells won, both nice guys that it's easy to root for, what's not to like!
Like many tracks, you can watch right at the fence if you want to, so we checked out practice/qualifying from there
![Sky Tire Wheel Vehicle Motorcycle]()
![Tire Wheel Sky Vehicle Ecoregion]()
![Tire Wheel Land vehicle Vehicle Motorcycle]()
![Tire Wheel Sky Vehicle Automotive tire]()
![Tire Wheel Vehicle Sky Automotive tire]()
Unlike many tracks, you will get pelted with pea gravel roost if you do. It hurts.
![Beige Grass Tints and shades Road surface People in nature]()
So the bikes and riders are pretty well protected by tape, cardboard, hand guards, etc.
This is local rider Zakk Palmer's bike. We wondered why it wasn't as shiny as usual (Zakk is a regular at my local track and is as meticulous as he is fast). Turns out it's pretty much covered in tape with fiber on the radiator to keep the bike from getting too banged up by the roost in the race.
![Tire Wheel Automotive lighting Automotive tire Motor vehicle]()
This is eventual GNC2 winner Ryan Wells' bike. Looks shinier from afar, up close its taped up too
![Tire Wheel Fuel tank Automotive lighting Vehicle]()
![Tire Wheel Automotive lighting Automotive tire Motorcycle]()
Hey look another XR in the parking lot among the sea of pirate ships! Never did track down the owner
![Wheel Tire Land vehicle Vehicle Fuel tank]()
Hey look, it's SiloPete, doing his VETMotorsports thing with Jake Shoemaker. He's doing great and said to give his regards to the forum. I told him about the Colorado meet up in August, so, uh maybe? Anyhow, I met the vets who were working with the team and was reminded once again what a great program this is.
![Smile Sky Cap Shorts Hat]()
Davis Fisher's bike. Note the handguards, pretty sure those aren't stock! He had an odd night, crashing on the sighting lap of his heat. He looked a little shook up and did not run again.
![Tire Wheel Fuel tank Automotive fuel system Vehicle]()
Bryan Smith's bike, probably the cleanest bike in the paddock. I have to think this will be last year he's rocking the double digits. For him, 4th on the night was a good as a win and he remains the odds on favorite to take the grand national championship
![Fuel tank Wheel Tire Automotive fuel system Automotive tire]()
Some other XR's, not that #3 is street legal, not a racer
![Tire Wheel Fuel tank Motor vehicle Automotive tire]()
![Tire Wheel Fuel tank Vehicle Automotive fuel system]()
![Tire Wheel Fuel tank Automotive fuel system Vehicle]()
Jared Mees' trailer. He's got more in pipes than I have in my XR I think.
![Sky Hat Motor vehicle Tree Cap]()
This was the view from our seats in the grandstand (which was full). Maybe not as good as Fan's Choice, but at least it doesn't buffer all the time!
![Wheel Tire Vehicle Motorcycle Race track]()
It was a good time and Jared and Nichole did a really nice job, I think this race might stick around for a while.
I did feel bad for Slammin' Sammy who looked like he might be catching Robinson before the red flag and then crashed out on the restart but that's racing, right?
To top it all off, I spent yesterday (Sunday) at a school Joe Kopp was putting on at my local track. Learned a lot, had a ton of fun, and got to hang out with another one of my flat track heroes, what's not to like?
![Sky Cloud Smile Shorts Grass]()
They've been running this race on the last Saturday in June since I've been motorcycling and this may be the best one I've been to. It was a beautiful day and night and the racing was good. The track looked pretty rutted by the end of the night but the riders didn't do a lot of complaining. There were a couple of crashes but no serious injuries and the place (Allen county fairgrounds, just off Harding highway (northern Ohio loves Ohio's own Warren G Harding!) in Lima) was packed. Brandon Robinson and Flyin' Ryan Wells won, both nice guys that it's easy to root for, what's not to like!
Like many tracks, you can watch right at the fence if you want to, so we checked out practice/qualifying from there
Unlike many tracks, you will get pelted with pea gravel roost if you do. It hurts.
So the bikes and riders are pretty well protected by tape, cardboard, hand guards, etc.
This is local rider Zakk Palmer's bike. We wondered why it wasn't as shiny as usual (Zakk is a regular at my local track and is as meticulous as he is fast). Turns out it's pretty much covered in tape with fiber on the radiator to keep the bike from getting too banged up by the roost in the race.
This is eventual GNC2 winner Ryan Wells' bike. Looks shinier from afar, up close its taped up too
Hey look another XR in the parking lot among the sea of pirate ships! Never did track down the owner
Hey look, it's SiloPete, doing his VETMotorsports thing with Jake Shoemaker. He's doing great and said to give his regards to the forum. I told him about the Colorado meet up in August, so, uh maybe? Anyhow, I met the vets who were working with the team and was reminded once again what a great program this is.
Davis Fisher's bike. Note the handguards, pretty sure those aren't stock! He had an odd night, crashing on the sighting lap of his heat. He looked a little shook up and did not run again.
Bryan Smith's bike, probably the cleanest bike in the paddock. I have to think this will be last year he's rocking the double digits. For him, 4th on the night was a good as a win and he remains the odds on favorite to take the grand national championship
Some other XR's, not that #3 is street legal, not a racer
Jared Mees' trailer. He's got more in pipes than I have in my XR I think.
This was the view from our seats in the grandstand (which was full). Maybe not as good as Fan's Choice, but at least it doesn't buffer all the time!
It was a good time and Jared and Nichole did a really nice job, I think this race might stick around for a while.
I did feel bad for Slammin' Sammy who looked like he might be catching Robinson before the red flag and then crashed out on the restart but that's racing, right?
To top it all off, I spent yesterday (Sunday) at a school Joe Kopp was putting on at my local track. Learned a lot, had a ton of fun, and got to hang out with another one of my flat track heroes, what's not to like?
