Estenson Racing’s Jake Johnson once again left Peoria Race Park with some hardware, holding off reigning American Flat Track AFT Twins Champion Jared Mees to take the final podium spot at the 72nd Annual Peoria TT.
Johnson, who trains regularly on Motocross tracks, is quite at home on the TT course at the legendary Thunder Valley. He had a good start to the day, qualifying third and taking home the win in his Semi. In the Main Event, Johnson got off to a great start in second, but at the end of the day it was a race for third as “King Henry” was unbeatable for the 14th-consecutive year at the Peoria TT.
Although he was hoping for better, the two-time Grand National Champion is happy with the building momentum that has him feeling back to his former self – fighting for podiums and wins. He also continues to get more acquainted with the Indian Scout FTR750 and sees more areas to improve his setup.
Jake Johnson – AFT Twins #5:
“I knew I was a little bit off of Briar [Bauman] and Henry [Wiles] all day. Within a few laps, I knew Henry was coming. He was able to get by and I just kind of knew it was a race for third at that point. I knew I wasn’t going to catch those guys so I was just trying not to make any huge mistakes. Towards the end of the race I saw that Jared [Mees] was getting a little bit closer. When the five-to-go board came out, I just put in a last charge; gave it everything I had those last five laps. I’m not sure how close he got, but I was able to hold him off.”
“It’s great to be on the podium, but I wish I could have been a little closer, at least been able to battle it out with Briar for a little bit. Just didn’t quite have the pace today. I think we learned some things that we can work on. So I’m happy. Coming off a podium at X Games, the win at Buffalo Chip – we’ll forget about Rapid City – and back on the podium here. I feel like we’re back where we belong. It’s definitely helped build the confidence and hopefully finish the rest of these Half-Miles and Miles strong.”
Catch the race on NBCSN, September 1 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
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