PHOENIX (May 29, 2018)– It was a rough day for everyone at the Springfield TT on Saturday, May 26, including Estenson Racing’s Kolby Carlile. The seventh round of the American Flat Track AFT Singles Championship was met with not only hot and humid conditions, but lengthy delays as it was nestled in with amateur racing at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Arena. Ultimately, 13 hours in the stifling heat got to Carlile, who had come down with the flu earlier in week.
Despite feeling less than one hundred percent, Carlile toughed it out to finish fourth in his Heat, seventh in the Semi and put his Yamaha YZ450F in the Main. In the Main Event, Carlile kept pushing forward to finish 11th. Champions are not satisfied with anything but a win, but the defending AFT Singles Champ also knows that you have to fight for the best result on your worst day. So, in the end, Carlile was happy to leave Springfield with some valuable points in the championship.
Kolby Carlile – AFT Singles #1:
“I was really looking forward to it going in, and I tried to maintain a positive outlook, but I knew how sick I was all week. I had a pretty severe cold. I just didn’t have any energy, and I didn’t feel like myself out on the track. The people close to me who know how I ride could see that I wasn’t on it. I really had no energy to ride around, but I pushed forward and put it in the Main Event. There were 60 guys, and I easily could have missed the Main; there were some great riders who missed the Main.
“Bad days like these where I’ve struggled a little bit because of health or other personal reasons, those are the ones where you have to really try your hardest to succeed and just keep pushing. So I am glad to come away with some points and move on to the next one.”
Relive the action of the Springfield TT and Springfield Mile on NBCSN, June 9 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
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