By the end of April 1st, weather permitting, we will already have seen four full AFT rounds. As mentioned in the Senoia preview post, there used to be a six or seven-week gap between Daytona and the next race on the schedule, often the Springfield Mile at the end of May. Not this year, no sirree, we have the Arizona Super TT tomorrow!
2019 was the last time AFT raced this facility and the track was a big hit with fans and racers. It was a long, flowing and fast TT. Cory Texter says he's seen a drawing of the 2023 layout and reports that it is different, much tighter.
Everyone seems to be tipping JD Beach (above) to repeat his 2019 win. With Wiles out of the picture, he's the current rider with the most TT wins, a total of six. The Estenson Yamaha rider is also one of the few SuperTwins competitors on the same bike/team as 2019. Mees is still with the same set-up, Robinson is with a different Indian team, but the same bike. Pretty much every other contender has changed bikes.
If I had to put my money on anyone to beat Beach, it would be his team-mate, Dallas Daniels, who wasn't even old enough to enter the Singles class until halfway through the 2019 season, and missed this Atlanta round. Daniels currently leads the early title race from Mees, Robinson and Beach in fourth. It'll also be interesting to see how well johnny Lewis does on the Enfield. He's a former factory KTM Supermoto rider, he's been raging in the qualifiers and early laps of the mains this year, and if the track is tight, it might help the Enfield, that is down on outright power to the other SuperTwins.
As for the Singles class, only a madman would try predict a winner in that class, but Max Whale and Gauthier will take some beating.
Watch the race on FansChoice.tv
Photo: Scott Hunter/AFT