26.03.2023

MAX WHALE RISES WITH RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING FOR SENOIA SHORT TRACK VICTORY

Round 3 – American Flat Track Championship
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SENOIA, Georgia – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Max Whale captured his first AFT Singles victory of the 2023 American Flat Track Championship season in Saturday night's Senoia Short Track, as defending champion and teammate Kody Kopp finished in fifth position to maintain his points lead following three rounds.
After winning the opening Heat of the round and then going on to earn P1 in the Dash-for-Cash, 21-year-old Whale controlled proceedings in the 22-lap Main Event onboard his KTM 450 SX-F with a wire-to-wire performance. His winning margin was eventually 1.483s, which sees him climb to third in the standings.

Max Whale: "What a day! We started off on the wrong foot with P7 in qualifying and we had to work hard from there. But, I worked my way through the field to win my Heat, then won the Dash-for-Cash as well. In the Main Event, I rode an awesome race and my 450 SX-F was working so good. I didn't put a foot wrong, really, was able to check out by 1.4 seconds, which doesn't seem like a lot, but it is in the slick conditions like this. I'm so pumped to get the win, it's been a long time for me and a lot of hard work in between – I'm so happy and can't thank my Red Bull KTM team enough!"

As for current AFT Singles number one Kopp, after sweeping Daytona's opening double-header rounds, he finished fourth in Heat 2 and then was in podium contention during the Main Event. It was a determined ride for the 18-year-old, however, he took the checkered flag in fifth place and continues to hold the series lead with a five-point advantage.

Kody Kopp: "I felt like I faced a little more adversity than I probably have in six or seven rounds, including last year. It's hard to push through that when everybody's so competitive. We ended up P5 in the Main Event, so there are positives and negatives to take from Senoia – a lot of positives in the end. In practice, I was 17th, so it was pretty gnarly to end up where we did with a top-five result. We've gotta be stronger to start on tracks like this that are new to everybody, so we will learn from that. Thanks to the Red Bull KTM team, we still have the points lead going into Arizona next weekend."

Next Race: Arizona Super TT – Chandler, Arizona – April 1, 2023

Round 3 Results – Senoia Short Track

AFT Singles Main Event
1. Max Whale, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
2. James Ott, Husqvarna
3. Dalton Gauthier, KTM
OTHER KTM
5. Kody Kopp, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
9. Shayna Texter-Bauman, KTM
14. Tanner Dean, KTM
17. Travis Petton IV, KTM
19. Justin Jones, KTM

2023 AFT Singles Point Standings
1. Kody Kopp, 65 points
2. Dalton Gauthier, 60
3. Max Whale, 53
OTHER KTM
11. Justin Jones, 24
12. Logan Eisenhard, 22
16. Travis Petton IV, 12
17. Shayna Texter-Bauman, 11
18. Hunter Bauer, 11
19. Tanner Dean, 9
23. Clarke Morian V, 5
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Images (5)

 MAX WHALE - RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING
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 MAX WHALE 02 - RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING
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MAX WHALE PODIUM
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KODY KOPP - RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING
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KODY KOPP 02 - RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING
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