20.06.2021
Rounds 5 & 6 - American Flat Track Championship
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Max Whale capped off a successful double-header weekend in Oklahoma on Saturday as he claimed his second AFT Singles victory of the season at Round 6 of the 2021 American Flat Track Championship.
Serving as the first “mile” of the season, the OKC Mile doubleheader delivered rounds five and six of the series, presenting a variety of challenging track conditions throughout the race weekend. On Friday, Max Whale carried a seventh-place qualifying position into AFT Singles Semi 1, where he powered his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION into third on the opening lap. He fought his way up to the lead battle and with two laps to go, he pulled the trigger to claim the semi win. In the Main Event, Whale put himself into fourth off the start and he got shuffled back to fifth early on. Racing just outside the top-five battle, the Aussie secured sixth on the first night.
Saturday proved to be a new day and Whale was determined to end the weekend on a high note. He came in swinging for AFT Singles Semi 2, securing the holeshot and early lead. With a hard-fought performance, Whale ultimately finished second in the Semi but he entered the Main Event with great momentum behind him. With a second-place start, Whale went to work battling for the lead position early on. Putting together a strategic plan heading into the final laps, Whale hung back and waited for an opportune moment, which came just seconds before the checkered flag when he made his move to secure the lead and put a stamp on victory on day two of racing.
Whale: “On day one, I had a good Semi win but I struggled to put things together in the Main Event. Day two was great. I stuck onto Henry [Wiles] in the Main Event and I stayed there all race. I managed to pull off a last-lap draft pass for the win. It was a huge accomplishment to get my first “mile” podium and it was a win. I can’t thank my team enough, they put in such a huge effort and it means so much to me. Onto the next one.”
Shayna Texter-Bauman started the weekend off positively with P3 in practice but with deteriorating track conditions throughout the weekend, it became a challenge for the multi-time race winner. In AFT Singles Semi 1, Shayna got off to a top-10 start and battled her way up to a fifth-place finish, setting herself up for a third-row start in the Main Event. She didn’t get the best jump off the start as she found herself in 15th at the end of lap one. She broke into the top-10 late in the race and from there she held strong for 10th place.
Energized and ready to go to battle once again on Saturday, Shayna lined up in AFT Singles Semi 1 and she powered her KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION into fifth off the start. She battled mid-pack for the rest of the race, securing the final transfer position in eighth. In the Main Event, Shayna began just outside the top-10 and she battled around the same spot all race long to ultimately finish 12th on the night.
Texter-Bauman: “In the past I’ve had a lot of success here, so I was really looking forward to this race but man, the track was rough and challenging. We battled some dry conditions throughout the weekend, which made it a little bit of a challenge, but no excuses, the track is the same for everyone. Night one was disappointing but I was also energized for night two because I felt like in the Main Event we were moving forward. Going into night two, we tried to make the bike better for what I was struggling with but unfortunately, we just weren’t able to get it. Overall, just a little bit disappointed in the results. As a team, we’ll put our heads down and think about how we can be better heading into the next race. We have high expectations heading into Lima and we’re ready to get back to work.”
Next Race: Lima Half-Mile – Lima, Ohio – June 26, 2021
AFT Singles Main Event – OKC Mile I
1. Henry Wiles, Honda
2. Dallas Daniels, Yamaha
3. Morgen Mischler, KTM
OTHER KTM
6. Max Whale – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
9. James Ott, KTM
10. Shayna Texter-Bauman – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
11. Aiden RoosEvans, KTM
15. Hunter Bauer, KTM
AFT Singles Main Event – OKC Mile II
1. Max Whale – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
2. Henry Wiles, Honda
3. Dallas Daniels, Yamaha
OTHER KTM
5. Hunter Bauer, KTM
11. Morgen Mischler, KTM
12. Shayna Texter-Bauman – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
13. James Ott, KTM
16. David Wiggin, KTM
AFT Singles Point Standings (After Round 6)
1. Dallas Daniels, 112 points
2. Max Whale – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing,106
3. Michael Rush, 102
4. Henry Wiles, 83
5. Shayna Texter-Bauman – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 75
6. Morgen Mischler, 74