02.05.2021
Round 3 - American Flat Track Championship - May 2, 2021
ATLANTA, Ga. – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Max Whale finished just shy of the AFT Singles podium on Saturday with a hard-fought fourth-place at Round 3 of the 2021 American Flat Track Championship. Motorsport icon, Travis Pastrana, made a guest appearance at the Atlanta Super TT alongside the Red Bull KTM squad where he scored an impressive ninth-place in the AFT Singles class aboard the KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION.
Whale, who qualified sixth with a competitive lap time in the singles division, set himself up for a favorable day of racing as he lined up on the front row of AFT Singles Semi 2. He powered his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION off the line and into third on the opening lap, where he battled for most of the race. With three laps to go, Whale clicked it up a notch to overtake second as he laid down blazing fast lap times to finish second in the semi.
Following a red-flag restart in the Main Event, Whale got off to a fifth-place start and battled inside the top-five for the first half of the race. The Australian native was able to make his way into fourth at the halfway mark and from there he maintained a steady pace to finish just shy of the podium in fourth.
Whale: “What an awesome weekend Atlanta was! It was super fun having Travis Pastrana, Ryan Sipes and Shayna Texter as teammates all weekend. I feel like I had good speed but the first couple laps I got pushed around and dropped back a few positions but I passed a few people and ended up fourth. I feel like I had pace to run with the front three but it was too little too late and I couldn’t catch them quick enough. I just want to thank everyone who helps me out, the whole Red Bull KTM team worked really hard all weekend and it’s much appreciated.”
Coming off a 1-1 sweep at the opening rounds, Shayna Texter-Bauman had a challenging day at the Atlanta Super TT. She made it through qualifying to line up in AFT Singles Semi 2 but she didn’t get the start she was looking for and wasn’t able to make her way through the field to claim a transfer into the Main Event. Despite missing the main, Texter-Bauman still maintains third overall in the championship standings with two Main Event wins in the first three rounds.
Texter-Bauman: “It was a challenging night for myself as I failed to qualify for the Main Event. This TT track was a bit unique to our sport for TT racing in particular because they added an asphalt section to the track. I felt really good on the asphalt but I was really struggling myself in the dirt section. The Georgia red clay as we saw in Supercross was very hard to find a consistent base and we battled rough-dry-slick conditions all night long. We will regroup tomorrow with some oval testing and be ready to come out strong in Texas in a couple weeks.”
As part of his weekend racing extravaganza, Travis Pastrana lined up in the AFT Singles Class for Round 3 aboard the iconic #199 KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION to try his hand at a different discipline of racing. Pastrana came away with a respectable ninth-place finish in the Main Event after battling inside the top-10 throughout the day. Pastrana was a welcomed addition to the team for the weekend as he demonstrated his ability to be ready to race at any time, any place.
Pastrana: “It was an epic day of fun here in Atlanta. The KTM was by far the fastest 450 I’ve ever ridden and a huge advantage on the field and I had a blast trying to figure everything out. I brought my mechanic Ron with me to help out but besides bleeding the front brake a few times, we didn’t touch anything all weekend. I wish I could have finished one spot higher and been in front of [Ryan] Sipes but I was really happy to make the main and get a top-10 result. I need some practice using the metal shoe and being consistent with my slides but maybe the chance will come up to ride another TT in the future.”
Next Race: Texas Half-Mile – Fort Worth, Texas – May 22, 2021
AFT Singles Main Event – Atlanta Super TT
1. Dallas Daniels, YAM
2. Michael Rush, YAM
3. Ferran Cardus, HON
4. Max Whale, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
OTHER KTM
9. Travis Pastrana, KTM
17. Aiden RoosEvans, KTM
AFT Singles Point Standings (After Round 3)
1. Dallas Daniels, 60 points
2. Michael Rush, 57
3. Shayna Texter-Bauman, 50
4. Max Whale, 43