TOUGH NIGHT FOR RED BULL KTM AT PENULTIMATE ROUND OF AMERICAN FLAT TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – It was a challenging night for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team as they made their way to Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday for the penultimate round of the 2019 American Flat Track Championship. AFT Singles Championship hopeful Dan Bromley finished 10th overall in the class, while his teammate Shayna Texter rounded out the top-15 for what proved to be a difficult night at the Minnesota Mile. 

In qualifying, Bromley earned a fourth-place spot to give himself a favorable start position heading into the evening’s heat races. He took advantage of his position and powered his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION into the lead off the start. He led the first lap and continued to battle for a top position, ultimately finishing third in the heat. In the Semi, Bromley got off to a third-place start and quickly charged into the lead by the second lap. He bounced around inside the top four for the remainder of the race but a close-call in the final laps ultimately dropped him back to a fifth-place finish. In the Main Event, he got off to a great start in third, where he battled inside the top-five early on. He struggled to adapt to the ever-changing track during the 15-lap race and he ultimately dropped a few positions back to finish 10th for the day.

Dan Bromley: “The day started off good, I qualified fourth and finished third in my heat. In the Main Event, I was able to get a great start and battle up front early but with the track changing by the lap, I wasn’t able to find a line that worked best for me. We still have a chance to win the championship. It’s a very small chance but anything’s possible.”

Team rider Shayna Texter had a great start to the day as she claimed pole position for the heat race with a top qualifying time of 42.72. In AFT Singles Heat 1, Texter powered her KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION into a top-five position off the start. She immediately passed her way into fourth on lap two, finishing strong with a fourth-place finish. In the Semi, Texter once again got a fifth-place start and battled inside the top-five for the entire eight-lap race, ultimately securing a fourth-place transfer into the Main Event. In the main, she began from the second row and put herself into a top-10 position off the start. She experienced some vision issues early on that dropped her back to 15th and from there, she was forced to play catch-up in a stacked field of riders. She charged as much as she could in the second half of the race but it wasn’t enough to make up her early deficit and she finished 15th overall for the day.

Shayna Texter: “The day started off pretty good, I qualified fastest of everyone and sat on the pole for the heat race, which was great. In the Main Event, I got caught up in the loose dirt and I was struggling to rip off my tear-offs for about three or four laps, so I wasn’t able to see and I lost a bunch of positions in turn one. After that, I was struggling to regroup as I lost the lead draft and I was kind of like a sitting duck riding by myself. It was a rough night on Saturday but we had a great test on Sunday so I’m definitely feeling motivated to try and end this season on top.”

Next Race: September 28, 2019 – Meadowlands Mile – East Rutherford, New Jersey

AFT Singles Main Event

1. Mikey Rush, HON
2. Ryan Wells, YAM
3. Dallas Daniels, YAM
OTHER KTM
6. Morgan Mischler, KTM
10. Dan Bromley, KTM
15. Shayna Texter, KTM 

AFT Singles Point Standings

1. Dalton Gauthier, 281 points
2. Dan Bromley, 260
3. Mikey Rush, 255
OTHER KTM
7. Shayna Texter, 169
8. Morgen Mischler, 158
13. Tristan Avery, 87