Flat Track Canada Champ Doug Lawrence earned third in his heat race and fifth in his semi in the final round of the Harley-Davidson GNC1 AMA Flat Track Championship presented by Vance and Hines, but it wasn’t enough to get him into the 13th and final main event of the 2015 National season at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, November 20.
In his Heat, Town Moto backed, Honda mounted Lawrence got a poor start, but managed to work his way up to place a respectable third behind winner Brandon Robinson and runner-up Kayl Kolkman. That result moved Lawrence onto the front row of the crowed 12 rider Semi race, and the Champ needed to place in the top two to make it to the main.
While Lawrence again moved through the field, it wasn’t enough to earn him a spot in the 12 rider Main vent. Instead, Lawrence’s effort moved him on to the GNC1 “B Main,” and after a rough start, he worked his way up to net sixth.
“The track slowed down a lot, we changed the gearing, we were trying to work it,” explained Lawrence post racing. “My races went Ok, but just Ok – positioning is everything. The track was getting rutted, and you really needed to hit things straight, and when you’re in traffic, that’s hard to do.”
Lawrence will return to the same tenth of a mile, custom designed dirt oval tomorrow, since the Northern National Champ earned an invitation to take part in the first ever Superprestigio of the Americas. This unique event, based on a recent Spanish format, has a ladder system for flat track stars and a separate series of qualifying and heats for non-dirt trackers, leading to a combined “world” final.
Meanwhile, a series of bizarre events mean that heat six victor and reigning Champ Jared Mees of Clio, MI has clinched the American National Flat Track crown, before the final event has even taken place. As with most of the field, Mees was mounted on a Honda CFR450R single, but is backed by big local dealer Las Vegas Harley-Davidson.
Potential points rivals in the Championship chase, Kenny Coolbeth Jr. (Hon) and Brad Baker (Hon), both fell in their Semi, meaning both are mathematically eliminated from the title battle.
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