Even though the season is less than two months old, Philpot native JD Beach took a big step forward last weekend when he won the title at the Atlanta Super TT American Flat Track.
There have only been a few rounds in the early going because Beach said they were hoping more could be in attendance at races but now, they’re going to get much more frequent.
“Now the rounds are going to start moving quicker,” he said. “They spread out the start of the year until now because they were hoping with the vaccines and stuff that they’d be able to more fans.”
Beach’s team, Estenson Racing, swept the races in Atlanta so his win didn’t just help himself out.
“It definitely helps the whole team, a lot,” he said. “It helps myself just because last year we didn’t get one year, we didn’t get one podium. We had a hard year because we had a new bike last season. To get the win already this year was good. It’s good for all the guys that are there as the team is working hard. They’re seeing their work pay off.”
Not all racers are created equal and different tracks appeal to different racers.
In Atlanta, the track was made for Beach.
“There was quite a few things,” he said of what worked for him in the race. “One was it was a TT track, which those types, they’ll have at least one right hand turn and a jump. This track actually had two right hand turns, a jump and the front straightaway and first run was all paved. My background is road racing so I’ve got a lot of time on pavement. That and I think it was in the heads of the rest of the guys because they were all worried about that.”
While the win gives Beach confidence going forward, he admitted they still have plenty of work to do.
“It does but I have to be realistic too,” he said. “Our bike is not a championship winning bike yet. We still have a lot of work to do. It’s definitely gotten way better than it was last season but it gives me hope that we can finish in the top 3-5.”
