Race Reports

Photos by: Dave Hoenig flattrakfotos.com

Tue, 6 Apr 2010 20:19:28 -0700

Daytona Bike Week
Oglethorpe Speedway
½ Mile
2/27/10
Tonight’s race in Savannah , GA would be the first round of the All Star National Flat Track series, This is the replacement for the AMA National Hot Shoe Series. I felt like I was going pretty good until the track developed some bumps and I struggled so bad with bike set up I actually pulled off in both the 450 and 750 twins main events. I just wasn’t doing any good out their with my bikes trying to spit me off every time I hit a bump. Jethro struggled with similar problems.

Volusia Speedway
½ Mile
3/1/10
Today would be round two of the ASNFS in Barberville, FL, and time to turn things around for the Halbert Bros. Racing team. I identified my set-up problem from the previous day and started to find a good setting I finished second in both the 450 expert heat and 750 expert twins heat race.
I really stepped it up for the main events today as I passed Mees to win the 450 main event. Then I had to reel in Wiles and pass him to win the 750 main! I couldn’t be happier to turn things around from two DNF’s the night before to a double win today!

Daytona Beach, FL
Short Track
3/3/10
Practice/Qualifying at the first AMA Grand National of the year at the all new short track at the Daytona International Speedway was very challenging to say the least. The track didn’t take to well to being left soft as when it tore up it became rocky & rutted. I qualified 4th and Jethro was 5th.
Because of the rocks they had no choice but to make the track completely different for the races. They had it wet and hard packed, so it stayed pretty smooth and very slippery. Jethro was in the second heat and finished in third place earning a direct transfer to the main. I got the holeshot in the third heat and led the entire race for the win. The program ran really quick we didn’t have much time for anything, I only had a couple minutes from my heat race until I was right back out there for the Dash for Cash. I didn’t get a great start and it took me a couple laps to get going, we only had 4 laps so I finished third but felt like I found my line and was confident going into the main event.
In the main I didn’t get a great start but went right to the bottom and was in second but Coolbeth quickly got by me. I got past him by lap three and then set about finding my line. I ran pretty low while the leader Joe Kopp was running the high line. I reeled him in and he came down to block me but I drove past him on lap seven and only started to go faster when I got the lead, I seemed to loosen up even more and found an even better line. I was able to pull away and then just ride steady and managed my lead to over a two second win at the end of 25 laps. Jethro came on strong at the end of the race and passed Kopp for fourth place in the final turn of the race. I couldn’t be happier to win the first national at the all new Daytona short track!

Daytona Beach, FL
ST
3-4-10
I knew it would be even harder to win two days in a row as the competition is so good they will usually figure out what your doing to go faster and at least match your pace. So I knew I would just have to step it up a little more. In qualifying the track stayed perfectly smooth so the times were generally really close but I kept almost a two tenth gap on the competition and managed to go even faster in the third session as the track got slower and qualifyied with a 19.0 about 2 tenths quicker than the next. Jethro qualified 10th.
I would be in the first heat race and it was sure to be a good one with Wiles, Mees and Carr all in there with me. I was running second behind Wiles and started to battle with him. I passed him down low in the turn and would drift up in front of him in the straightaway. A couple laps in I secured the lead and pulled a couple bike lengths ahead but the red flag came out for a fallen rider. They lined us up single file in the position we were in on lap two which meant I was behind Wiles and would have to do it all over again. Now I am all fired up because Wiles isn’t the safest rider to battle with, and they had a chance to see how I had the low line working for me, Wiles looked like he enjoyed lining up in front of me on the single file but for some reason he went straight to the high line, and even though I was about 5 bike lengths behind going into turn three he went so wide it allowed me to regain the lead with ease. I tried a few different lines in the heat and brought home the win. Jethro was in a crazy heat race and had to out duel Coolbeth and Schnabel to take 3rd place and earn his direct transfer.
Tonight we weren’t quite as rushed because the Pro Singles riders were falling and having restarts. Unfortunately my girlfriend Katie Hawkins was caught up in one of them and went down hard even sampling out the air fence. They took her away to the infield care center so I had no idea what was wrong but had to get that out of my head and go racing.
Going into the Dash for Cash I had a pretty good idea what line I wanted to use but I knew it was going to be extremely tough to beat these guys again cause the track was just so slippery and smooth tonight that it was hard to go any faster than the next guy. The high line was coming in as it got more slippery on the bottom but I threaded the needle just right going low on entrance and drifting high on the exit right in front of Kopp and brought home the dash win on the second night at Daytona… just like I did last year.
I got to see Katie getting around on crutches right before the main so I knew she was mostly OK other than her knee.
Unfortunately just like last year when it seemed like all the stars where aligned for a perfect Daytona short track, I would find problems on the first lap of the national. I cut to the bottom of the first turn just like I had been doing all weekend. This time I went really low to get under another rider and as I came up onto the slippery groove I just got completely sideways on the lock stops and somehow started spinning to the right wide open facing the 12 riders that came off the second row. I was expecting impact but nobody hit me, it felt like I laid on the ground for a couple seconds trying to decide if I should get up or wait for the red flag. Well my bike was still running and I was the only one down so I picked it up and took off a full straightaway behind the next guy. I took a couple laps to really get going and find a good line I was just thinking about what I had just done and hoping for a restart. I got that out of my head though and started going fast speedway style sideways and on the gas thru the turns. I caught up to a pack of riders and instead of waiting for an opening on the low line I just carried my momentum right around them and then brought it back down to the bottom. I got up to ninth place and could see the number one plate on Wiles in front of me and started to think that maybe I would salvage a decent points day but that’s right when my bike died going into turn three and would not re-fire. My night was done then after 14 laps so I stood on the sidelines and watched Jethro the other half of Halbert Bros. Racing finish another solid top five run with his fifth place finish.
Overall it was a good week of racing for us, Jethro had his best Daytona ever with two top fives, and I would leave Daytona fifth in the standings only 9 points behind the lead, I had the fastest lap of the main event so I know I had the speed but I am still hungrier than ever and this little mishap will just keep me extra motivated thru our little break until the next GNC May 1 in AZ.

Vegas

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:49:12 -0800

The Black Pearl rolled into the South Point Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas , NV Thursday evening. This year I took it easy and just played some video games in the arcade room with my girlfriend the night before the opening round of Gene Romero's West Coast Flat Track Series. We always have fun at Gene's races, and the tracks are always challenging. Big Brother Jethro was racing our J&M Honda 450, while I was racing our old Rotax that hasn't been raced in years, and little bro Andy raced one of my YZ 450's in the Top Gun 450 class. At these races qualifying is done the old school way, we go out one at a time for a hot lap to try and set the pole position, all timed by a stopwatch. With only the top six transferring to the Dash for Cash it puts a lot of pressure on doing one fast lap. I haven't had a good qualifying run at this track in all my attempts, and this time was no different as I was only credited with 18th place while Jethro was second.
The Open Pro class that we run would have five heat races with only the winner transferring directly to the main event. Jethro got tangled up on the start of his heat race and was getting pushed around for a couple laps and had to settle for 3rd. I was able to grab the lead early in my heat race and take the win but I was still fighting the Rotax a little bit. Jethro and Jake Johnson put on a battle in the Dash for Cash with Jethro beating his replacement on the Zanotti Racing team to the line for the win. More bad luck in the semi for him as there was only two spots available and everyone wanted them. He got slammed a few times in traffic and finally got into second after a restart, only to fall trying to make a pass for the lead. That unfortunately ended his night.
Since we were in Vegas and all, I decided to take a huge gamble and roll out for the main event on the bike he was racing because I felt like it was working better than mine. I started fourth out from the pole and with such a short run to the first turn it would be hard to beat anyone to my inside, but I went for it and actually tangled bars coming off the turn causing me to wheelie and spin out in the middle of the backstretch in front of the pack. Luckily they all avoided me and I was able to line back up on the front row for the restart. This time I was able to fall in line in second behind Johnson. He pulled a pretty decent size gap on me at one point but as I started to find a good line he made some mistakes and I caught up and made a pass off turn two for the lead. He however checked up and block passed me in the next turn which allowed Chad Cose to sneak past me. I quickly passed Chad back and carried my momentum right past Jake for the lead but I got too sideways on the exit of turn four taking Jake wide with me, allowing Cose to get the lead, Jake and I passed each other back and fourth a total of seven times in this race, we were still right on Chad’s tail at the end but my idle speed had turned up too high so I couldn't hold the bottom off the turn. I was able to hold Jake off the last couple laps but couldn't make a move on Cose so I finished a close second.
Andy impressed us by keeping up the family tradition of not playing follow the leader, he made a direct transfer in his heat race but when things got thick in the main event he got ran over a few times and finished 9th. He was a little banged up and since he just does this for fun, after seeing how brutal this little track can be he decided to call it a weekend.
The next day they changed the track configuration a little to give us longer straights and tighter corners. I was getting more comfortable on my Rotax but still only managed 12th in qualifying while Jethro was First. He would win his heat race after a little battle with Johnson. He also won the Dash for Cash and with my heat race win we had the first two starting positions on the front row of the main event. Jethro got the holeshot from the pole position and started to pull away and left me to fight over second with Jake Johnson, we went at it pretty hard but this time we didn't slow each other down too much and let the next guy pass us which was Bergen nipping at our heels. I held down second for most of the race but Jake passed me late in the race. I lost a couple bike lengths then closed back in and was about to attempt an aggressive pass on the last lap but he had a really tight line now and I didn't get the run I needed so I had to settle for third. It was Jethro's night though and I was really happy to see him get a win and start the year off right.
It was a successful trip for us and it felt good to get back on the track and mix it up with the best of the west plus a few after sitting out for over two months with my broken leg.
Take care, thanks to all my family, friends and supporters.
Sammy Halbert
Photo's by: Amanda Jones

1/8/10 Pro Main
http://www.youtube.com/user/Lineaweaver1#p/u/0/b4Hve8_DcO4

1/9/10 Pro Main
http://www.youtube.com/user/Lineaweaver1#p/u/1/ChjMBOMSGo0

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Going into Pomona I was thinking I needed to just go in and get 28 points, by winning the Dash for Cash, and the GNC Main event. I then would have guaranteed myself at least second place in the AMA GNC Twins Championship, and a shot at winning if Jared Mees finished 10th or worse. I felt like all the training I have done all year has built up to this event, and I was ready to put it to good use.

The track turned out to be very challenging as they tried to make it hard packed, but the soil was too soft, and it was obvious right away that it was going to be a rough track all night. I qualified 9th but was confident I would be upfront when it came down to race time.

There was a few restarts in my heat race and I was getting shuffled backwards in most of them, I was worried as I fell back out of the top five before the restart. On the last re-start I didn't come off the line well, but I just charged into the lead through the first turn, but was soon passed by Henry Wiles. I tried my best to hang with him, but he was just a little faster. Then I had to give it everything I had to hold off challenges from Matt Weidman and JR Schnabel. Top two in this heat was crucial as it meant front row starts for the GNC Main event and Dash for Cash. I knew I had just barely kept my title hopes alive by finishing second.

The Dash for Cash just didn't go my way, I tried to find some good lines to pass, but found some bumps instead and dropped back to 6th place. Joe Kopp finished second which meant that we would be tied in the Overall Grand National Championship going into the Main event with Mees just one point behind.

In the main event I had kind of a rough time, and went backwards a little. I was running right behind Mees when all of a sudden Steve Bonsey crashed running the low line in turns three. His bike slid right in front of me,and I went up and over at high speed. I was layed out hard on the track, and it looked like it was all over, I felt like my leg might have been broken. After a few minutes I stood up, and luckily the bike wasn't to damaged to continue. I started in last place on the single file restart and worked my way around riders and continued to search for a fast line. Halfway through the race I had developed enough courage to try running the low line Thur the bumps in turn one, that turned out to be the key to my success as my Harley-Davidson XR750 was set up to handle the bumps well. I was then able to go just a little faster in each corner than everyone around me so I worked my way past Kopp, Johnson, and Carr. then I caught and passed Weidman and Mees for third, and it seemed I was catching the leaders, but it was too little to late. I finished in third place and was happy to limp onto the podium. I finished the season in third place for the AMA GNC Twins Championship, and won the "Overall Grand National Championship" by 1 point marking the closest ever top three riders in the Grand National Championship Series! I am also the first rider under 23 years old to win the Grand National Championship (combined points) since 1978.

I am so happy to end the season on such a high note by charging from last place to third in the Pomona GNC Main Event! They know I am coming for them! I also feel very honored to have won the www.flattrack.com overall Grand National Championship by having the most points in the singles and twins class for 2009.

I am looking forward to expanding my team for next year with the addition of my older brother, National #69 Jethro Halbert. I am really looking forward to working alongside him week in and week out, like we did as Amateurs. We will be stronger as a team together and will come to Daytona Bike Week prepared to gang up on the rest of the GNC Regulars.

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:10:53 -0700

Its been a while since my last update and this one promises to be good, After the big Springfield AMA Grand National double header weekend we left Illinois with a one point lead in the flattrack.com Overall AMA Grand National Championship. You can vote for you who you think will win at www.flattrack.com and contribute to the point fund if you want to be part of the closest Grand National Championship battle ever with 6 riders still in contention for the number one plate! If I win I will be the first overall champion under the age of 23 since 1978 the year my Dad graduated High school!
On our way back to the west coast we stopped in Colorado to spend a day training at the www.americansupercamp.com headquarters near Fort Collins. A big thanks to Danny Walker and the guys for helping me out!
9/12/09
Our next stop would be Stockton, CA for the first annual Stockton Mile Flat Track race. Now we all knew this was going to be a special event as it was the first mile Flat Track Motorcycle race in California since 2003! and my Mom flew down to watch! It was evident that the fans were starved for a mile in CA as there was a lot of loud spectators at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds for an exciting day of racing. I really enjoyed being back on the West Coast and it was really great to see my California friends and fans! We did them proud as I battled past former Grand National Champion Joe Kopp to take the win in the Premier Unlimited Expert class. The Lodi Motorcycle Club did a good job with their first Mile event and awarded me with a very nice trophy and the lions share of the 15K purse. After spraying the bubbly and a little bit of celebration we high tailed it back home to Graham, WA, I hadn't been back since May so it felt great!
Making it even nicer to be back was the $5,000. Pro Motorcycle Purse at one of the local tracks I grew up racing on; Rainier, WA
9/19/09
It was set to be a show-down between myself and newly crowned Pro Singles Champion Brad Baker and a host of very fast North West Experts. While young Bradley was buried mid pack at the start of the main event I was out front and FLYING. I had tried a very different bike set-up and really liked it as I brought home the win!
check out my helmet cam video from a practice session at the Rainer Bowl http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZEKBbWt0hY

My next adventure brings us down to sunny southern CA for a round of Eddie Mulders WCVDTS with this event named after Digger Helms who is mainly responsible for getting all the fast guys battling on this bull ring short track for about 15 Grand in Purse Money!
I loaded up my Van with my J&M Framed Honda 450 and newly acquired Girl friend Katie Hawkins Pro Sport #15p and headed South excited to see how well my bike would work with the new set-up.
9/26/09
The battle in Bakersfield looked to be a good one as we had plenty of fast riders on a very small track. Including the top three in the Overall Grand National Championship. Jared Mees, Joe Kopp and myself. We started it off with a bang by winning our Heat race and then taking the win in the Rod Lake Sponsored Dash for Cash. You can re-live the action by clicking here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elJaB9hGXdE
The main event was not so good for me as I couldn't come to terms with the slippery track conditions and would finish just off the podium in fourth place. I can chalk this race up as another lesson learned, I will be better prepared for this event next year.
I hope you have all enjoyed this update. I am currently back in SO-CAL preparing to race the final two rounds of Eddie Mulders WCVDTS at Willow Springs Raceway. It should be a classic with lots of touring Pro's in town for next weekends AMA GNC Finale' in Pomona, CA

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:32:30 -0700

9/7/09
Springfield, IL
Springfield Short Track AMA GNC Singles

We came back Monday morning for the rain postponed AMA Grand National Singles Finale on the bull ring short track. Qualifying didn't work out too well for me, I was 32nd. I was on the back row of heat two. I wasn't too worried as the track was kind of hit and miss and a lot of other fast guys were also starting near the back. I was confident I could finish top two in this heat race.
Well they didn't water the track before our heat races making for extreme dry slick dusty conditions. It was so bad we couldn't race very hard at all. With the poor track conditions I was able to identify my handling issues, my bike was not working very well at all. I finished 5th in the heat race marking only the second time I had to go to a semi to make the main event this year.
I still had my provisional start card from being in the top ten last year so I knew I would be in the main event either way, but I didn't plan on using the provisional and starting on the fourth row. I was third off the line in the semi, and passed Aaron King to move into second place where I would finish.
I knew we were headed in the right direction now with bike set-up so we made it a little better before the main event and lined up on the third row ready to go to work. The first turn was very crowded. I kept looking ahead and began my march to the front. The first battle I had was with Schnabel who tried passing me back so I had to throw the SUPER LEAN move on him. That took care of him, next up was AJ Eslick, I passed him and then was trying to set-up Johnson when AJ tried passing me back. I had to get on the gas hard for the next lap and a half before I could squeeze him out. The next thing I had to deal with was trying to pass Jake while he was trying to pass Carr. I got my nose up in their and then right when Jake was about to finish passing Carr on the outside I passed them both on the inside at the same time! I stayed focused and put in some really fast laps that were as good or better than the lead pack. I reeled in Matt Weidman and I could see he was struggling to get off the corners now that the track had dried out and started to groove up. As soon as I arrived at his back wheel he got sideways off turn two, I was alongside him down the short back-stretch and as we entered the turn I could feel his handlebar get caught on my boot. I had a bad feeling that he was going to be on the ground but luckily he saved it. The last two laps I was catching the fight for the final podium spot, but 5th place was all she wrote in the final AMA GNC Singles National of the year. I dropped back one spot to finish 4th place in the AMA GNC Singles Championship.
I am starting to get the handle on these stock framed 450 dirt bikes. I will continue my work during the "off season" and come back ready to contend for next years Singles Title.

Thanks to all of you who helped make it possible for me to compete on top notch equipment this season!
Next up: Stockton Mile and Rainier Short Track Race Reports