AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson won his first race of the 2011 season, the Honda CRF450R-mounted New Jersey native beating defending AMA Singles Champion Henry Wiles by 2.4 seconds to win the inaugural Salinas TT at the Salinas Sports Complex in Salinas, California on Saturday night.
Impressive rookie Brad Baker rode his Honda to third, a tad over a second behind Wiles and his Monster-backed Werner/Springsteen Kawasaki.
Jared Mees barely beat Sammy Halbert for fourth, the pair separated by just .019 sec. at the finish line.
Chris Carr, Robert Pearson, JD Beach, last week’s winner Kenny Coolbeth, and Jethro Halbert rounded out the top ten.
Fast qualifier Johnson finished fourth in the Dash For Cash, with Jimmy Wood winning the points-paying sprint race featuring the fastest qualifiers.
Halbert continues to lead the Grand National Championship, the Daytona doubleheader winner now just four points ahead of Johnson, 85-81. Baker is third with 66 points.
Salinas TT
1. Jake Johnson (Honda)
2. Henry Wiles (Kawasaki)
3. Brad Baker (Honda)
4. Jared Mees (Honda)
5. Sammy Halbert (Yamaha)
6. Chris Carr (Honda)
7. Robert Pearson (Yamaha)
8. JD Beach (Honda)
9. Kenny Coolberth Jr. (Kawasaki)
10. Jethro Halbert (Honda)
