Cycle News Staff | November 13, 2018
Estenson Racing announced that multi-time road race champion JD Beach will be joining the team’s core members—two-time Grand National Champion Jake Johnson and 2017 AFT Singles Champion Kolby Carlile—to provide a three-pronged threat in the AFT Twins class in 2019. This expansion will see Estenson Racing more than doubling its race effort in American Flat Track in just its third full season in the series.
Flat Track Full Time For JD Beach
Although 2019 marks the first time Beach will be racing full-time in flat track, he has strong dirt track roots and has shown that, even though his focus has been on road racing in his professional career, it has not dulled his flat track skills. In just his first Twins race since 2013, he scored a podium finish at the 2017 season finale at the Perris Half-Mile and then he backed it up with a second-place finish at the 2018 season opener at the Daytona TT.
Beach says he looks forward to joining the team in 2019 and riding the Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 for an entire season.
“I’m really excited,” Beach said. “This is going to be the first time that I’ve ever done a full season in dirt track, so to compete at every AFT round will be great. And, to have a chance to ride for a team like Estenson Racing is great. It’s been a team that has grown a lot, and they have won races and a championship already. So it’s awesome to be a part of it.
“Racing the new Yamaha Twin in dirt track is going to be fun, but it’ll be a challenge, too. There are a lot of Indians out there now, and with [Bryan] Smith going back to Kawasaki next year, it is going to make it interesting but fun, too. I think we’re going to have a really good bike. This will the first time that I’ll actually get to test the bike and stuff and get some time on it before I go racing, which will be nice. I think we’re going to be ready when the season starts, and it will be fun to see how I do when I can stay on the same bike throughout the year.”
In addition to a full season of flat track, Beach will still continue road racing, an announcement to come at a later date.
“I’m beyond excited to step up to the Twins class in 2019,” Carlile said. “There is no higher step you can take as far as a career in dirt track goes, so it will be good to see the top of the mountain and watch my progress over the next few years.” CN
Click here for all of the latest Flat Track Racing news.