Tom Drane extends championship lead with dominant win at Peoria

2025 American Flat Track
Peoria TT

The Peoria TT proved one to remember for Australian Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) after he took a massive eight-plus-second victory – well clear of the chasing pack, with fellow Aussie Thomas Herrick claiming a top-10 result in ninth.

The win checked off a handful of achievements for the Australian, including becoming just the sixth rider in class history to complete the Grand Slam while also equalling his own AFT Singles record for most consecutive podiums at nine.

A huge twist in the fight for today’s checkered flag, as well as the 2025 championship, occurred well before the riders ever gridded up for the Main. ‘24 Peoria TT winner Chase Saathoff (No. 88 RWR/Parts Plus Honda CRF450R) suffered a big crash during qualifying, landing the jump awkwardly and being thrown over the high side of his machine just moments after claiming the top spot on the charts. The RWR star hit the ground hard in the fall and was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation, bringing his day at the track to an early conclusion.

Drane’s path was further cleared when triple champion Kody Kopp (No. 1 Bob Lanphere/KTM/Fastrack Racing KTM 450 SX-F), who had consistently ranked among the three fastest riders along with Drane and Saathoff throughout practice and qualifying, lost a chain landing the jump on the opening lap of his heat race. That forced him to the back row of the LCQ where he had to claw his way to a similarly disadvantageous starting slot in the Main Event.

In the Main, Drane was momentarily dropped to second by ‘23 Peoria winner Trevor Brunner (No. 21 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R). But the Estenson Racing ace had an answer entering Turn 1 on Lap 2. Once back into the lead, Drane immediately stretched open a gap and continued to rip it open ever wider for the remainder of the contest.

Drane later admitted that his 8.148-second margin of victory could have been even more lopsided if he hadn’t called off the dogs.

Tom Drane

“Towards the end of that one, I looked back and saw I had a huge gap so I rolled it off a little. I didn’t need to do anything stupid at the end. I can’t thank my whole team enough with all the effort they put in. They had the bike working great all day. It’s been so easy for me just to get on and ride it because they had it set up so good. I hope Chase is doing all right. You don’t like to see that happen to anyone.”

Despite starting from the back row, Kopp made himself a factor with an awesome start that saw him rail around the outside of the pack and slot into sixth coming out of Turn 2.

From there, he quickly made his way up to third but was then stymied by Brunner in his repeated bids to steal away second. Their duel became a three-way scrap with the arrival of Tarren Santero (No. 75 Mission Roof Systems Honda CRF450R), who established himself as the master of the jump.

Kopp and Santero then went back and forth while simultaneously looking for a way into second that never opened up. A bevy of inside and outside moves were executed (including one run through the grass by Santero) in the action-packed melee. In the end, Brunner held on for the runner-up position with Santero third and Kopp fourth.

Just behind, the rolling Aidan RoosEvans (No. 26 FRA Trust/ATV’s and More Yamaha YZ450F) closed in and nearly made it a four-way fight before accepting a strong fifth.

Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 Parts Bros Worldwide/D&D Cycles KTM 450 SX-F), Kage Tadman (No. 288 1st Impressions Racing Husqvarna FC450), Chad Cose (No. 49 1st Impressions Race Team Husqvarna FC450), Thomas Herrick (No. 314 Davies Motorcycles Husqvarna FC450), and Jared Lowe (No. 63 Big R/Little Debbie Racing Honda CRF450R) finished sixth through tenth, respectively.

As a result of his fifth win of 2025 combined with Saathoff’s DNS, Drane now boasts a commanding championship advantage of 39 points (253-214) with just three rounds remaining. Brunner is third at 195.

Singles Main Event Results

AFT Singles Standings – Top 20

AFT SuperTwins – Peoria TT

Briar Bauman (No. 3 RWR/Parts Plus/Latus Motors Harley-Davidson XG750R) claimed his third victory at the Peoria Motorcycle Club Race Park in this year’s 78th World Famous Peoria TT to add to his incredible 2025 Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing.

Bauman now hopes this triumph will pave the way to a third Grand National Championship as he extended his Mission AFT SuperTwins title advantage over rival Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) with just three rounds remaining.

The opening lap of the Main Event actually played out in favor of Daniels with the partisan fans in Peoria, Illinois, cheering on the home state hero. While the holeshot went to Max Whale (No. 18 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650), Daniels crucially edged Bauman as they negotiated Turn 1. Daniels then immediately looked to place Whale between him and his adversary to gain some early separation.

Instead, Bauman executed off a pair of clutch maneuvers in rapid succession, diving under Daniels and then soaring past Whale over the jump as they powered down the subsequent straight.

While Daniels followed Bauman through on Whale, he was unable to work out a way to reel the Rick Ware Racing star back in. Instead, the gap slowly stacked up to almost two seconds before Daniels finally made a late run to make it somewhat interesting in the end. However, Bauman’s lead was never put in serious jeopardy, and he took the race by 1.204 seconds at the checkered flag.

The victory was Bauman’s seventh of the season and puts Daniels up against the wall in their championship battle. Bauman now leads 266-255, meaning the Estenson Racing ace needs to win out to assure himself the crown.

Briar Bauman

“I felt really good all day. Once again, huge thanks to Dave (Zanotti) and Michelle (Disalvo). They worked their tails off. I’ve been (tough on them). We have a high standard because Dallas and his team are so darn good. We didn’t really think we’d be here at this stage, so now all the sudden, I’m like, ‘We’ve got to figure this out.’”

After previously finishing inside the top five on five separate occasions at Peoria, Jarod VanDerKooi (No. 20 Fastrack Racing/Wally Brown Racing KTM 790 Duke) at last got his first podium in the fabled TT by finishing a lonely third.

He was followed home by wild card and Peoria resident Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Mike Butler Racing Mission Foods Yamaha MT-07), who worked his way past Whale to snatch away fourth.

Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Harley-Davidson XG750R) finished sixth, one spot ahead of Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Progressive Insurance Honda Transalp), who had been the story of the race outside of Bauman and Daniels until a mechanical issue spoiled what had been a stirring charge.

Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing KTM 790 Duke), Dan Bromley (No. 62 Memphis Shades/Vinson Construction Suzuki GSX-8S), and Declan Bender (No. 70 Memphis Shades/Luczak Racing Yamaha MT-07) completed the top ten.

SuperTwins Main Event Results

AFT SuperTwins Standings

AFT AdventureTrackers – Peoria TT

Dan Bromley (No. 62 Big Momma and Daddy Deep Pockets Suzuki V-Strom 1050) added yet another accolade to his already decorated flat track career by securing the 2025 AFT AdventureTrackers championship.

Bromley came into Peoria with a healthy points advantage after collecting two wins and a runner-up finish during the 85th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. As a result, he only had to keep it smart, safe, and on two wheels to successfully close out his title campaign on Saturday.

And that’s exactly what he did. After rival Jesse Janisch (No. 33 WFOracingonline.com/Öhlins Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250) grabbed the holeshot, Bromley momentarily tussled with Danny Eslick (No. 164 Saddlemen Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250) for second before thinking better of it.

Instead, he chose to sit safe in third and watch the showdown for the win transpire in front of him.

There, Janisch did everything he could to keep it neat and tidy, while Eslick was happy to do the opposite, sending it over the jump with major air while bucking and sliding his way around the corners in hot pursuit.

Eslick’s aggression put him in position to attempt a last-corner, last-lap pass on Janisch. However, it also saw him run off into the grass in that attempt. Janisch powered to the win while Bromley inherited second. Despite the mishap, Eslick recovered quickly enough to round out the podium.

The victory was Janisch’s fifth overall at Peoria and in his third class (AFT Singles in 2015, 2016, and 2018, Mission Production Twins in 2022, and AFT AdventureTrackers in 2025).

Jesse Janisch

“It was a lot of fun. The track was a little bit nervous after the track prep. I was trying to ride really cautiously, and then I got way too cautious with two to go. Danny decided to send her, but luckily I heard him and saw it coming. I was able to square him up and get the win. Congrats to Dan. It was a little bit of a coulda-woulda-shoulda, but he won it. He was so good in Sturgis, and we just had that little fault.”

Meanwhile, the championship is the second of his Progressive AFT career, adding to his 2017 AFT Singles title.

Dan Bromley

“It feels good,” Bromley said. “We had a lot of success (in Sturgis). Me and Jesse were going to come here and fight tooth-and-nail, but unfortunately, he had an issue at the last race. That’s a bummer, but I know he gave it everything he had and he won today. But to be able to win this championship is pretty cool. It’s going to go up on the wall next to my Singles championship. And hopefully, there’s more to come.”

Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 Triumph Racing Triumph Tiger 900 GT Pro) finished fourth with Henry Wiles (No. 911 Walter Bros. Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250) rounding out the top five.

AFT AdventureTrackers Main Event Results

AFT AdventureTrackers Standings

Next Up:

Progressive American Flat Track will go from one iconic event to another and not even have to leave the state to do so with the Springfield Mile I & II coming up next, on Saturday, August 30, and Sunday, August 31, at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, in Springfield, Illinois.

RelatedPosts

Dunker doubles again as Fyffe goes eight from eight at Wodonga

August 31, 2026

Tom Drane seals back-to-back AFT Singles titles at Peoria TT

August 23, 2026