Jake Johnson made history on Saturday afternoon as he became the first victor of the AMA Pro Racing Harley-Davison Insurance Salinas TT. Johnson, the defending Grand National Champion, fought a 25 lap battle with rookie Brad Baker to claim the victory.
Johson led for 24 of the 25 laps, but was never the clear winner of the race, as Baker challenged for the lead every step of the way.
"I looked back and saw Brad," said Johnson. "Not that I was less worried, but when I was young, I was kind of a hammer head. It was dry slick and you had to be careful not to spin the tire, but I was the one doing that and he was the one making up ground on me. He caught me and started poking a wheel in on me here and there. I kind of threw out the defense a little bit."
Baker would eventually take the lead from Johnson on the 23rd lap. But soon after taking the lead he lost control of his front wheel, and handed the lead right back to Johnson.
"I almost had it," said Baker. "I almost kept it up down there, but it was the hardest corner of the race. That's where I was making up the time on Jake for the whole race, [but it] was harder to lead in there than it was in second. The front-end got away from me. Fortunately, I pulled in the clutch and kept it going, [and] I almost held on to second. Winning the race would have been awesome."
Baker’s mistake would cost him two positions, as Kawasaki’s Henry Wiles was able to shoot past on the penultimate lap.
Baker was able to salvage the final spot on the podium ahead of Jared Mees and current points leader Sammy Halbert.
Saturday’s race brought the championship within a single point at the top. Halbert maintains the points lead with 85 points, but Johnson is now just 1 point behind.
