PEORIA, Ill. — 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.
Bauman now hopes this triumph will pave the way to a third Progressive American Flat Track 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 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.
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.
Bauman said, “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.
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.
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.
He chose to sit safe in third and watch the showdown for the win transpire in front of him.
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).
