'We did it': Longtime runner-up finally wins annual Peoria TT motorcycle race

PEORIA — Briar Bauman left his history behind him, along with JD Beach and the rest of the field Sunday in the 77th World Famous SC2 Peoria TT race , presented by Backroads Saloon at Peoria Motorcycle Club Race Park .

Sunday's rematch between the two — in which one of the sports brightest stars, Beach, was an unexpected entry — was a victory at last for Bauman.

Bauman had finished runner-up to Beach in the 10-minute plus 2 lap Mission American Flat Track SuperTwins main event three straight years.

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"JD is phenomenal, a legendary history, and I knew when he joined the field today it was going to be a battle," Bauman said. "For him to jump into a TT race, hasn't ridden that cycle all year, and then finish second, it's amazing."

Bauman, a 6-foot, 154-pound native of Salinas, California, was amazing in his own right Sunday. He lined up on the pole with Beach and Jared Mees alongside and never trailed. In fact, Bauman had a lead that touched five seconds at times — nearly the entire front straightaway of the track.

"I took peek behind me at one point and saw the lead, and I admit I felt pretty good about it," Bauman grinned. "Coming to the finish line I was thinking, 'We did it. This is what our team deserves.' "

Bauman, Beach and Mees chased each other 1-2-3 for the entire race, all of them spaced out so there was no real doubt what the podium was going to look like. They lined up on the podium the same way.

"This is always a physical track, and it was rough and broken up today," Beach said. "I knew the way Briar was running that no one was going to catch him unless we had a red flag."

Beach front property

Beach, a 5-foot-7, 130-pound Philpot, Kentucky, native, turned in a remarkable performance given his circumstances. He won the Peoria TT last year for the third straight time, and decided to move to the Moto America Superbike Championship for the 2024 season.

When Matoon native and American Flat Track Twins points leader Dallas Daniels broke his leg in a training run last weekend, his Estenson Racing Team found itself desperate to fill his spot.

"They called me on Monday," said Beach, considered one of the greatest TT racers in history. "I hadn't been on that bike in a TT race since last September. I told them I'd do my best."

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So he saddled up and raced to a second-place finish on a Yamaha MT-07.

The injured Daniels still leads the 2024 circuit points race with 216, but he's going to be knocked out of the race soon.

Jared Mees moved up to 215 points with his third-place finish Sunday. Brandon Robinson is next at 201 points, and Bauman is fourth at 192. All of them will likely pass Daniels with five races left through mid-September.

Beach has eight career TT wins. Long-retired Steve Ecklund has nine, and "King" Henry Wiles and Chris "Prince of Peoria" Carr have 19 and 15, respectively. Wiles and Carr combined for 30 Peoria TT race wins.

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The singles motorcycle undercard Sunday saw a first-time winner, Chase Saathoff. He rode his Honda CRF450R to victory over close pursuers Kody Kopp and Tom Drane. The 19-year-old Hillsboro resident now has wins on half-mile, full-mile and TT tracks this season.

Where you can see it

Coverage of the 77th Peoria TT race, including in-depth features, onboard cameras and more, can be seen on Fox Sports 1 at noon in Peoria on Aug. 4.

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: 'We did it': Longtime runner-up finally wins annual Peoria TT motorcycle race