Ryan Sipes Takes Surprising Win at Buffalo Chip TT
Chase Stallo

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Ryan Sipes Takes Surprising Win at Buffalo Chip TT

Ryan Sipes is doing a little bit of everything this year. He’s racing Lucas Oil Pro Motocross, he’s racing GNCC, he’s writing for Racer X, and he’s also racing American Flat Track. No, he’s not on the big twins. He’s competing on 450s in the Singles Class. 

He debuted in AFT at Springfield TT and logged the fastest qualifying time. He crashed in the main, but still finished tenth. (He wrote about the experience for Racer X here.)

Yesterday, Sipes raced his second AFT event at the Buffalo Chip TT in Sturgis, South Dakota. AND HE WON!

Sipes grabbed the holeshot and led wire-to-wire to claim the Singles Class win over Jacob Lehmann and Cole Fredrickson.

Here is a brief recap of the event via an American Flat Track press release:

Tourist Trophy races frequently provide an opportunity for specialists and series part-timers to shine, and Sunday’s undercard Main Event in the AFT Singles division was certainly no exception. 

Off-road legend Ryan Sipes (No. 264 Rockstar/Leatt/Maxxis Husqvarna FC 450) grabbed the win with an exceptional wire-to-wire performance, with two-time Singles TT race winner Jacob Lehmann (No. 14 Vince & Denise Holt/Ride Motorsports Honda CRF450R) and Cole Frederickson (No. 73 Vince & Denise Holt/Ride Motorsports CRF450R) coming home second and third. 

Sipes, a Supercross race winner and America’s first-ever ISDE overall winner, got the holeshot ahead of Lehmann and Frederickson, and it proved crucial. Lehmann hounded Sipes throughout, but the ex-motocrosser used his superior skills over the jump—pulling wheelies prior to each launch to keep his trajectory low—to build just enough of a gap to prevent Lehmann from mounting an assault for the lead. Sipes held the position to the flag, adding a Grand National Flat Track race victory to his extensive racing resume.


Main image: American Flat Track