After signing a deal to compete with the coveted Estenson Racing Yamaha team, former Australian Supersport contender Tom Drane has switched his focus solely to flat track in 2023 as he continues to deliver impressive results in the US. Currently third in the AFT Singles category of the American Flat Track Championship, Drane has achieved seven podiums and three wins in the current season so far. CycleOnline spoke to the talented 17-year-old for this latest Fast Thoughts feature.

Image: Supplied.

The switch from road racing to focus solely on flat track… 

I decided to go flat track because there was a bit more opportunity, I could get a good ride straight away with the results I showed last year. In road racing I was still learning and getting better and better, then flat track just had that bit more opportunity for me because I had done it for a bit longer and I was doing pretty good at it at the time, so we just decided we can only really do one or the other, and I decided flat track.

Results that led to the opportunity to ride with the Estenson Racing Yamaha team…

Last year we came over here for Lima, and I ended up getting second in the round and winning the Dash-for-Cash. Doing really well, it made the factory Yamaha team interested in me, and a couple of other teams were too. I had a talk to a couple of teams, and then they were all sort of deciding because there were a couple of teams wanting a new rider for the next year. We were talking to a few of them, and they wanted to see me come back and ride another track other than Lima, because I am pretty good on a cushion, which is what I like and is what Lima was. So I came back over and did Springfield, a big clay mile, and I ended up qualifying third fastest and winning the Dash again. It just got rained out before the main, but I was looking fastest all day pretty much.

Living in the US…

So I am based in Owensboro, Kentucky, and that’s where my team is based out of. Tommy Hayden, he is my boss and lives here and it is just where the team has been based for a while now. It’s been good because Max Whale, he’s another Aussie over here and he doesn’t live too far away, so I can hang out with him when I want to. All of my teammates live within an hour, so I go hang out and train a lot with them as well, so it’s been good.

Time on the bike with the Haydens in between races… 

We do a lot of riding out at the Hayden’s family house at the turn track and stuff at Sunset Downs. Roger [Hayden] doesn’t ride a lot anymore, he does barely any riding, he just comes out and watches – he sort of just chills out now. We go out there, Tommy [Hayden] comes out and lap-times us all the time, we are always training and doing stuff together. It’s good to have JD [Beach], because he had a road race background too and all of the experience and stuff he knows has been helping me, it’s been really good.

Image: Supplied.

The opportunity to ride a road race bike again…

This year it has been mostly focused on flat track, like learning everything, but if I had the opportunity it would be good to just have a ride and stuff. Like JD, he will go and do a couple of track days through the year on his 600 and stuff, we are allowed to do that stuff and if I got the opportunity I definitely would go and have a go.

Season 2023 and looking towards the future… 

This year has been really good for me, I’ve had six podiums [prior to Peoria] and three wins. I’m getting better and better on all of these tracks that we don’t have back home. Really enjoying it. Next year I should be with the team again, we are still trying to talk about that stuff at the moment, and hopefully, we will be with Estenson again next year. This year we are a little bit off the championship because I had a couple of bad results at the start of the season, still possible to win at the moment, but I’m sort of not really looking at it. Kody [Kopp], he has been doing pretty good, if he keeps it going its to be hard to beat him, but there is definitely an opportunity to get second.

Returning to Australia later in the year… 

So I come back in September and whatever races we can find, I think we are going to do the Australian flat track titles when we get back, as well. Probably the [North] Brisbane Cup and I think the Aussie Flat Track Nationals will be on as well and will be able to do some of that, so there is a fair bit of racing we can still do when we get back. We’ve already been talking, they’ve got me a 450 and I have got it at home now, it’s just starting to get engine work done and getting built up. Then we will bring a bunch of race parts from the team here back home and we will have a bike ready to go. Yamaha basically just helps me back home now as well.