American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 216 July 2017 | Page 10

Indian ‘Wrecking Crew’ in AFT Twins by Vance & Hines series 1-2-3 after 9 rounds; Smith leads Mees by 5 points The American Flat Track Twins presented by Vance & Hines race series has continued to provide quality racing, but so far also continued to provide Indian Motorcycle with a race dominance platform. Jared Mees took the win on his No. 9 Indian Motorcycle Rogers Racing Scout FTR750 in the 7th round at the ‘Red Mile’ at Lexington, Kentucky, (June 3) extending the Indian ‘Wrecking Crew’ win streak to seven from seven since the series started at Daytona in March. At Lexington Harley’s XG750Rs were fifth (Brandon Robinson), 10th (Kenny Coolbeth Jr) and 11th (Jake Johnson). The series then moved on to complete its run of five mile-long races in six weeks with a stop at the OKC Mile presented by Indian Motorcycle in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for round 8 on June 17. The Indian riders scooped another podium sweep, Mees taking a second consecutive win, with Brad Baker (No. 6 Indian Motorcycle Racing backed by Allstate Scout FTR750) second and Grand National Champion Bryan Smith (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle Racing backed by Allstate Scout FTR750) third. The Harley-Davidson XR750 riders 10 Photo credit American Flat Track/Scott Hunter continued to struggle to keep up with the pace of the Indians with Briar Bauman 6th (Zanotti Racing/Rod Lake Racing/WPS), Danny Elsick 11th (H-D Statten Island/CR Motorsports), Brandon Robinson 13th (H-D/Vance & Hines/Speed & Strength), and Bronson Bauman 15th (H-D Statten Island/CR Motorsports). From Oklahoma it was then on to the Lima Half-Mile in Ohio on June 24 for round 9, where Kawasaki rider Briar Bauman finally burst the Indian bubble, AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JULY 2017 ending the ‘Wrecking Crew’s’ 8-race streak, by taking the win. Mees was assessed a ten-second penalty for jumping the start not once, but twice, in his Semi. That added time put him on the outside of the Main Event looking in. Bauman, the 2012 GNC Rookie of the Year, crushed the competition in both his Heat and Semi, storming around the pea-gravel on the high line with apparent ease, doing much the same in the Main Event, taking the win by a 2.793 second margin of victory after tangling with a lapper on the final of the 25 laps, bringing Harley-Davidson's 21- race unbeaten streak at the Lima Half-Mile (Mees’ home track) to a halt in the process. Brad Baker (No. 6 Indian Motorcycle Racing backed by Allstate Scout FTR750) was second, with Jeffrey Carver Jr. third (No. 23 Carver’s BBQ Kawasaki Ninja 650), Davis Fisher 4th and Henry Wiles 5th, both also on Ninja 650s. Bryan Smith (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle Racing backed by Allstate Scout FTR750) was 6th, his worst result of 2017, but it was enough to retake possession of the AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines championship lead by five points from Mees. The Harley-Davidson XR750s were 7th (Ryan Wells), 8th (Brandon Robinson) and 17th (Dustin Crow). The series now moves on to Elbridge, New York, (July 8) for the Rolling Wheels Half-Mile; followed by the Harley- Davidson Calistoga Half-Mile (Calistoga, California July 29h – the third of three straight mid-season Half- Miles) before landing in South Dakota for two races in three days during the Sturgis Rally – The Buffalo Chip TT presented by Indian Motorcycle (August 6) and The Harley-Davidson Black Hills Half-Mile at Rapid City (August 8). www.americanflattrack.com Indian ‘Wrecking Crew’ to compete in X Games 2017 Legendary Road Racer Larry Pegram to Join Jared Mees, Bryan Smith & Brad Baker Aboard the Indian Scout FTR750 at X Games’ Flat Track Racing Event Indian Motorcycle Racing will make its X Games debut in its hometown of Minneapolis on July 13. The ‘Wrecking Crew’, featuring 2015 inaugural gold medalist Bryan Smith, 2016 gold medalist Jared Mees and two-time bronze medalist Brad Baker, with special guest rider and veteran road racer Larry Pegram to make a four strong-team piloting Indian Scout FTR750s in pursuit of Gold. “It’s been an incredible season thus fa r, which has vastly exceeded our expectations, and having the opportunity to compete in the X Games in front of our hometown is truly special,” said Reid Wilson, Indian Motorcycle Marketing Director. “In addition to being our first time at X Games, this will be the first time we have four Indian Scout FTR750 race bikes in the field.” “When invited to participate in the X Games Flat Track Race, one of the first calls I made was to Indian Motorcycle to inquire about an Indian Scout FTR750,” said Pegram. “There’s no doubt the Indian Scout FTR750 is one of the hottest stories within all of motorsports, let alone the flat track community.” www.IndianMotorcycle.com www.AMDchampionship.com