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Photos courtesy of American Flat Track
Mees Scores Wins at Ohio and New York
Serving as the race promoter of his home race at the Allen County Fairgrounds , Grand National Champion Jared Mees took his No . 1 Indian Motorcycle Rogers Racing SDI Scout FTR750 to victory at the American Flat Track Twins presented by Vance & Hines Lima , Ohio Half Mile ( June 30 ) and backed it up the following weekend by taking the Harley-Davidson New York Short Track , at Weedsport , New York , on July 7 – his 8th and 9th wins of the season . At Lima ( Round 10 ) Mees put his 2017 failure to qualify behind him ( the only podium he missed in 2017 ), winning on the pea-gravel cushion Half Mile . Jeffrey Carver Jr . ( No . 23 Roof-Systems of Dallas / Indian of Metro Milwaukee Scout FTR750 ) took second , Henry Wiles ( No . 17 Bandit Industries / Wilco Racing / Willy Built Indian Scout FTR750 ) was third ( his fourth podium and eighth top five so far this season ), with 2017 Lima Half Mile winner Briar Bauman ( No . 14 Zanotti Racing Indian Scout FTR750 ) fourth and
Brad Baker ( No . 6 Indian Motorcycle Racing backed by Allstate Scout FTR750 ) fifth . In the AFT Singles , fan favorite Shayna Texter ( No . 52 Husqvarna Motorcycles / JCS Racing FC 450 ) made history by delivering Husqvarna ’ s first American Flat Track victory . Texter , who holds the all-time win record for the AFT Singles class , had notched up four podiums aboard her rapidly developing Husqvarna FC 450 so far this season , including a pair of runner-up spots . She was the seventh different winner of the class in 10 races this season . The following weekend , at Weedsport , New York ( Round 11 ), the Indian Scout FTR750 secured its 8th consecutive podium sweep of the 2018 season with Indian Motorcycle privateer Kenny Coolbeth Jr . ( Nila Racing , Columbia Avionics , Bell , TCX Boots , Vanson ), and Wrecking Crew rider Brad Baker finish second and third , respectively , behind Mees . It was Coolbeth ’ s fifth and Baker ’ s eighth top-five and finish of the season so far ,
Mees wins at Minneapolis X Games
When it rains it pours , they say , and for Jared Mees the wins just keep pouring in . The latest in a now formidable collection of victories this season - nine of eleven so far in 2018 American Flat Track Twins presented by Vance & Hines - came in Harley- Davidson Flat Track Racing at the X Games Minneapolis . Mees ( No . 9 Indian Motorcycle Rogers Racing SDI Scout FTR750 ) was nearly perfect on the short track built inside US Bank Stadium , winning his Heat , Semi and Main event in dominating fashion . He got good starts , grabbed his leads early and rode fast and mistakefree to secure his second X Games gold medal – his first coming in 2016 . For a while it looked as though Jeffrey Carver Jr . ( No . 23 Roof- Systems of Dallas / Harley-Davidson XR750 ) might steal Mees ’ thunder in the Main , which featured just
Ohio Half Mile
Credit : Scott Hunter / American Flat Track
six riders – Mees , Carver Jr ., Sammy Halbert ( No . 69 Harley- Davidson Factory Flat Track Team XR750 ), Jake Johnson ( No . 5 Estenson Racing / McCandless Truck Center Harley-Davidson XR750 ), Briar Bauman ( No . 14 Zanotti Racing Indian Scout FTR750 ) and Kenny Coolbeth Jr . ( No . 2 Nila Racing , Columbia Avionics Indian Scout FTR750 ). Carver took the holeshot at the start and looked to have the speed to stay ahead of Mees on the egg-shaped , eighth-mile indoor track . But Carver ran wide when Mees pressured him up the inside on lap five , and as he looked over his shoulder and tried to regain the line , Mees , Bauman and Halbert passed him – and Carver Jr . found himself fourth , and floundering . From then on it was another stellar Jared Mees performance – leading the remainder of the 15-lap Main solidly while keeping an eye on Bauman
New York Short Track
behind him in second place . Bauman , who recovered quickly from a last-place start , put in a mid-race challenge , sticking right on Mees ’ rear Dunlop and looking like he might pressure the reigning AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines champion – and close friend – into a mistake . But it wasn ’ t to be . Mees rode without error and slowly pulled away to a comfortable margin at the end . Factory Harley-Davidson pilot Sammy Halbert ran strong behind Bauman on the Vance & Hines XR750 , and made a dramatic , last-lap / last-corner attempt to steal the runner-up spot with a typically aggressive ‘ Slammin ’ Sammy ’ move . But Bauman didn ’ t give Halbert much room , and the Washington native lost the front in the loose dirt and went down , letting Johnson by for third , followed by Carver Jr . and Coolbeth Jr ., Halbert came home sixth .
while Mees ’ win gave him a second consecutive year of hitting a grand slam of Mile , Half Mile , Short Track and TT race wins on the Scout FTR750 . Indian Motorcycle privateers Davis Fisher ( Double D Performance , Bob Lanphere , Beaverton Motorcycles , RMR , Parkinson ), Henry Wiles ( Bandit Industries , Wilco Racing , Willy Built , Mad Dog ), and Briar Bauman ( Zanotti Racing , Roof Systems , Western Powersports , Hard ) placed fourth , fifth and sixth respectively aboard their Scout FTR750s . In the Singles , Tanner Dean ( No . 38 Waters Autobody / D & D Powersports KTM 450 SX-F ) took a wire-to-wire win at Weedsport , with AFT Singles title leader Dan Bromley ( No . 62 KTM North America / Bromley Motorsports 450 SX-F ) second , and Morgen Mischler ( No . 69 Cycle Craft Yamaha / Rohde ' s Sales & Service Yamaha YZ450F ) edging hometown hero Kolby Carlile ( No . 1 Estenson Racing / McCandless Truck Center Yamaha YZ450F ) for third .
Credit : Andrea Wilson
A revitalized and Indianmounted Bauman finished second , 1.3 seconds behind Mees , and seemed comfortable on both the bike and the slick , tricky circuit . Indian Motorcycle factory rider Brad Baker was involved in a crash during Sunday ' s practice session and was unable to participate in the event . Next up for the stars of American Flat Track is the Buffalo Chip TT presented by Indian Motorcycle on August 5th and Harley-Davidson Black Hills Half-Mile presented by Law Tigers Motorcycle Lawyers on August 7th .
16 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - AUGUST 2018 www . AMDchampionship . com