American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 239 June 2019 | Page 8

Three Races, Three Winners
The AMA clearly had levelling the
playing field in mind when it changed
the Race Vs. Production Bike Throttle
Body regulations for the AFT Twins
Presented by Vance & Hines class at
the start of the 2019 season.
With four different winners taking the
wins in the first five rounds, with only
two of those wins being taken by (two
different) Indian factory 'Wrecking
Crew' riders, and a Yamaha MT-07 DT
breaking the factory and privateer
FTR750 monopoly, it looks like the
sometimes processional nature
playbook of the last two seasons
certainly has been torn up.
Asked if he thought that the changes
were affecting the 2019 results so far,
Indian's VP Racing, Technology &
Service Gary Gray thought that it
was still too early to judge.
He told AMD Magazine: "We believe
the 40 mm power advantages given to
the other teams will be seen at mile
races, especially those with high
traction. Being we haven't been on a
mile yet, it is too early to judge. But you
could definitely see the speed that
Bryan Smith, JD Beach and Jake
Johnson had at Daytona when on the
high traction banking.
"We think we will have the power to
hang with them, but breaking the draft
and passing will be the real challenge
with our 38 mm throttle bodies.
Fortunately, Briar Bauman, Jared Mees
and Brandon Robinson have earned a
solid points lead aboard the FTR750 to
protect the championship fight as we
enter a series of three back to back
mile races."
Following the win by factory Indian
rider Briar Bauman at the season
opening Daytona TT, and privateer
Brandon Robinson's triumph in the
Atlanta Short Track, it looked like there
might be a return to business as usual
as back-to-back reigning Grand
National Champion Jared Mees took
the win and Indian took a second
podium sweep out of three races at the
AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines
Texas Half-Mile (April 20).
His Wrecking Crew teammate Briar
Bauman finished second, and Indian
Motorcycle privateer Brandon
Robinson
(Kennedy
Racing/Armbruster Racing Indian
FTR750) rounded out the podium with
a third-place finish. Mees’ victory
moved him into second on the all-time
win list for Half-Miles (27 in total),
while for Bauman the second-place
finish continued a strong start to the
season that had seen him reach the
podium in all three races, including his
Daytona TT win.
In the Roof Systems AFT Singles the
win went to Shayna Texter (No. 52
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing SX-F
450); second place was taken by Mikey
Rush (No. 15 RMR Honda/Red Riders
Rewards Honda CRF450R), with
emerging 16-year-old phenom James
Ott (No. 193 Media Home
Inc./Kawasaki of Simi Valley Honda
CRF450R) making his professional
debut.
It was a family affair in the 15-lap
Texas Half-Mile AFT Production
Twins class as Shayna Texter’s brother,
Cory Texter (No. 65 G&G
Racing/Holeshot Powersports Yamaha
MT-07), was victorious in the opening
race of the 11-race 2019 AFT
Production Twins championship.
In the Arizona Super TT (April 27)
presented by RideNow Powersports at
Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in
Chandler, Arizona, multi-time national
road racing champion JD Beach (No.
95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07
DT) pulled off an improbable come-
8
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JUNE 2019
Southern California Fairgrounds,
becoming the first AFT Twins rider to
claim more than one victory so far in
2019.
Title leader Briar Bauman (No. 14
Indian Motorcycle/Progressive
Insurance FTR750) extended his
perfect podium record for the season
with second; with the factory Harley
squad still looking for its first win since
2016, and the first ever for the
XG750R, Sammy Halbert (No. 69
Harley-Davidson Factory Flat Track
Team XG750R Rev X) took third after
a red flag and restart ruined his
chances.
Fellow Harley rider Jarod Vanderkooi
(No. 20 Harley-Davidson Factory Flat
Track Team XG750R Rev X) took
fourth, with defending double AFT
Twins Champion Jared Mees (No. 1
Indian Motorcycle/Progressive
Gary Gray, Indian's VP of Racing,
Technology & Service, told AMD
"we believe the 40 mm power
advantages given to the other
teams will be seen at mile races,
especially those with high traction."
After five rounds, there have been
four different AFT Twins winners.
The FTR750 has taken four wins,
two podium sweeps and 12 out of
the 15 available podium spots.
Insurance FTR750) in fifth.
In the Roof Systems AFT Singles,
reigning champion Ryan Wells (No.
94 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F)
backed up his first podium of the
season at the Arizona Super TT with his
first win of the year.
In the second of the 11 AFT
Production Twins Championship
rounds being staged at the 11 half and
one mile races in 2019, Cory Texter
(No. 65 G&G Racing/Holeshot
Powersports Yamaha MT-07) picked
up where he left off at the Texas Half-
Mile, going two-for-two by scooping
up a second consecutive victory.
Ryan Varnes (No. 68 Varnes
Racing/RoyBuilt/Don's Kawasaki
Ninja 650) took second; with Kayl
Kolkman (No. 98 Kolkman
Racing/Uncle D Yamaha MT-07) third;
Michael Inderbitzin (No. 54 Weirbach
Racing/Racing Unlimited Kawasaki
Ninja 650) fourth, and AFT Singles title
leader Dalton Gauthier (No. 122
Racing Unlimited Kawasaki/D&D
Cycles Kawasaki Ninja 650) fifth.
With postponement of the
Sacramento Mile to August 10,
next up is the first of two visits to
the Illinois State Fairgrounds this
season for Springfield Mile I on
May 26; then the Indian
Motorcycle of Lexington Red Mile
at Lexington, KY. on June 1; the
Laconia Short Track at Loudon,
NH. June 15; the Lima Half-Mile at
the Allen County Fairgrounds,
Lima, Ohio, June 29 and the New
York Short Track and the
Weedsport
Speedway,
Weedsport, NY on July 13.
www.americanflattrack.com
www.AMDchampionship.com
from-behind victory to claim his first
career American Flat Track premier
class win and the first premier class
AFT win for a Yamaha twin since Scott
Pearson won the Peoria TT in 1981.
AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines
title leader Briar Bauman (No. 14
Indian Motorcycle/Progressive
Insurance FTR750) took second -
maintaining his perfect podium record
of the season so far - with Jared Mees
(No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive
Insurance FTR750) third. Jeffrey Carver
Jr. (No. 23 Roof Systems of
Dallas/Indian of Metro Milwaukee
FTR750) finished fourth, with Beach’s
teammate Jake Johnson (No. 5
Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT)
fifth.
TT maestro Jesse Janisch (No. 132
Roof Systems Dallas TX/Öhlins Yamaha
YZ450F) took his AFT Singles TT win
streak to three, with points leader
Dalton Gauthier (No. 122 D&D
Cycles/Gobert Smash Husqvarna
FC450) second, 2016 AFT Singles
champion Ryan Wells (No. 94 Estenson
Racing Yamaha YZ450F) third - his first
podium of the season after opening
2019 without a top-ten finish in the
year’s first three events.
At the Vance & Hines 'So-Cal' Half-
Mile (May 11), at Perris, California
(Round 5), Brandon Robinson (No. 44
Kennedy Racing/Armbruster Racing
Indian FTR750) took the win at the