American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 240 July 2019 | Page 14

Mees and Bronson Bauman
BRIEFS Take the Wins at
Lexington and Laconia
NEWS
Indian conglomerate Mahindra's first
new model in their
Classic Legends Pvt
Ltd BSA relaunch
for the Indian
market (initially?) is
being branded as a
BSA Gold Star. It will feature an
engine made in Austria by BRP
owned Rotax - an updated version of
the 652 cc single as supplied to
Aprilia for the 650 Pegaso and BMW
F650 Funduro. This follows
Mahindra's relaunch of the once
massively popular in India Jawa
brand in 2018.
Bonnier Corp. has announced
that after more than 100 years
it has managed to drive its
already reduced to six editions
a year Motorcyclist Magazine
out of print and into entirely
online future. Hey ho!
Eicher Motors Ltd (EML) of India,
owner of Royal Enfield and a former
Polaris JV partner (the Multix
personal utility vehicle, 2015 - 2018),
has announced Vinod K. Dasari as
the CEO of RE with a seat on the
EML board. Dasari takes over from
Siddhartha Lal, who was named CEO
of Royal Enfield in 2001. Lal will
continue as Managing Director of
Eicher Motors Ltd. At Royal Enfield,
Siddhartha, who has masterminded
their entry into the 650 twins market
in Europe and USA, will continue to
support Vinod and the team on RE
product and brand related areas.
Dasari has served time at Ashok
Leyland, Cummins India, Timken and
General Electric. Dasari holds a
Master's degree in Engineering
Management from McCormick, an
MBA from the Kellogg School of
Management and a Bachelor’s
degree in Engineering from the
University of Louisville; he has also
served as the President of the Society
of Indian Automobile Manufacturers
(SIAM).
The latest ACEM statistics put
total Q1 2019 motorcycle
registrations for the (currently!)
28 EU member states at
244,991 units, which is +19.2%
over Q1 2018. Italy was the
largest market at 54,826 units
(+18.7%), followed by Germany
(44,450, +23.3%), France
(43,942, +20.0%), Spain
(37,255, +20.5%) and the UK
(25,913, +10.3%).
14
Defending double AFT Twins
presented by Vance & Hines
Champion Jared Mees (No. 1
Indian Motorcycle/Progressive
Insurance FTR750) remained the
only rider to ever win an AFT
Twins Main Event at the Indian
Motorcycle of Lexington Red
Mile (Lexington, Ky.) on June
2nd.
Briar Bauman (No. 14 Indian
Motorcycle/Progressive
Insurance FTR750) was second,
AFT Twins' resident 'Mile
Master' Bryan Smith (No. 4
Crosley Brands/Howerton
Motorsports Kawasaki Ninja
650) finished third; Stephen
Vanderkuur (No. 21
AMSOIL/Hodder Racing Indian
FTR750) was fourth, with Henry
Wiles (No. 17 Bandit
Industries/DPC Racing/Wilco
Racing Indian FTR750) fifth.
In the Roof Systems AFT Singles
presented by Russ Brown
Motorcycle Attorneys Mikey
Rush (No. 15 RMR Honda/Red
Riders Rewards Honda CRF450R)
scored his first victory since
joining the class, with the
category's established Mile
expert Shayna Texter (No. 52
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing SX-
F 450), second. Kevin Stollings
(No. 99 Roof Systems/Motion
Pro Honda CRF450R) maintained
his perfect AFT Singles podium
record at the Red Mile, finishing
third.
In the AFT Production Twins class
Cory Texter (No. 65 G&G
Racing/Holeshot Powersports
Yamaha MT-07) continued his
unbeaten start to the 2019 AFT
Production Twins championship
with his third victory in as many
tries this season.
The inaugural AFT Laconia Short
Track (New Hampshire Motor
Speedway in Loudon, N.H., June
15) proved to be an intense
affair that ultimately saw the
emergence of a first-time
winner in Bronson Bauman (No.
37 Indian
Motorcycle/Progressive
Insurance FTR750) who led
every lap on his way to victory
despite three restarts - the all-
new circuit proving to be an
"extraordinarily demanding
battleground, developing
considerable bumps in the
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JULY 2019
Lexington
Photos: Scott Hunter/American Flat Track
Laconia
corners and rapidly altering
lines."
Bauman's brother Briar was
second - his fifth consecutive
runner-up finish as he
maintained his perfect 2019
podium record. Short track ace
Jake Johnson (No. 5 Estenson
Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) was
third, Jarod Vanderkooi and
Bryan Smith (No. 4 Crosley
Brands/Howerton Motorsports
Kawasaki Ninja 650) were fourth
and fifth respectively.
As at Round 7 Briar Bauman had
a 34 point advantage at the top
of the series leader board over
Brandon Robinson (No. 44
Kennedy Racing/Armbruster
Racing Indian FTR750), who
finished sixth at Laconia.
In the AFT Singles the win was
taken by Mikey Rush (No. 15
RMR Honda/Red Riders Rewards
Honda CRF450R) for the second
consecutive race, moving him
into the championship lead.
Dalton Gauthier (No. 122 D&D
Cycles/Gobert Smash Husqvarna
FC450) was second and moved
up into second in the
championship, with Australian
Max Whale (No. 18 Weirbach
Racing Kawasaki KX450F)
earning his first AFT career
podium in third.
After the Lima, Ohio, Indian
Motorcycle Half-Mile presented
by Johnny K's Indian at the Allen
County Fairgrounds at the end
of June comes the New York
Short Track (Weedsport, near
Syracuse, July 13); the Buffalo
Chip TT on August 4th and Black
Hills Half-Mile (Rapid City, SD)
on August 6th before the re-
arranged Cycle Gear Sacramento
Mile August 10.
The series then descends on
Illinois for three races on the
spin - the Peoria TT, August 17,
the re-arranged Springfield Mile
I on August 31 and the as
originally scheduled Springfield
Mile II the next day, September
1st. The 2019 series wraps up in
September with the Williams
Grove Half-Mile (Mechanicsburg,
PA., September 9), the
Minnesota Mile (Minneapolis,
September 21) and the final
round, the Meadowlands Mile,
East Rutherford, NJ,
September 28.
www.AMDchampionship.com