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Indy Mile Is Back

Aug 4, 2020

Indy Mile Is Back

American Flat Track has announced that Indy Mile has been slotted into the schedule, taking place on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 August, and will be the next double-header. Not only that, it's going to happen on the weekend of the Indy 500. That means there will be four mile races, the two and Indy, and another pair, two weeks later, at Springfield. All the other rounds are half-miles or short tracks. Indy hasn't been on the schedule since 2015, but that was a close one. The fi

Springfield Mile 1 Thoughts

Sep 1, 2019

Springfield Mile 1 Thoughts

So, the schedule caught up with me and I couldn't follow every race live. I missed the SacMile, but watched the Peoria TT after racing myself the same day, so I was just observing, not making notes. Briar was on it at Peoria, and the king of that track, Henry Wiles, was out injured. Such has been Wiles domination that no other current Twins rider had ever won at the track. Then it was onto the rescheduled Springfield. Friday night was Singles Short Track night, and, again, af

Black Hills HM Thoughts

Aug 7, 2019

Black Hills HM Thoughts

Less than 40 hours since the Buffalo Chip podium the AFT riders were back in action at the Black Hills Half-Mile, another race that is part of Sturgis Bike Week. After the one-line TT of the Buffalo Chip, which I'm indifferent to, the Black Hills track is fast, allows various lines and offered up some great racing. Unfortunately, being an AFT addict in Europe is a ballache. I watched till about 12.15am, then set the alarm for 1.15, watched another 40 mins, set the alarm for 3

Buffalo Chip TT Thoughts

Aug 6, 2019

Buffalo Chip TT Thoughts

This is getting daft. Sunday's race was delayed nearly two hours because of rain, so the first singles practice started at 11pm UK time. I saw the new schedule, watched singles Qualifying 1 (Q1), then set my alarm for 1am and slept for a bit. I woke, watched the singles heats, then set the alarm for 3am and watched the semis and mains. It all finished, for me, after 4.30. I set the alarm for 7 for work on Monday and tried to get some sleep. And I'm not even that fussed about

Red Mile Thoughts

Jun 4, 2019

Red Mile Thoughts

Here's the latest instalment of my morning after brain dump after watching (and listening to) the AFT 2019 races on Fanschoice. First thought was thank goodness the rain held off to actually get a Twins race finished. The Singles managed to have their Saturday Springfield TT, but the last two Twins mile races have been rained out, and this one was postponed from Saturday to Sunday. There must have been a lot of twitchy executives. The rescheduled race was at a very handy time

Atlanta Short Track Thoughts

Mar 24, 2019

Atlanta Short Track Thoughts

As with the Daytona TT Thoughts, this is bullet point top of the head notions, hot reactions to AFT 2019 round 2 - Atlanta Short Track. SINGLES In one heat race there is a crash at the fastest point of the track, just before the braking point. The rider rolls down the track, gets up looking dazed. He obviously has a damaged helmet, but the AFT/AMA official looks to be helping him make the restart. This happens numerous times during the night, and occurs at every AFT race, but

Superprestigio 2018 Cancelled

Nov 6, 2018

Superprestigio 2018 Cancelled

Europe's biggest flat track race has been cancelled with less than six weeks until the event. An official press release explained that the organisers hadn't had enough confirmations from the high profile 'charismatic' MotoGP riders they felt they needed to make the event viable and 'respect their racing fans'. This is despite it being a Dorna-backed event, the company that runs MotoGP and owns all its rights. The lack of bankable talent would also have a massive impact on tic

Smith On Kawasaki for 2019

Oct 8, 2018

Smith On Kawasaki for 2019

American Flat Track hosted its end of season awards night in New York last night and the big news announcement was that Bryan Smith will be back on a Kawasaki for the 2019 season. The 2016 champion sewed up his one and only championship win on the Howerton Motorsports Kawasaki at the final race of the old AMA Pro Racing era, before it was rebranded as AFT. He narrowly beat Jared Mees (who, at the time, was racing a Harley XR750) at the Santa Rosa Mile after the pair went into

X Games Action

Jul 23, 2018

X Games Action

Talking to flat track fans on both sides of the Atlantic, it's clear that British/ European fans don't have a feeling of just how highly the X Games is regarded in the US and how important it is to the flat track racers who are involved. To the Brits (certainly the older ones) it's a made for TV, energy drink festival of skate, freestyle MX and BMX, where the Americans seem to see it as a massive honour to be involved with and a season-defining win for a rider who is perhaps

AFT Stars at Goodwood Festival Of Speed

Jul 12, 2018

AFT Stars at Goodwood Festival Of Speed

Britain's premier motorsport garden party welcomes a number of AFT stars for this weekend's Festival of Speed. The FoS is the event where various historic and current motor racing vehicles parade up the hill, in front of a big crowd. There's more to it that that, but that's the gist. It's an non-competitive event. The Revival, later in the year, is the event where period costume is encouraged and pre-1967 vehicles race hard for honours. Mees, Baker, Carver, Cose, Briar Bauman

Indian FTR1200 on Ice

Apr 21, 2018

Indian FTR1200 on Ice

We couldn't have been more excited by the Indian FTR1200 Concept when it was presented last November. The news that Indian had employed motorcycle designer, Ola Stenegard only heightened our anticipation that something street tracker-shaped is going to come out of Iowa. Why else would they be so keen to sponsor the DTRA, if not to continue reinforcing the links between the brand and flat track? Or am I adding 2 + 2 and getting 5? The world is clamouring for a proper street tr

A 100mph Chess Match?

Mar 12, 2018

A 100mph Chess Match?

Some people refer to Mile flat track racing as a 100mph chess match, because it involves some strategy. This is both over- and underestimating the sport. The Case for Overestimating Ok, there's a five rider freight train crossing the startline on to the final and some strategising of where you want to be coming out of turn 2 and turn 4 on that final lap, but any fool knows that if the bikes are nose-to-tail on the last lap, you don't want to be in the lead coming off turn 4 b

Baker & Wiles in Insta-ding-dong

Feb 27, 2018

Baker & Wiles in Insta-ding-dong

It was Anthony Brown, Mr DTRA, who, I think, first described an argument played out on Instagram as an insta-ding-dong. It was also Anthony who alerted me to an insta-ding-dong between two of the world's top flat track racers. It started when AFT's official feed - @americanflattrack - posted a photo of Brad Baker and Henry Wiles discussing something on track (above). It was from a few years ago, at the old Daytona Short Track, pre-Baker's title win (hence the 12 on his bike,

The (rusty) Butcher, The (chatty) Baker, and the (perfect poached egg) Maker…

Feb 24, 2018

The (rusty) Butcher, The (chatty) Baker, and the (perfect poached egg) Maker…

Going back in time a bit, in anticipation of the local motorcycle show for builders and fans here in Portland, affectionately know as “The One,” I am focused on the races, which are an added bonus to the weekend’s festivities of bikes, beards, and beer… They take place in Salem, at the state fairgrounds, in the livestock pavilion. Salem Speedway, aka 'The fastest indoor track in America,' is where our winter flat track series takes place, and host of “The One Pro Races,” whic

The One Pro

Feb 10, 2018

The One Pro

If you're reading this, and it's not too late, make sure you get to the Harley-Davidson-sponsored One Pro race in Salem, Oregon. There is a $10,000 prize purse that is a big dollop of honey attracting badass bees like Sammy Halbert and Brad Baker, both from the neighbouring state, Washington. There were local outlaw races on there last night and Sammy won both mains on his 450 framer (that's it on the trailer below - photo @sammyhalbert) . It's also the first round of the Sup

Video: Indian FTR1200

Nov 7, 2017

Video: Indian FTR1200

Indian have just shared this video of their FTR1200 Custom. The presentation makes it sound a lot more like a bike that's coming, than their earlier press release did, which described it more as a concept that's going to do the rounds to gauge opinion. I have yet to see one negative comment about the Scout FTR1200. Read our INDIAN SCOUT FTR1200 STORY #California #IndianScoutFTR1200 #Indian #Streettracker #JaredMees #BryanSmith #BradBaker

American Flat Track: Season So Far...

Aug 4, 2017

American Flat Track: Season So Far...

We received a press release from Indian after the Calistoga round and it succinctly sums up the season... 'Indian Motorcycle Racing and the Scout FTR750 secure its 10th first-place finish of the 2017 American Flat Track season with Jared Mees’ dominant performance at the Calistoga Half-Mile. Mees captured his sixth win of the season, and was joined on the podium by fellow Wrecking Crew rider Brad Baker, who placed third. Together, these finishes propel Indian Motorcycle Racin

Superprestigio Conspiracy Theories

Dec 22, 2016

Superprestigio Conspiracy Theories

I explained how surprised I was that my cast iron tip for Baker to win the Superprestigio didn't come to fruition, well it seems there wasn't a level playing field, or so some paddock insiders believe. They say both Marquez and Elias (a former Honda MotoGP rider and Moto2 champ on a Honda-powered bike) had electronic traction control systems fitted to their HRC Honda CRF450s. They were the only two riders to beat Baker. Traction control is banned from all levels of flat track

Nervous Baker in Superprestigio Shock

Dec 19, 2016

Nervous Baker in Superprestigio Shock

Well, it was a shock to me. My cast iron, put-the-house-on-it prediction that Brad Baker would win the Superprestigio came up short. How short? As short as Dani Pedrosa stood in a pothole. Baker was slightly off the pace in timed practice, being out-qualified by Supermoto champ, Thomas Chareyre, but it wasn't a concern to me or my prediction, because Baker's a racer. The 2014 GNC champ comfortably made the Superfinal to race Marquez for the first time in the night. After a mi

Ollie Brindley Flying at Superprestigio

Dec 17, 2016

Ollie Brindley Flying at Superprestigio

Young DTRA racer Ollie Brindley posted a quicker lap time than Brad Baker in Friday night's Open Class class practice. Marc Marquez topped the Superprestigio class and was quickest overall, Ollie second quickest. Ollie has always qualified well at the big races, but hasn't always had the best luck in the races. He has made the grand final in the past. Contrary to what we posted the other days, the Fanschoice stream is for the US only. Motors TV are showing the live footage in

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