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Indian Contingency Calculations

Feb 20

Indian Contingency Calculations

Indian officially announced that they would run a two-man Wrecking Crew (as we reported earlier in the week). This is made up of a one-man factory team of reigning champ Briar Bauman, and the factory-supported independent (but not a true privateer), the former champ, Jared Mees. This is the first time in the new Indian team's lifespan that they've had two-rather than three riders on their 'Wrecking Crew' (see why we think that make business sense in BronBo Goes Private). On t

What’s happening at Estenson Yamaha?

Oct 9, 2020

What’s happening at Estenson Yamaha?

And what does it mean for AFT SuperTwins? Going into the penultimate race weekend of the year, a glance at the AFT SuperTwins standings reveals grim reading for Yamaha fans, and worse still for the Estenson team. Combining the scores for the Yamaha USA-supported riders, JD Beach and Kolby Carlile, sees a total of 118pts: 68 for Beach, 50 for Carlile. That leaves them in 14th and 15th respectively, out of 16 full-time and five occasional/wild card riders. 118pts is fewer than

Sammy's Back

Sep 10, 2020

Sammy's Back

Sammy said all the right things when he was on the Vance & Hines Harley XG750R, and put it on the podium, and also came within a whisker of winning at it, but for a red flag when he was out front, but the statistics tell a different story. Sammy was Rookie of the Year in 2006 and the de facto GNC champ in 2009, if you, like we do, add the points for the singles and twins class (like it always used to be), Sammy had the most points. Instead, he's credited as Singles Champ and

Indy: Sweeps, Grand Slams & Records

Aug 29, 2020

Indy: Sweeps, Grand Slams & Records

Earlier this week we reported how unpredictable the 2020 AFT Singles was. We believe there is not even a hint of a dominant week in, week outr acewinner yet. AFT SuperTwins is far more easy to bet on. The winner is going to be on an Indian FTR750. Four races, four Indian wins, two to Mees two to current #1 Briar Bauman. Out of the 12 possible podium positions so far in 2020, only one position has been filled by a non-Indian rider, Bryan Smith's third place at the second Indy

Catch Fite Klub

Jun 13, 2020

Catch Fite Klub

We have purposely not covered the result of this week's pay-per-view Flat Track Fite Klub as it's still out there to watch. Chris Carr go in touch again to say... In case you missed it, the Inaugural Flat Track Fite Klub is still available to watch. I won't spoil the outcome, but you'll see one of Today's Stars having to go the distance with one of the Legends. Think 'Rocky Balboa on two Wheels, only for real and not a movie: Flat Track Fite Klub will take you to the order pa

Flat Track Fite Klub

Jun 8, 2020

Flat Track Fite Klub

This just in from Chris Carr. The round table, that is free to view, happens tonight. Who: Scott Parker, Chris Carr, Jay Springsteen, and Joe Kopp against today’s Flattrack stars Jared Mees, Bryan Smith, Sammy Halbert, and all-arounder Ryan Sipes What: One on One, best of 3 Match Races. Best of Legends vs Best of Today’s Stars on BULTACO ASTROS! Where: Undisclosed location due to Covid-19 When: 8:30 PM EST, 5:30 PST, Tuesday, June 9, 2020 How to Watch: The following link: Fl

Flat Track Fite Klub Pay-Per-View - UPDATE

May 24, 2020

Flat Track Fite Klub Pay-Per-View - UPDATE

UPDATED WITH MORE FROM CHRIS CARR The halting of world racing is forcing promotion companies and riders to think outside the box. Seven-time Grand National champion, Chris Carr, contacted us last week to say he was going to be part of Flat Track Fite Klub, an interesting project that will see many of flat track's biggest names go head-to-head for a livestream audience. The list of riders includes... Chris Carr Scott Parker Jay Springsteen Joe Kopp Jared Mees Bryan Smith Sammy

Slammin' Sammy Joins the King of Cool

Jan 8, 2020

Slammin' Sammy Joins the King of Cool

As much as we are fans of the XG750R (and we really are, featuring it in Sideburn 39) it is gaining something of a reputation for knocking a nail or two on the lid of some long racing careers. Very few riders have climbed off the water-cooled Harley and looked back at the experience fondly. The latest rider to move on from the official H-D Vance and Hines team is Sammy Halbert. Sammy scored two rare podiums for the bike, at the 2019 Perris Half-Mile and 2018 Buffalo Chip TT,

New H-D SuperTwins Team

Dec 5, 2019

New H-D SuperTwins Team

Vance and Hines chose and otherwise quiet Thursday in December to announce some huge news, the line-up of their 2020 team. And it's exciting. Jarod Vanderkooi is retained and joined by 2019 AFT Singles champ Dalton Gauthier and 2016 AMA Twins champ, Bryan Smith. Smith's long-time crew chief, Ricky Howerton joins Vance and Hines as crew chief. Howerton is quoted as saying, 'I think the Harley-Davidson Factory Team has all the ingredients in place to field bikes that can win ev

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

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

AFT Super Twins: The Proposal

Jul 7, 2019

AFT Super Twins: The Proposal

At a recent American Flat Track (AFT) advisory group meeting* a radical change for the future of the sport was tabled and discussed. The idea is for the current Twins class to be renamed Super Twins and to be a 'closed shop' for 16 'star' riders, who will have guaranteed entry to the main at every round. The idea is to promote a roster of stars the series can promote and then guarantee (barring injury), that if a fan turns up to see Brandon Robinson, that he's going to be in

Laconia ST Thoughts

Jun 16, 2019

Laconia ST Thoughts

American Flat Track debuted a new racetrack yesterday, the purpose built short track in Laconia, New Hampshire. Why there? It hosts the oldest bike rally in the US, like a smaller Daytona or Sturgis. It's a decent idea, but there were problems. I was watching on Fanschoice, not live, but the crowd looked quite thin. As the reputation grows, hopefully so will the crowds, but if this was anyone's first flat track race as a spectator perhaps they won't have had the greatest expe

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

So Cal Half-Mile Thoughts

May 12, 2019

So Cal Half-Mile Thoughts

Continuing reactive reports and thoughts the day or so after AFT races, here is the latest. Because this was a west coast night race I only caught the first few laps of practice and the Singles and Twins mains. Here goes... TWINS I went to bed thinking this must be the easiest year ever for a rider to gain their national number. There were only 19 riders entered for a 16-rider main. Make the main and you get your national number. Go back to Pomona, another So Cal race, in 201

Arizona Super TT (& Texas HM) Thoughts

Apr 30, 2019

Arizona Super TT (& Texas HM) Thoughts

I'm going to keep splurging these top of the head reports if I watch the AFT races on Fanschoice. I had to get up early for a flight on Sunday morning, so I set my alarm for 3.30am to watch a bit before I left, then streamed it on my phone, making a massive dent in my data allowance. I listened on headphones to the seemingly endless adverts until something was about to happen, then pulled into petrol stations to watch the action. Such is the life of a UK-based AFT fan. AFT Tw

Buffalo Chip TT Thoughts

Aug 6, 2018

Buffalo Chip TT Thoughts

It seems like only TT races can throw up any kind of surprise in this era of Mees domination, and last night's rain-delayed Buffalo Chip TT did just that. Mees inherited the lead when early leader Briar Bauman crashed and took out second place Jarod Vanderkooi on the factory H-D. Johnson, now riding an Indian FTR750 for the Estenson team, fought through to make the pass on Mees five laps from the end. This was Johnson's first AFT win since the second race of 2016, Daytona Sho

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

X Games 2018 - This Sunday

Jul 19, 2018

X Games 2018 - This Sunday

The main players in the current pro flat track scene, H-D and Indian, along with American Flat Track, are in a marketing space race that is putting the sport in front of more people than it has been for decades. Crucially, they're not simply preaching to those already involved with the sport. Indian's involvement with Travis Pastrana's Evel Live jumps, completed on a 2018 FTR750 flat track race bike, will undoubtedly have sparked conversations along the lines of 'They race th

Indian Running Away With It

Jun 5, 2018

Indian Running Away With It

The Indian FTR750 is ripping up the 2018 season, just like it did in 2017. The Kentucky Mile saw an all-Indian podium, the fifth consecutive all Indian podium of 2018. The last non-Indian to make a podium was Briar Bauman on the Zanotti Kawasaki at the third round of the season. He was sandwiched between two FTRs. You want more figures? At the Springfield Mile nine of the top ten were riding FTR750s (the odd man out was Mikey rush on a Yamaha in 8th) At the Sacramento Mile th

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