Mees Strikes Again at Atlanta Short Track
Reigning AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines Champion Jared Mees ( No . 1 Indian Motorcycle Rogers Racing SDI Scout FTR750 ) stormed to his second straight win of the season ( following his Daytona TT win in March ) in a rain delayed Round 2 at the Atlanta Short Track on Sunday April 8 . Mees mastered the tricky , slick conditions to secure his 32nd career premier-class victory . Kenny Coolbeth ( No . 2 Nila Racing , Columbia Avionic Indian Scout FTR750 ) was second ; Jeffrey Carver Jr ( No . 23 Roof-Systems / Indian of Metro Milwaukee H-D XR750 ) was third . Demonstrating the progress being made with Harley ’ s new machine , Jarod Vanderkooi ( No . 20 Harley- Davidson Factory Flat Track Team XG750R ) came fourth and short track master Henry Wiles ( No . 17 Wilco Racing / Willy Built / Bandit Industries Indian Scout FTR750 ) fifth . The Atlanta runner-up result , combined with his DAYTONA TT eighth-place ride , sees Coolbeth move into second in the early-season points standings . Having recently announced that this will be his final AFT season , the series legend appears both motivated and capable of going out on a high note as he continues to gain speed aboard his privateer Indian Scout FTR750 . Part-time series ace Johnny Lewis ( No . 10 Richie Morris Racing Indian Scout FTR750 ) took sixth on his privateer Scout FTR750 , with the second and third members of the Indian Wrecking Crew bumped down to seventh ( Brad Baker , No . 6 Indian Motorcycle Racing backed by Allstate Scout FTR750 ) and eighth ( Bryan Smith , No . 4 Indian Motorcycle Racing backed by Allstate Scout FTR750 ) one year after they
Photo Credit : Scott Hunter / American Flat Track
helped execute a works Indian clean sweep of the podium at the Dixie Speedway . Following a rather difficult opener , last year ’ s AFT Singles title contenders came back strong in Atlanta with 2017 Singles Championship runner-up Brandon Price taking the win ( Honda CRF450R ); Dan Bromley was second ( KTM 450 SX-F ); Kevin Stollings third ( CRF 450R ). 2017 third-ranked Shayna Texter ( Husqvarna FC450 ) and last year ’ s champion Kolby Carlile ( Yamaha YZ450F ) finished seventh and eighth .
RACE NEWS
KTM ’ s contingency offering for AFT Singles riders such as Dan Bromley , Sandriana Shipman and others totals $ 56,300 for 2018 , and includes 2016-2018 KTM 450 SX-F models . An AFT Singles championship bonus of $ 5,000 is also included .
Japanese E-Bike manufacturer Mugen will race three Shinden Nana electric Superbikes at the Isle of Man TT Zero race as they go in search of a fifth straight and seventh overall win - with 2018 improvements said to include reduced mass and increased capacity as the performance of lithium-ion batteries gets ever better with less mass and greater capacity .
In addition to the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building , this year ’ s INTERMOT ‘ Customized ’ ( Cologne , Germany , October 3-7 ) also features The Sultans of Sprint and ‘ Essenza ’ - “ the essence of motorcycles ” - sprint specials and race series