INDIAN MOTORCYCLE DOMINATES DAYTONA, KICKING OFF 2022 RACE SEASON IN DRAMATIC FASHION WITH WINS AT KING OF THE BAGGERS & AMERICAN FLAT TRACK SEASON OPENERS
Indian Challengers Go Un-Challenged at Round 2 of King of the Baggers with Podium Sweep Led by Jeremy McWilliams, While Tyler O’Hara Goes Last to First for Dramatic Win in Round 1 –
Finishes Weekend with Early Points Lead for the Series
Indian Motorcycle Flat Track Wrecking Crew Rider Briar Bauman Secures 20th Career Win at Volusia Half-Mile
Minneapolis, MN. – Indian Motorcycle Racing dominated Bike Week in Daytona Beach and kicked off its 2022 race season in dramatic fashion. With factory teams competing in flat track and bagger racing, Indian Motorcycle captured two wins and four of six podium spots at the King of the Baggers opening double-header at Daytona International Speedway, along with a victory at the 2022 American Flat Track season opener at the Volusia Half Mile.
Intent on reclaiming the title of King of the Baggers for its Indian Challenger, Round 2 saw an all-Challenger podium sweep led by new factory rider, Jeremy McWilliams, with Tyler O’Hara and Bobby Fong taking 2nd and 3rd respectively. In Round 1, it was all about inaugural King of the Baggers Champion O’Hara who put the Indian Challenger on top of the box with a dramatic last-to-first victory. O’Hara finished 1st and 2nd in the opening rounds to take an early lead in the 2022 series points race. Meanwhile, the opening round of the 2022 American Flat Track season saw Indian Motorcycle Wrecking Crew rider Briar Bauman deliver a masterful performance on his Indian Motorcycle FTR750 to take the win at the Volusia Half-Mile.
“This weekend was a dramatic display of the incredible level of preparation, determination and skill that powers our teams and riders every time we line up on the grid,” said Gary Gray, Vice President Racing, Service & Technology for Indian Motorcycle. “Considering the stiff competition and unique challenges we’re facing in both flat track and bagger racing this season, we’re certainly happy to get off to such a positive start, but we know full well that this is merely the beginning. There’s a lot more racing ahead of us, and we expect every race weekend to be a dogfight to the finish.”
KING OF THE BAGGERS
Opening weekend of MotoAmerica’s King of the Baggers was nothing short of exhilarating.
In his third year piloting the Mission® Foods S&S® Indian Challenger, O’Hare overcame considerable obstacles in Round 1 to capture his third bagger racing victory. Thanks to a penalty imposed during post-qualifying inspections, O’Hara was forced to start the race at the back of the grid in 13th position. Seemingly unphased by the misfortune, O’Hara literally catapulted off the start, launching his way past more than half the field before entering turn one. From there, he smoothly made his way into third, where he ran for the majority of the race until perfectly timing an incredible move in the final lap, drafting out of the chicane to slingshot his Indian Challenger into first place and take the checkered flag.
“We took a lot of motivation from the disappointing outcome in 2021 and poured it into intensive off-season testing and preparation with the S&S team to ensure we came back strong in 2022, and this weekend was a testament to the dedication, expertise and commitment of our entire team,” said O’Hara. “We’re confident we have the best bike in the paddock, and we intend to prove that again in 2022. We’re off to a good start; but our competition is fierce, and our work has only just begun.”
Powered by its Round 1 victory, Indian Motorcycle Racing took its success to an even higher level in Round 2 with an all-out Indian Challenger podium sweep. After just missing the podium in his Round 1 bagger racing debut, veteran road racer and newest Indian Motorcycle factory rider Jeremy McWilliams battled head-to-head with fellow Mission® Foods S&S® Indian Challenger teammate, O’Hara, ultimately edging him out by mere .025 seconds to capture his first King of the Baggers win and first career win at Daytona.
But O’Hara wasn’t the only threat in this race, while leading into the final lap, McWilliams went high, leaving the door open for Indian Motorcycle privateer Bobby Fong, piloting Steve Delorenzi’s S&S-built RSD Indian Challenger. Fong took full advantage and led most of the final lap, and it wasn’t until the final sprint when McWilliams, along with O’Hara, drafted Fong and made a last-minute pass. While both McWilliams and O’Hara were able to slingshot past Fong, it was McWilliams who was able hold off O’Hara and cross the finish line by slightly less than a bike length.
Sponsors for Indian Motorcycle Racing’s King of the Bagger efforts include Mission® Foods, S&S®, Medallia, Drag Specialties and Parts Unlimited.
AMERICAN FLAT TRACK
After weather postponed, and ultimately cancelled, round one of the 2022 American Flat Track season, riders took to the track and kicked off the season at the Volusia Half-Mile II. In spite of significant off-season rule changes that impose restrictions specifically on the Indian FTR750, flat track Wrecking Crew rider Briar Bauman put on a technical clinic to capture the win, making a bold statement regarding his intention to claim his second Grand National Championship in 2022.
Having placed second in Semi 2 and earning a spot on the front row for the Main, Bauman jumped out to an early lead and never looked back – capturing his first win of the season and his 20th of his career. Bauman’s factory teammates, including reigning champion Jared Mees and the Wrecking Crew’s newest rider Shayna Texter-Bauman finished fifth and 13th respectively.
Sponsors for Indian Motorcycle Racing’s American Flat Track efforts include Progressive Insurance, S&S®, Indian Motorcycle Oil, Bell Helmets, Drag Specialties and Parts Unlimited.
The 2022 King of the Baggers season continues April 22-24, in the Braselton, GA, at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. American Flat Track continues March 19 for the Texas Half-Mile at Texas Motor Speedway in Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX.
For more information on Indian Motorcycle Racing, visit IndianMotorcycle.com and follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
ABOUT INDIAN MOTORCYCLE®
Indian Motorcycle is America’s First Motorcycle Company®. Founded in 1901, Indian Motorcycle has won the hearts of motorcyclists around the world and earned distinction as one of America’s most legendary and iconic brands through unrivaled racing dominance, engineering prowess and countless innovations and industry firsts. Today that heritage and passion is reignited under new brand stewardship. To learn more, please visit www.indianmotorcycle.com.
More, from a press release issued by Rodio Racing/Warhorse HSBK Racing:
Rodio Warhorse HSBK Racing Debuts at Daytona
Coming out of the gate strong on their Aprilia RS 660 machines in the MotoAmerica Twins Cup round at Daytona International Speedway, Rodio Racing/Warhorse HSBK Racing led the way with first and third fastest times in the first practice session. Anthony Mazziotto recorded a best time of 1:59.830 with teammate Gus Rodio dropping a 2:00.199 best on a drying track that was green from sustained rain. More rain on Thursday resulted in the first qualifying session being scratched, however, track activity resumed on Friday morning with the second qualifying session where Mazziotto managed eleventh position followed by Rodio in fifteenth.
In race one, intense close racing among the top seven riders saw Mazziotto run as high as second position, ultimately finishing third by only 0.124 seconds. Rodio was able to advance from the fifth row of the grid to finish seventh.
Race two on Saturday was reduced to six laps, and then to a five lap restart but produced even more extremely close racing with the top eight riders ultimately separated by only 0.634 seconds. Mazziotto ran as high as third but came across the finish line in fifth, missing the podium by 0.021 seconds.
Anthony Mazziotto – Coming into Daytona was very exciting, I’ve never ridden on any banking before and riding half of the track wide open creates some really intense racing. Things went fairly well despite making contact with the wall on the banking in the first race. I managed to recover myself and bring home a third place result as well as a fifth place in Saturday’s race two. I have solid third place championship points going into round two and I’m happy with my position, especially because I have experience at the rest of the tracks we will visit. Thanks to the whole Rodio family and crew for the help throughout the weekend and Bobby at Warhorse HSBK for building a solid motorcycle to ride this season. See you all at the next one!
Gus Rodio – It was definitely a tough weekend all around for us, but I’ll be taking away the positives and moving forward. We got two top-ten finishes and are leaving Daytona eighth in the championship. I’m going to do my work at home and be ready for Atlanta.
Rodio Racing/Warhorse HSBK Racing will continue at the next round at Road Atlanta April 22-24 in Braselton, Georgia.
More, from a press release issued by Hayden Schultz Racing:
Hayden Schultz and Cycle Tech Kick Off MotoAmerica Twins Cup Campaign with Daytona Victory
The Cycle Tech team came to Daytona with high hopes after a promising winter developing their Yamaha YZF-R7 machines. Their hard work would be rewarded with the teams first MotoAmerica victory after Hayden Schultz crossed the line first in Race 2.
Hayden Schultz would show promising pace from the opening practice session as the 2022 MotoAmerica season kicked off on the high banks of Daytona. The team would only get two shortened sessions to set up the bike before gridding up for race 1. After qualifying 5th on the grid, Hayden would go on to lead laps in race 1. While a potential podium or victory looked to be possible, a crash on lap 6 would derail hopes for a maiden victory on Friday
Heavy rains on Saturday morning would result in a rescheduled race 2 to start at nearly 6:00pm. The long wait would prove worth it. Schultz would utilize his experience and a strong Yamaha power plant to take the lead coming off of the banking and lead to the checkered flag. The victory at Daytona would be the first for Hayden and the Cycle Tech team.
Hayden Schultz:
“I’m so happy to get redemption after the incident in race 1. I knew from practice 1 that we had a strong bike and had a great shot at coming away with a win. My team is incredible and Gene Burcham, Ron “Dink” Glidden, and Gary Jeffries have spent countless hours preparing for the season. They did such a great job preparing our Yamaha R7 and making sure we had the power to be competitive. I made a mistake that cost us a shot at the win in race 1. When race 2 came around I knew I needed to just make it to the final lap so I could use the draft and power of the Cycle Tech Yamaha R7. My plan was to come out of the final chicane in 4th and it worked out perfectly. I’m thrilled to get my first MotoAmerica win and I’m determined to keep this momentum going further into the season.”
The Cycle Tech Yamaha team is supported by: Yamaha, Vance & Hines, Glidden Racing, 1833-CJ-KNOWS Accident and Injury Law, aRacer USA, Ohlins USA, Blud Lubricants, Dreyer Motorsports, Full Spectrum Power, Sunstar, DP Brakes, Speigler Performance Parts, Magura, Dymag Wheels, Just 1 Helmets, RS Taichi, Robem Engineering, Dogwood Residential, Attack Performance.