The streak is over. Yesterday's podium of JD Beach, Dallas Daniels and Briar Bauman is the first AFT Twins/SuperTwins podium in 2379 days to not feature a current Indian FTR rider.
There has only been one previous AFT race that one of more Indian FTR750s has entered and not been on the podium, and that was the bike's debut, at the Santa Rosa Mile on 25 September 2016, when Joe Kopp entered the final round of the season, and came 7th.
At yesterday's Atlanta Super TT, Yamaha rider JD Beach won his seventh AFT TT on the bounce - all of them on Yamaha MT-07-powered bikes. He had to come from third place from the strart, first passing first Jared Mees, then Dallas Daniels, on a one-line dusty groove track TT that was faster than we'd been led to believe it was going to be. The Estenson riders, Beach and Daniels, came in 1-2, with KTM rider Briar Bauman inheriting third when Jared Mees made an uncharacteristic error, losing the rear when his Indian FTR750 was unsettled by a rough section of track on a corner entry. Mees kept the bike running, and remounted to finish sixth.
In addition to Briar Bauman, Indian privateer Ben Lowe, and Royal Enfield's Johnny Lewis both passed the stricken reigning champion, who couldn't make up the time with less than three laps remaining. Lowe got a career best fourth, on the Indian, one place shy of continuing the Indian FTR's podium streak.
2379 days. Six years, six months and seven days.
Photos: American Flat Track
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