Here's a short film featuring Indian's 2022 riders, and their special guest for the final round, Jeffrey Carver.
The AFT pro jumped on the Indian S&S Cycle FTR1200 hooligan, that George 'Greenfield' Pickering had been racing for the preceding rounds of the season. George had secured second in the title race, but couldn't realistically have caught series leader Jack Bell. Having Carver jump on the bike allowed George to concentrate on preparation for the biggest race weekend his track has ever hosted, and allowed the big crowd to watch a top-level US pro race a top-level hooligan bike.
Jeffrey lined up as part of the biggest hooligan entry in a UK race. The grid was made up of three FTR1200s, two Devitt Vanoni Ducati (Max Inman riding one of them), two Krazy Horse Indian Scouts, a Triumph Bonneville and more.
Jeffrey jumped on the FTR and got quicker all day, until, in the final, he beat Jack Bell on the Devitt Vanoni Ducati Scrambler 1200, making him the first hooligan rider to beat Jack, in a final, all season. After getting blocked at the start, Jack was riding like an animal, seemingly harder than he had all year. Having an AFT Pro in the race made both him, and, in the 450 Pro class, Gary Birtwistle push themselves even more than they normally do. It was a fantastic thing to watch, from riders I've seen race countless times.
FURTHER READING
Read Leah Tokelove's comparison of racing the hooligan Scout and FTR1200 in Sideburn 40
Read about Jack Bell's first gen Devitt Vanoni Ducati Scrambler Hooligan in SB45
Check out Blixt & Dunder's lightweight Indian FTR1200 hooligan on our STORIES page
Congratulations to the DTRA and everyone involved, on a great season of racing. Leave it to the Brits to make a hillbilly sport seem so proper. Dig!