Harley Factory Rider Brad Baker2013 AMA Pro Grand National Champion Baker on Factory XR750s in 2014The 2013 AMA Pro Grand National Champion Brad Baker has joined Harley-Davidson’s factory squad for the 2014 AMA Pro Flat Track season.
Baker, 20, of Eatonville, Wash., will pilot XR750 motorcycles for the Harley-Davidson Motor Company and Screamin’ Eagle Factory Flat Track Team. He now joins the ranks of other top riders who competed for the Harley Factory team in Flat Track, including Chris Carr, Keny Coolbeth, Scott Parker, Joe Leonard, Jay Springsteen and Carroll Resweber.He will compete in the 2015 AMA Pro Grand National Twins series aboard Harley-Davidson XR750 motorcycles prepared by tuner Craig Lager. Kevin Atherton, the 1988 AMA Pro rookie of the year, winner of 14 AMA Pro national races, and the youngest ever member of the Harley-Davidson Factory team, will also join the team as Baker’s riding coach and mentor, Harley reports.Following his 2013 title, Baker become the fourth youngest rider to achieve a championship. This occurred when his fight with rival Bryan Smith (Kawasaki) came down to the wire at the season finale in Ponoma, Calif.Brad Baker says: “I’m pumped to be joining the Harley-Davidson Factory Team. As a young flat track racer, it’s everyone’s dream to ride for this team and follow in the footsteps of so many of the great riders I grew up watching.“It’s a great honor to know that I will have millions of Harley-Davidson fans around the world cheering me on. I think we are going to work very well together, and I’m looking forward to bringing the No. 1 plate to Harley-Davidson next season and keeping it here for a long time.”Brad Baker Career Bio Courtesy of Harley:Baker won the AMA Pro Singles Championship in 2009 before moving up to the Expert Twins class and winning the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Expert Rookie of the year award.In 2012, he rode two races for the Harley-Davidson Factory Team as a substitute for injured Factory rider Kenny Coolbeth, before joining the Dodge Brothers Racing team for the 2013 season. Baker won two Expert Twins races this season riding a Harley-Davidson XR750, including the Pomona finale, in addition to earning the Grand National Singles title to claim his first overall Grand National Championship title.Kris Schoonover (Harley-Davidson Racing Manager) says: “Brad was a rising talent in 2012 when he rode two races for the Screamin’ Eagle team, but by winning the Grand National Championship this year he proved he is a star of the present and future, which makes him the perfect rider to lead our flat track racing program into the future. We have a lot of exciting plans for the program and Brad in the coming year, and we can’t wait to go racing.”
This week, Senior Editor Nic de Sena rides the all new Ducati Monster. Big changes have been made by Ducati–has the company ruined the considerable heritage of the iconic Monster–or are the changes worth it? In the second part of the show, we chat with Nick Ienatsch, Founder and Head Instructor at the Yamaha Champions Riding School. He says: “We aim to change your riding life by introducing you to Champions Habits: The techniques, approaches, skills, and the mindsets of the best riders in the world. These Champions Habits are the foundation of safety and consistency to whatever speed you ride, in any venue on any bike. Street riders, this is just as much for you as track riders. The best way to make safe riders is to make good riders.“ We hope you enjoy this episode!
