Indian Motorcycle Back to AMA Pro Flat Track
Back in the 1950s, the “Indian Motorcycle Wrecking Crew” was a dominate force in AMA Pro Flat Track. The Wrecking Crew consisted of Bill Tuman, Bobby Hill, and Ernie Beckman – each rider piloting an Indian Scout to many race wins.
But due to various difficulties within the business, Indian going under in 1953, Indian’s involvement in AMA Pro Flat Track ended.
But this week, the new Indian Motorcycle – now under Polaris Industries – announced it would return a full factory effort in the AMA Pro Flat Track series. The bike of choice for the “Indian Motorcycle Racing Team” will be the Scout FTR 750 liquid-cooled 750cc four-valve v-twin. The engine is specially designed for flat track, as is the chassis.
Joining the team is Jared Mees, a multi-time AMA Grand National Champion. Mees, 30, won the AMA Grand National Twins Championship in 2009, AMA Grand National Singles Championship in 2012, the unified AMA Grand National Championship (GNC1) title in 2012, 2014 and 2015, and is current X Games gold medalist.
“I can’t express how excited I am to be the guy to bring Indian Motorcycle back into the forefront of AMA Pro competition,” says Mees. “We will have a lot of work to do to develop a 100 percent new race platform, but I’m committed and excited at what I have seen on the drawing boards and what the plans are for Indian Motorcycle Racing. This is history for the brand, and being a part of it is truly exciting for me and this sport.”
“We are very excited to return to the AMA Circuit,” says Steve Menneto, President of Motorcycles for Polaris Industries. “We have established the new Indian Chief and Scout series as the cornerstones of our production line-up, and now is the time for us to return to racing in a big way. We know that fans of Indian Motorcycle have been anticipating this announcement and can’t wait to see Indian Racing back in action.”
“Indian Motorcycle was born out of competition, and through its history used racing to develop and improve the product as well as expand the appeal of the brand,” says Reid Wilson, Marketing Director for Indian Motorcycle. “As shepherds for the brand, we will continue that push towards excellence on the street and in competition, and our team is beyond excited to bring the brand back to professional racing.”
Indian Motorcycle reports it will race the new motorcycle at a circuit to be determined in 2016 in preparation for a full season of competition in 2017.
