Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1193082
2019 AMERICAN FLAT TRACK TWINS CHAMPION BRIAR BAUMAN P116 Interview Bauman found that with Zanotti Racing. "Dave, Michelle and I; I couldn't ask for a better group," he said. "It's really nice to have a team owner that was a racer himself. He never raced motor- cycles, but he raced bicycles. I would get pretty down on myself when I had a bad night. It helped to know that the guy who's fund- ing it, supporting it, working on the bikes, and spending count- less hours, is going to under- stand that sometimes it's just not your day. He also understands who I am, too, on top of that. He understands I joke around a lot. I was so nervous when we first started working together, but we've turned into best friends." The following year Bau- man put together a solid sea- son aboard the Zanotti Indian FTR750, finishing third in the championship. Then there were changes in the paddock coming for 2019 with some rider shuf- fling and Indian Motorcycle's factory effort being picked up by S&S Cycle. Once again, every- thing fell into place, and he got his dream ride. "It was pretty incredible, re- ally," he said. "Dave and I had some pretty good success there at the end of 2018. I knew that there was a spot opening up at Indian. I was hoping to get the spot, but I felt that there were quite a few good guys who were also riding really well. There's only a handful of factory rides, so to end up with my brother on the factory Indian team, it's pretty mind-blowing. Then for me, it was great to have the extra support on top of what Dave and Michelle were giving me." The 2019 season presented a lot of unknowns. Although there was familiarity with his core crew, it was still a new team. It worked out that everything clicked with Indian Motorcycle and S&S Cycle. "The team chemistry is so sol- id," he said. "After three years, the ups and downs and every- thing that Dave, Michelle and I had gone through, we've only got closer through everything. Then on top of it, you throw Indi- an Motorcycle and S&S into the mix. All those guys are so cool, too. We have such a good time. It makes things so much easier on me on race day when every- one is as close as we are. There were days where we [Briar and his brother] went 1-2 or 1-3, it just shows how well we all click. It shows that when you're enjoying yourself and have a great group of guys around you, it's hard to beat that combo." THE TITLE RUN Bauman went into the year expecting to run up front, but the breakout performance even surprised him a bit. He hit the ground running with a dominant victory at the Daytona TT, and he backed it up with a string of podiums, mounting a solid cam- paign for the crown. "I kind of had an idea that I could get a few wins and prob- ably podium a few times, but Over the past two years, everyone has been chasing the dominant Jared Mees (1). In 2019, Bauman (14) not only caught him but dethroned him.