VOLUME 57 ISSUE 2 JANUARY 14, 2020 P85
the back foot for the rest of the sea-
son, and I don't just mean at series
level, I mean for the competitors,
too. They're hauling themselves and
all their equipment and people all
the way around the country, and not
racing, and stacking up events in
the second half of the season. But
the series went well, with the one
big innovation this year the full AFT
Championship status for our Pro-
duction Twins class. This is open
only to twin-cylinder motorcycles
up to 800cc with streetbike-based
engines, so it excludes the FTR
Indians and XR Harleys. It's what is
says on the label—it's for produc-
tion bikes, and the purpose of the
class was partly to give teams which
just can't compete at factory level
against the Indian and Yamaha and
Harley riders, a way to still compete
in the series, and still have a realis-
tic chance at podiums and champi-
onship success.
I guess like Superbike road
racing it also involves the fan
who's ridden to the track on a
motorcycle like the one he sees
out there being raced.
(Above) Lock feels that, despite a string of
rainouts, the 2019 ATF season was a success.
(Left) Lock's biggest challenge? Getting
Millennials into the seats.
"The sport at
the top level has
really elevated—
it's experienced 10
years of evolution
in just three
years."
Do you feel you over-extended the
series, in not allowing sufficient cushion
for rain delays, etc.?
No. Eighteen dates is where we've been
for three years now, and it's a good number.
It enables us to start mid-March with the cur-
tain raiser at Daytona, and to run all the way
through the spring and summer and end up
the first week of October at Meadowlands
in New Jersey. But we were very unlucky
in having three consecutive rain-affected
events on three consecutive weekends,
which is very unusual. That then puts you on
