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/1437138
INTERVIEW I 2021 AFT SUPER T WINS C HAMPION JARED MEES P114 Nine rounds into a 16-round championship, Mees was relegated to third in the title fight. Even worse, he'd spotted Bauman a 34-point head start down-the-stretch run. Mees then caught fire at just the right time, ripping off five of the next six victories heading into the season finale. That al- lowed him to claim a slight points advantage over Bauman, but the final four of those wins came on Miles, a strategic flat track disci- pline at which the experienced Mees had firmly established himself the modern-day maestro. The championship, mean- while, would be decided on a Half-Mile. And even though Mees' résumé insists he's one of the greatest Half-Milers in the sport's history, Bauman had largely outperformed him in that arena over the past three seasons as their rivalry grew increasingly heated and bitter. There was then a torturous near-month-long layoff before their title clash made all the worse by the delay of an additional day spent wasted in the rain at Char- lotte Motor Speedway. Tricky conditions and a compressed scheduled awaited when they returned the follow- ing evening to determine whose factory Indian would be adorned with the number-1 plate in 2022. So, too, did more drama than anyone could have ever imag- ined—or desired. Now several weeks removed from the '21 season finale, Mees reflected upon a wild day that would end with the crown back upon his head. He had plenty to think about before throwing a leg over his machine for the first time that night. "Going in, we all knew that the weather was going to be iffy and crappy. We didn't know what was going to happen, if we were going to get delayed, or post- poned, or what the deal was. So that always weighs on the brain for sure, but there's not much you can do. We can't dictate or control the weather. "The uncertainty was what was on everybody's mind. One minute you hear someone say we're coming back the next day, one minute we weren't. I was just like, 'What in the hell is going on?' That part of it was always difficult. "Beyond that, for sure, you're always nervous going into the last race of the year in a close points battle. And of course, especially this year because it was basically, if he beat me and won the race, he was Cham- pion, and if I beat him, I was Champion. As good as Briar is, you understand you basically have to go there and win the race." With no practice session as a result of the abbrevi- ated schedule, the field jumped straight into qualifying. Mees ran second in qualifying one (19.938) and was fastest in qualifying two (19.919). Bauman was fourth (20.059) and ninth (20.182). We spoke about things to make the bike better with my suspension guy and my crew chief, Kenny [Tolbert], and went through the scenarios. But when it's time to put the helmet on and go out there, it basically falls on me at that point." The 2021 AFT SuperTwins Championship came down to the final round at the Charlotte Half-Mile. Jared Mees won back the title, which he last owned in 2018.