FEATURE I STATE OF AMERICAN FLAT TRACK
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And yet, the series finds itself
at a critical juncture. Entangled
in a complex web of circum-
stance, history, physics and per-
spective, series' owner AMA Pro
Racing has set down the difficult
path of charting a future for a
sport with no painless solutions
at their disposal.
VIEWED FROM
ANOTHER ANGLE
The rosy picture painted in the
opening paragraphs is heavily
contrasted by another reality that's
being screamed by other key met-
rics of measuring series' health.
Since the introduction of In-
dian Motorcycle's all-conquering
FTR750 in 2017, that single
motorcycle platform has become
increasingly dominant—both in
terms of success and overall
grid ubiquity—even as the Mis-
sion SuperTwins field has grown
increasingly sparse.
Consider the numbers: Since
making its full-time series debut
in '17, the FTR has won 89
percent of the premier-class
main events (97 percent when
you eliminate the TTs from the
equation) and owned 85 percent
of the total podium positions (89
percent minus the TTs).
During that same span, Indian
has not only won all available
championships, no other brand
has even mounted a semi-realis-
tic title challenge.
Meanwhile, class entries have
plummeted, both in terms of total
numbers and brand representa-
tion. In its debut season, the
Indian accounted for the fourth
most entries among eight differ-
ent manufacturers, sitting at nine
percent of 602 total entries. By
2021, the FTR750 accounted
for 74 percent of a field that had
been cut by more than half, with
just 261 total entries logged for
the entire season.
Despite the midseason
course correction, word
around the paddock
was the well-funded and
high-profile Estenson
Racing effort—with
support from Yamaha
Racing—had seen
enough and was
prepared to park its
MT-07 DTs and go find
another racing series to
participate in for 2022.
The motorcycle that
changed everything: the
Indian FTR750.
