BY CHRIS MARTIN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIM LESTER
T
wo-time Grand National Champi-
on Briar Bauman came into this
year's Lima Half-Mile something
of the forgotten man, despite having
racked up three podiums over the sea-
son's opening half aboard an all-new
bike for an all-new team.
That's actually a credit to the ever-
consistent Bauman. While reigning
Mission SuperTwins king (and Bau
-
man's old nemesis) Jared Mees found
himself chasing a new rival in rising
star Dallas Daniels for the champion
-
ship lead, Bauman performed well
enough on the Rick Ware Racing KTM
790 Duke to not attract too much
(negative) attention.
ROUND 10 / JUNE 24, 2023
ALLEN COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS / LIMA, OHIO
FLAT TRACK I PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN FLAT TRACK
P96
Briar Bauman delivers KTM its first-ever premier-class AFT victory
BAUMAN MAKES
While steady on the surface, in
reality, Bauman had been on a roller-
coaster. His new deal came together
only just before the start of the season
to the point that Bauman had zero seat
time before the day of the opener. Each
race day since had presented new
calamities as long-time crew chief Dave
Zanotti and mechanic Michelle Disalvo
desperately sought solutions to tame
a powerful but unruly beast of a race
bike that was loaded with potential but
remained jagged with raw edges.
Only due to their efforts and Bau
-
man's sublime skills had they con-
sistently found ways to bring things
around well enough in time for the
main events, enabling Bauman to
log decent to sometimes-better-than
decent results.
