INTERVIEW I AFT SUPERTWINS GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPION JARED MEES
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loudly about it, telling people that
you're coming for Scottie Parker.
But deep down inside, I always
had that goal to someday match
or beat that record."
What Mees envisioned from
the start eventually became evi
-
dent to all and a concrete goal
to
shoot for.
"But I guess, back in 2021,
when I blew my knee out and
still got seven, right then, I was
like, 'All right, I think I can make
a run at this deal.' 2022 came
around, and they put some re
-
strictions on the bike that I was
racing,
and I was kind of skepti-
cal at how that might turn out.
But
we still got the job done.
"Anyway, after that, I knew
we had a good shot at getting it
done this year."
2023 proved itself a worthy
backdrop for the history-altering
milestone.
Before the season, Mees'
modern-day nemesis—Briar
Bauman, himself already a two-
time Grand National Champion
with a long career still in front
of him—switched allegiances.
No longer backed by the
powerhouse factory Indian
Wrecking Crew outfit, Bauman
joined forces with the multi-
motorsport team Rick Ware
Racing to develop an all-new
race bike built around KTM's
Duke platform.
Bauman's 2023 was a roller
-
coaster ride, but during its peaks,
he reminded the
world exactly
why he had proven to be such a
persistent thorn in Mees' side.
Meanwhile, the young phe-
nom, Dallas Daniels, continued
his
meteoric rise. A career
trajectory pointed directly at
eventual all-timer status only
steepened its upward climb as
the Estenson Racing Yamaha
pilot graduated from rookie title
threat to series' bar-raiser in his
sophomore campaign.
Grand National Championship
#9 had to be earned.
Daniels came out hot, ripping
off a pair of dominant victories
on the opening weekend of the
season. He would proceed to
Mees piled on nine wins
during the 2023 season.
