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/771039
CN III ARCHIVES BY LARRY LAWRENCE I f you, like many racing fans in recent years, had taken the annual March trip to Daytona off the docket, this March might be a good year to return. This year there's a really good reason to head back down for Bike Week 2017. Daytona International Speedway is set to host a historic race in the form of the Daytona TT National. On Thursday, March 16, fans and riders will get to see for the first time the one-of-a-kind TT track to be built in the tri-oval, on essentially the same patch of ground where the Monster Energy AMA Supercross will be held five days earlier. The series has been rebranded American Flat Track Series (formerly AMA Pro Flat Track and prior to that AMA Grand National). The 2017 calendar in- cludes improvements to geographic diversity, the mix of track configurations (six miles, seven half-miles, two short tracks and three TTs) and boasts the most rounds on a schedule since 2011. It's a bold move by American Flat Track to stage the race in front of the massive grandstands. Whereas the old Municipal Stadium and the more recent Daytona Short Track facility could look packed with a couple of thousand fans, it's likely that the vast seat- ing capacity of the main straight grandstands of DIS will fairly rattle with that same number of fans. Hopefully flat track fans recognize the significance of this race and will show up in unprecedented num- bers. Why is this race so historic? For a couple of rea- sons. To begin with, this will be the first time in 30 years that the big AFT Twins (formerly called Grand National Twins or GNC Twins) will race in a national TT event. It's been since 1983 when Jay Springsteen won the Peoria TT on an XR750, that a twin-cylinder motorcycle won a national TT, so the fact that fans will have the opportunity to see something that hasn't hap- pened in over 30 years is reason enough to put the race on your calendar. How fun will it be watching the current generation of riders deal- ing with jumping a big twin for the first time? The other story—and this one is huge—is the renewal of the Harley-Davidson vs. Indian battles. With Indian hiring away Bryan Smith, Jared Mees and Brad Baker, undeniably the three most talented riders in the championship, the question is how will Milwaukee respond? We'll know part of the story before the Daytona TT. Harley-Davidson is set to announce its 2017 rac- ing squad any day now, so we'll know who the riders are and what bikes they are going to run. It's not known for sure, but some insiders claim that the factory Harley squad is going to fully commit to the new liquid-cooled XG750R as the platform P106 PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN J. NELSON FLAT TRACK RACING'S A WHOLE NEW The renewal of the Harley- Davidson vs. Indian battles and a new TT track at Daytona make for a compelling story to kick off the 2017 American Flat Track season.