IN
THE
WIND
P30
HARLEY-DAVIDSON ANNOUNCES
2018 AFT FACTORY TEAM
H
arley-Davidson announced
its official three-man factory
racing team for the 2018 Ameri-
can Flat Track season. The team
will feature two new faces and
one returning rider, that rider
being Brandon Robison. Robin-
son's new teammates will be vet-
eran racer Sammy Halbert and
young star Jarod Vanderkooi.
Of the trio, Halbert was the
top-finishing rider in the 2017
Championship with fourth place,
Robinson was seventh and
Vanderkooi ninth.
Harley is hoping to improve its
results in 2018; last year, the fac-
tory team failed to grab a single
win and landed on the podium
just one time.
The team was announced to
the Harley-Davidson dealer net-
work during meetings held today
in Nashville.
The Harley-Davidson Factory
Team will again compete in the
19-round 2018 AFT Champion-
ship aboard the now two-year-
old XG750R. The team will also
participate in the Harley-David-
son Flat Track Racing event at
ESPN's X Games Minneapolis.
"American Flat Track has new
energy behind the sport and
fans responded. They're head-
ing to the track to see the action
live and tuning in from around
the globe to the catch the racing
broadcasts," said Scott Beck,
Harley-Davidson Director of
Marketing. "Harley-Davidson
made an investment to help build
AFT and we are excited to see
this growth in a truly all-American
motorsport."
The 30-year-old veteran,
Halbert, is a 13-time GNC win-
ner and finished the 2017 AFT
season racing for Estenson
Logistics in fourth place with five
podiums and 14 top-10 finishes.
The 27-year-old returns for his
second season with the team.
In 2017, Robinson accumulated
nine top-10 finishes and ended
the season in seventh place.
Vanderkooi was the 2015
GNC1 Rookie of the Year, and
the 20-year-old posted eight
top-10 results and finished the
2017 AFT Twins season in ninth
place as a member of the Richie
Morris Racing Team.
The Harley-Davidson Flat
Track Racing Team will again
partner with Vance & Hines. CN
Brandon Robinson,
who rides the
number-44 XG750R,
is the only returning
rider on the 2018
Harley-Davidson
Factory AFT Team.
(Left) Sammy
Halbert joins
the factory
Harley team for
2018. (Right)
Harley-Davidson
is investing
in young
rider Jarod
Vanderkooi.
