Harley-Davidson: 2018 Flat Track Racing Team presented

Harley-Davidson presented the Flat Track Racing Team official team that will face the 2018 season. It will be a team that will combine the experience and skill of the veterans with the energy and determination of the younger ones. There will be three drivers who will represent the official colors of the Milwaukee company in the races of the series American Flat Track (AFT) 2018. To the pilot Brandon Robinson, who makes his return to the official Harley team, will be joined by the most experienced Sammy Halbert and the rising star Jarod Vanderkooi to face the season that is about to begin in the right way.

For the hand-to-hand battles that characterize flat track races, the official Harley-Davidson racing team will this year field the brand new Harley-Davidson Davidson Flat Track at the ESPN X Games in Minneapolis. The racing season will begin during Daytona Bike Week with the AFT Daytona TT which will take place on a new and wider track built inside the Daytona International Speedway. “The American Flat Track series races have new energy to express and enthusiasts have responded to this call. They will flock to the tracks to see their heroes in action and will try to tune in, wherever they are in the world, to see images of the races on video - he has declared Scott Beck, Marketing Director of Harley-Davidson -. We have invested heavily to grow the AFT series and are excited to see the sport rise to the level of a true all-American motorsport discipline".

Now in its 65th consecutive season, American Flat Track is the oldest form of motorcycle racing in America. To properly prepare for what promises to be one of the most competitive seasons in history, Harley-Davidson and its racing partner, Vance & Hines Motorsports, have dedicated the winter to squeezing as much power as possible from the bikes used by the team, the Harley XG750R racers. Motorbikes XG750R from flat tracks used by the official HD team are powered by a modified version for motor racing V-Twin Revolution 750 cc with liquid cooling and electronic injection. We remind you that the engine was designed for the Harley-Davidson Street 750 model, a motorcycle designed to guarantee maximum handling and usability in an urban context, with the added touch of rebellious character typical of the Dark Custom philosophy. The racing-modified Revolution X engine, as well as the XG750R chassis, were developed in collaboration with Vance&Hines Motorsports. The flat track XG750R is not a series production model.
The Revolution X engine was designed at the Willie G. Davidson Product Development Center in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.

Sammy Halbert brings his veteran experience to the Official Harley-Davidson Flat Track Racing Team for the 2018 season. Since his first season as a pro in 2006, Halbert has achieved thirteen Grand National race wins. Always a tenacious fighter, he finished third in the 2015 series, and had four wins and a second-place championship finish in 2012. Four wins and a third-place series finish in 2011. Halbert was named “Ricky Graham AMA Rookie of the Year” in 2006 and earned his first Grand National race win in 2007 at the Castle Rock TT. In 2017 Halbert finished the AFT series in fourth place. Halbert is 30 years old and lives in Graham, Washington. Brandon Robinson returns for his second season with the official Harley Davidson Flat Track Racing Team. In 2017, Robinson delivered consistent results with a seventh-place finish in the AFT Series. Robinson had his best season in 2013, with three wins including the Springfield Mile. In 2016, Robinson earned his fourth career victory. In 2008 Robinson was AMA champion in the Basic Twins class. Robinson is 27 years old and lives in Oxford, Pennsylvania. Jarod Vanderkooi has been considered the rising star of the specialty since 2015, the year in which he made his debut, winning the "GNC1 Rookie of the Year" award by virtue of the results obtained and the 12th place finish in the championship. Vanderkooi won his first pro race in 2015 at the Springfield Mile, the first of his two wins at Springfield that season. In 2016 he finished tenth in the championship with three top-five finishes, while he had a ninth-place finish in the 2017 AFT season. Vanderkooi is 20 years old and lives in Mount Gilead, Ohio.