Following an action-packed race weekend,Indian Motorcycle Racing and factory riders Jeremy McWilliams and Jared Mees came out on top. McWilliams, piloting the Indian FTR in MotoAmerica’s SuperHooligan class, captured back-to-back wins at Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. Mees, reigning American Flat Track (AFT) SuperTwins champion, secured a wire-to-wire victory aboard the Indian FTR750 at the Orange County Half-Mile in Middletown, N.Y.
The action began Saturday, July 8, when McWilliams captured his first career SuperHooligans race win. McWilliams, who earned the pole position for both races, returned on Sunday, July 9, to again reach the top of the box. During Sunday’s Race 2, O’Hara gave McWilliams a run for his money, but was edged out as the veteran road racer was precise and consistent all weekend long. McWilliams’ back-to-back wins and O’Hara’s Race 2 second-place finish put the Indian Motorcycle Factory Race team in a dead-even tie for first with 106 points each.
“Jeremy was fast all weekend, and after the controversy at The Ridge, really wanted to prove himself,” said Gary Gray, Vice President for Racing, Service & Technology for Indian Motorcycle. “Jeremy not only has a wealth of experience racing Laguna Seca, but he’s as fierce of a competitor as there is, and we couldn’t be any more excited for him and the team to be leaving Monterey with a pair of wins.”
At the Orange County Half-Mile, Mees again showed up and reminded everyone why he’s riding for a record-tying nine Grand National Championships. After taking the hole shot in the Main and securing a five-second lead from the second-place rider, a red flag caused a restart with just five laps to go. But this didn’t slow Mees. He again jumped out in front and eventually passed the checkered flag to reach the top of the box for the seventh time this season. The win propelled him to the top of the leaderboard and marked his 36th career half-mile win, awarding him with the most half-mile wins of any rider of all time.
In the King of the Baggers class, O’Hara rode with typical zeal and courage as he battled to capture his first win of the season. O’Hara made a daring pass through the cork screw on the last lap, only to lose control on the final turn. Despite going down, O’Hara rushed up, picked up the 620-pound motorcycle and was able to salvage a fourth-place finish. O’Hara again finished fourth in Race 2, while McWilliams took P5.
Indian Motorcycle factory race efforts are presented by Progressive Insurance, Mission Foods and Medallia, with additional support from Indian Motorcycle Motor Oil, S&S, Parts Unlimited, Drag Specialties, Performance Finance, and J&P Cycles.
The AFT season continues next with the Bridgeport Half-Mile on July 22, while the Mission King of the Baggers continues at Brainerd International Raceway July 28-30. The SuperHooligans class picks back up September 8-18 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX.
