Royal Enfield Slide School & 2021 Flat Track Racing with Gary Birtwistle

ROYAL ENFIELD has announced an exciting collaboration and sponsorship with Gary Birtwistle, for the 2021 DTRA Flat Track racing season - alongside this, there is a newly set up Dirt Craft Slide School! 

First up, the partnership with Gary Birtwistle. Gary will be riding the purpose-built flat track RE racers (the Twins FT) in all races - a custom bike built from the ground up for one thing, to slide!

The Dirt Track Riders Association Flat Track season kicks off on the 8th and 9th of May, and runs across 5 race weekends until the final weekender, on the 11th and 12th of September. Royal Enfield has penned a deal to partner with Gary Birtwistle, reigning 2019 European and British Hooligan flat track champ, and Pro Class European number 3 as part of its development program for the Twins FT. 

Flat Track racing has its origins across the pond in the US, and if you’re unfamiliar with the style of racing: it’s all about sliding motorcycles around an oval track with impeccable skill and poise, under race conditions. In other words, a huge laugh!

Royal Enfield Slide School: Dirt Craft

Complementing the racing partnership, Dirt Craft will be launched in the Autumn for riders young & old, with plenty of experience or first-time fledgelings to start sliding around track. It’s the latest experience partner to be added to the Royal Enfield programme of partners. 

The tool for the job will be some custom-built FT411 machines, built from the popular Himalayan due to the light and easy nature of the bike, and will be used exclusively at the Slide School. 

Interested? You can book a place on the 1-day course at DirtCraft.co.uk - priced at £160 for 4.5 hours of action, and due to be held at: Greenfield Dirt Track, Leicester Speedway, Redcar Speedway Middlesborough, Berwick Speedway, & Newton Abbot.

Adrian Sellers, head of the Royal Enfield Custom Program: 

“We’re very excited to be teaming up with Gary for this project and marks yet another major brand milestone in the EU region. Dirt Craft has been designed to be fun and accessible, perfectly aligning with Royal Enfield’s own mantra of enjoyment and inclusivity, and supporting our mission to get as many people riding as possible.

We believe the partnership encapsulates everything that we value as a brand. The combination of Slide School and the purpose-built FT411 motorcycles is the ideal platform from which any enthusiastic rider can launch into flat track racing, or simply hone their handling skills or become a better all-round rider.”

Gary Birtwistle says: 

"It's a great pleasure to be partnering with Royal Enfield for 2021 and beyond. I'm really excited to be a part of the 650 racing programme, working with Royal Enfield and Harris to help try and get the most out of the package is really motivating. I'm just eager to start putting the laps in before the season starts; I think we could have a good chance at the British Championship this year.

Slide school is such a great initiative, it's helping to grow the sport of Flat Track in an honest, fun way that everyone can enjoy. As a lover of the sport I'm personally really excited to be helping introduce Flat Tack to more people around the country. The first events are only around the corner and I'm really looking forward to welcoming our first riders to Slide School."