Kawasaki bags maiden AMA flat track win

HARLEY-DAVIDSON has had their nose rubbed in the dirt once more after a Kawasaki Ninja 650-based flattracker powered to an historic victory at the Indy Mile, giving Kawasaki their first win in the premier AMA Grand National Twins class.

Piloted by Bryan Smith, the machine took victory at the prestigious US event, normally dominated by Harley-based racers.

Earlier this year, Joe Kopp gave Ducati their first AMA flat track win at the Pro Flat Track Grand National Championships.

"If I can't ride flat-out, the race is over," said Smith, 27, a former Harley factory rider who has earned two other Mile victories, as well as an AMA 883 championship, Rookie of the Year honors and the Horizon Award in his young career. "I was wide-open around the Indy Mile for 25 laps and the bike never got over 200 degrees," he continued. "Most of the bikes we compete against are air-cooled, so they lose power during the race. Cooled properly with a Fluidyne radiator, ours had the same power throughout each lap."

Bill Werner, co-owner and tuner of the Monster Energy- and Kawasaki-sponsored team, is an AMA Hall of Famer who has wrenched to more than 130 wins and 13 championships. "Bless his soul, he can race his little heart out," Warner said of his star rider. "A water-cooled motorcycle is only as good as its radiator. Bryan kept his cool and so did the Kawasaki, due to our Fluidyne Powersports radiator. Nobody's laughing now. We've got a great setup now and I have high expectations for the rest of the year."