On a humid night in Daytona, FL, Johnny Lewis made history for Royal Enfield by capturing the checkered flag in the Production Twins class during the American Flat Track (AFT) Finale at Daytona I. Lewis led from start to finish on the Twins FT to give Royal Enfield its first ever win in the series. The win also marks the first racing competition win in Royal Enfield’s modern history.
The team arrived in Daytona in high spirits, and despite having issues in the first practice, Lewis showed resilience by winning his Semi, giving him grid choice. Lewis made a strong initial start to the race, fending off the rest of the field. The Main was then red flagged due to a downed rider and the grid was reset. During the second restart, Lewis rode the inside line aggressively, taking the holeshot. Lewis began to distance himself from the field and went on to take the flag to flag victory.
“My confidence was high going into this weekend, ” said Lewis, rider and Moto Anatomy x Royal Enfield team owner. “I left Charlotte to practice at my home track and work on the chassis setup since it’s a similar track to Daytona. Everyone has worked extremely hard to get to this point. One of my mechanics, Ben Groh, has been with me every day since August 1. I’m thrilled earn this win for the teams in India, the UK and North America. Tomorrow is another day, and it would be really satisfying to end the championship with two wins on a new bike in its developmental season.”
The Moto Anatomy x Royal Enfield team made its debut at the Williams Grove Half-Mile in Mechanicsburg, PA with positive results. In the following round, a valve issue prevented the team from competing in the subsequent AFT races in Atlanta, GA. The team then showed promise at the following round in Charlotte, NC but racing was canceled due to rain.
While the goal of Lewis’ program has been development of the Twins FT platform, the desire for positive results has driven the team from the onset of the program.
“Just over a year ago we decided to go flat track racing in AFT,” said Adrian Sellers, Head of Royal Enfield Customs. “The goal for our first year was to learn and work towards competitive results. We couldn’t have imagined that we would win a race, and the result at Daytona I is overwhelming. We’ve had an incredible season of development, and the team has given its all to finding the solutions that got us over the line. Whatever happens at tomorrow’s race, we’ll go into the off-season and next year fueled by the knowledge that we can win.”
Lewis will compete again Saturday evening at the AFT Finale at Daytona II in the Production Twins class and aims to score double victories to conclude the 2020 AFT season.
Link: Royal Enfield
