Rennie Scaysbrook | November 11, 2020
Vance & Hines has today announced they are splitting from long-time technical partners Harley-Davidson, who will no longer field factory teams in American Flat Track and Drag Racing.
This huge news for both race series, as Harley-Davidson will now be supporting racers via dealer supported programs to grow the base of riders competing.
The Vance & Hines/Harley-Davidson NHRA partnership is no more, leaving no factory teams left in NHRA.
“We thank Harley-Davidson for being a partner with Vance & Hines for 20 years. Together, in AFT and NHRA, we have celebrated 116 wins and 11 championships,” said Vance & Hines founder Terry Vance. “Harley-Davidson has been one of the best partners we’ve ever had.”
Vance & Hines employees were informed earlier today that the Indy Operations Team will be refocused on performance products for two and four-wheel vehicles and will be redeployed under the name Vance & Hines Racing Development Center (RDC). Vance & Hines will continue its racing tradition in 2021 with sponsored riders in a variety of racing series, and be the sole distributor for the sole licensee, manufacturer and seller of Harley-Davidson XG750R Production Twin motorcycles and Harley-Davidson XG750R Super Twin motorcycles. This racing variant of the Harley-Davidson Street 750 was the motorcycle that won the AFT Production Twins championship in 2020.
No more factory H-D team, but the company will still support Harley riders in the series.
As for Harley-Davidson, they will no longer be involved with direct factory support in either NHRA or AFT.
In a press release issued earlier today, the company said, “Harley-Davidson is harkening back to the foundations of the company’s competitive spirit by refocusing on building within the brand and celebrating the heritage of grassroots flat track racing by offering support to its entire dealer network through the development of contingency programs.
“Harley-Davidson’s heritage is rich with racing lore and legacy, and throughout our brand’s history, Harley-Davidson dealers have been the cornerstone of our racing programs,” said Jon Bekefy, general manager of Brand Marketing. “We are excited to continue to support the XG750R racing motorcycle and NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle efforts through our dealers.”
Production Twins Champion, James Rispoli.
“In a return to the foundations of Harley-Davidson’s racing efforts, the company will refocus efforts by offering support dealer racing programs in 2021, including the development of contingency programs for AFT. To kick-off, Harley-Davidson is already committed to supporting Latus Motors Harley-Davidson as they campaign their XG750R in the AFT SuperTwins series.”
The news leaves Indian Motorcycle as the only factory-backed team in American Flat Track SuperTwins competition, with no factory-backed teams now competing in NHRA.
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