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Big news rolled out of Spirit Lake, Iowa, this week as Indian Motorcycle announced its 2022 American Flat Track Super Twins team. For the first time ever, a husband and wife will race for the same top-level pro team as Shayna Texter-Bauman joins two-time AFT Super Twins Champion Briar Bauman, along with six-time and defending Super Twins champ Jared Mees on the Indian Wrecking Crew.
The newest FTR750 pilot will be pitting under the factory rig with Dave Zannotti pulling crew chief duties for both Baumans. In another bit of interesting news, former AFT Champion Jake Johnson will be doing the mechanic duties for Texter-Bauman while Michelle Disalvo will continue to spin wrenches for Briar Bauman.
The premier flat track series has seen women riders in the past, as Nichole (Cheza) Mees competed in the class from 2007 through 2015, securing finishes as high as seventh place. And in the early 2000s, Jennifer Snyder had a factory Harley-Davidson deal before getting injured.
Shayna herself has had some experience in the Super Twins class on a few different bikes, but the opportunity with the dominant Indian team and bike is next-level, for sure. Texter-Bauman’s resume is one most any racer would be proud of. Maybe the most significant statistic is that she is the winningest rider in the singles-class history. Her ability on mile tracks certainly puts her in position to be the first woman to ever set foot on a Super Twins podium.
This officially shifts flat-track silly season into full blown race mode. While being an absolute force on mile and half-mile tracks, she has struggled in the past on TT and short tracks, so I'm sure the flat track message boards (are those still a thing?) and Facebook pages will be on fire debating whether this is purely a PR-motivated move on Indian's part, arguing over who else could have filled the spot and generally armchair quarterbacking the decision. It certainly makes things interesting in the pits of the biggest juggernaut in American Flat Track. Does the husband-and-wife dynamic of the Baumans result in a net positive for the year? It is uncharted territory in motorcycle racing, for sure. Could Shayna's ability to win mile races become a factor in another possible championship showdown between Mees and Briar? One thing is for sure: Hers will be one of the more exciting rookie seasons in the premier flat-track class in some time.
Personally, I’m stoked for the addition of Texter-Bauman to the Indian paddock. In a time where promotion of female athletes tends to revolve all too much around filter-laden selfies and yoga-pants-clad insta-stories in the gym, here is an opportunity to boost the signal of a badass woman racer with real moto skills.
Shayna is the real deal when it comes to motorcycle racing, and she has the receipts to prove it. I’m already stoked for 2022 and the schedule isn’t even out yet.
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