There’s no doubt that adventure bikes are cool as hell. But you know what would make them even cooler? Taking them flat track racing, of course.
This is exactly what AMA Pro Racing is doing this year, by launching an all-new segment in the Progressive American Flat Track series. Dubbed AFT AdventureTrackers, the series will see top-caliber adventure bikes slug it out on track, and boast top riders getting these heavyweight ADVs sideways and in the air.
The racing action will start on August 11, 2024, and will feature adventure bikes with displacements of 1,000cc and up. Interestingly enough, AMA Pro Racing’s official website lists down all the eligible bikes for competition, and there’s one that stood out simply because it hasn’t even been launched yet.
I am, of course, talking about the KTM 1390 Adventure, a highly anticipated model that’s surely just around the corner following the release of its naked sibling, the 1390 Super Duke R.
Indeed, just a couple of days ago, we talked about KTM working on a new automatic adventure bike. Dubbed the AMT, it’s more than likely that this prototype will go on to be an automatic variant of the upcoming 1390 Adventure. A coincidence? More than likely not.
The AFT AdventureTrackers rulebook states that the competing bikes must remain, for the most part, stock. It further explains that the bikes’ transmissions must be the same as those of the production models. So yes, theoretically, automatics like the Honda Africa Twin DCT and the KTM AMT prototype would be eligible for entry.
And so, if we’re lucky, we’ll maybe get to see KTM field the AMT prototype in the opening round of AFT AdventureTrackers.
If and when KTM decides to take the AMT racing, it’ll surely be a spectacle to see it go head-to-head with other big-bore adventure bikes such as the BMW R 1300 GS, Ducati Multistrada V4 Rally, Honda Africa Twin, and Yamaha Super Tenere. AFT says that the opening race will feature asphalt and dirt sections, and even a jump. And who doesn’t love seeing 600-pound ADVs getting big air?
It goes without saying that the adventure bike segment is absolutely on fire lately. There are tons of new models in the market, and racing organizations are taking notice of the performance potential of these versatile machines, going as far as launching ADV-specific racing series in disciplines like rally and now, flat track.
Who knows? Maybe in the future, there’ll even be a road-racing division for adventure-touring bikes à la King of The Baggers. One can hope, right?
