Factory riders Gary Birtwistle #11 and Paul Young #75 battled for victory in the final round of the 2022 DTRA “Flat Track Nationals” Twins Class at Greenfield Dirt Track, resulting in a convincing 1st for Birtwistle and a close 2nd place for Young, giving Royal Enfield a double podium for the 2022 championship honors.
Lincolnshire, UK, 23rd September 2022: Royal Enfield celebrated their very first back-to-back championship victory last weekend, once again securing the top two places of the podium in the DTRA Twins class. Pro rider Gary Birtwistle and factory development rider Paul Young went into the final round of the series with the championship already secured for Royal Enfield by Birtwistle, finishing the season with an astonishing clean sweep of 7 consecutive wins.
Championship standings decided it was all to play for in a one-on-one race for podium glory at the season finale. Racing consisted of two groups facing 3 heats each, followed by a final; with the draw separating team mates Birtwistle and Young, the Royal Enfield riders spectacularly carved their way through the strong field of contenders in their respective heats to finally meet head to head in the showdown. Birtwistle had the pick of race position on the grid, following a blistering performance in the heats, choosing the outside line in a battle royal for glory. Both riders made the hole-shot side by side then Birtwistle pulled slightly ahead on the second corner, Young continued snapping at his heels on corner exit for the first 5 laps before Birtwistle pulled a clean margin on lap six and went on to victory and a well deserved Championship celebration.
Adrian Sellers, head of Royal Enfield’s Custom & Motorsports programs said “Royal Enfield’s transatlantic racing programme has achieved back to back success with just 24 months of development, from concept to the completion of a second winning season. Our in house powertrain engineers combined with the expertise of Harris Performance’s chassis development team, all share a genuine passion and confidence in the race team and our committed riders, that has driven us to develop a championship winning machine that is truly competitive on the world stage, spearheaded by completion in the DTRA and AFT series.”
Commenting on his first Championship victory with Royal Enfield, Gary Birtwistle said - “Having finished the 2021 season with a potentially career changing injury sustained in the Pro-class I was extremely frustrated, especially following such a strong start to the 2021 season with Royal Enfield. After a tough road to recovery last winter my focus has been renewed, I was driven to give 100% to the Twins series and secure the championship double for the team; today it’s a great feeling and I’ve grown as a rider as a result. Now we’re ready to push even harder with new challenges for 2023.”
Last year's Twins champion, team mate and Royal Enfield development rider Paul Young commented - Huge congratulations to Gary as the new 2022 DTRA Twins class champion. We’ve put a lot of work into the development of our race machines over the past two years and this weekend I’ve been debuting an all new Royal Enfield Twins FT, both machines now feature the latest research and development from our combined transatlantic racing efforts - although there are significant differences between the USA’s long track racing and Short Track in the UK - the knowledge sharing gained from all our racing efforts is continuing to benefit our twins platform, we’re looking forward to next season already.”
Roal Enfield’s investment in grass-roots racing has been developing rapidly over the past few years, especially in the world of Flat Track racing. Fielding teams in the premier Twins class with the UK DTRA (Dirt Track Riders Association) and USA AFT (American Flat Track) series, alongside the establishment of Flat Track “Slide Schools” making the growing sport accessible to more newcomers in the USA and Europe - The story is only just beginning.
About Royal Enfield
The oldest motorcycle brand in continuous production, Royal Enfield has created beautifully crafted motorcycles since 1901. From its British roots, a manufacturing plant was established in Madras in 1955, a foothold from which Royal Enfield spearheaded the growth of India’s mid-sized two-wheeler segment. Royal Enfields are engaging, uncomplicated, accessible, and fun to ride; a vehicle for exploration and self-expression. It’s an approach the brand calls Pure Motorcycling.
Royal Enfield’s premium line-up includes the recently launched, stylish new Hunter 350, the timeless Classic 350, the Meteor 350 cruiser, the 650 parallel twin motorcycles - Interceptor and Continental GT, the adventure motorcycles - Himalayan adventure tourer and the Scram 411 ADV Crossover, and the iconic Bullet 350. Riders and a passionate community are fostered with a rich profusion of events at a local, regional and international level. Most notable are Rider Mania, an annual gathering of thousands of Royal Enfield enthusiasts in Goa, and Himalayan Odyssey, a yearly pilgrimage over some of the toughest terrain and highest mountain passes.
A division of Eicher Motors Limited, Royal Enfield operates through more than 2100 stores across all major cities and towns in India and through nearly 850 stores in more than 60 countries around the globe. Royal Enfield also has two world-class technical centres, in Bruntingthorpe, UK, and in Chennai, India. The company’s two state-of-the-art production facilities are located at Oragadam and Vallam Vadagal, near Chennai. Across the world, Royal Enfield has three modern CKD assembly facilities in Thailand, Argentina and Colombia. With more than 37% CAGR for the last 5 years and sales in international markets up 108% in 2021-22, Royal Enfield is the leader in the global mid-size motorcycle market.
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