Caught up with Brandan Bergen, tuner for Brad Baker. While 2017 was his first season with Indian Motorcycle, this guys is no stranger to flat track and turning wrenches. We walk through his transition from rider to tuner, his return to flat track, and his roller coaster 2017 season.
📸 Fernando CM
01:06 - Bergen intro
02:35 - Bergen backstory
03:20 - Riding for and working with Johnny Gode and Dave Zanotti
07:20 - Discussion about Brandan tuning sprint cars for World of Outlaws
12:22 - Bergen talks about how his opportunity with Indian Motorcycle began
16:40 - Talks about going to events in 2016 to work with Brad
17:34 - Talks about knowledge learned from Sprint Car racing that applies to motorcycle racing
20:19 - Thoughts once Brad went down in the inaugural Daytona event
22:04 - Thoughts coming out of the second event in Atlanta
23:16 - Talks of issues in Charlotte
27:41 - “I remember being very angry…”
33:43 - Takes the blame for Lima
39:07 - Talks of challenges at the Buffalo Chip event
43:35 - Discusses Brad’s training incident leading into Texas
47:10 - How did you guys make the call to have Larry Pegram in Brad’s place?
48:02 - Talks about finding out about Brad’s incident
50:04 - How was it working with Larry Pegram?
52:05 - How did you guys settle on Vanderkooi riding the bike for Perris, CA?
56:30 - “I think people are gonna see a brand new Brad Baker in 2018”
57:50 - What is your favorite part of being a mechanic?
1:01:23 - What advice would you give to up-and-coming racers?