BUELL
1125R WINS ASRA TEAM CHALLENGE RACE AT ROAD AMERICA
Estok
Finishes Second in ASRA Pro Thunderbike; Bilansky Sweeps CCS SuperTwins
ELKHART
LAKE, WIS. (July 7, 2008) – A near-stock Buell 1125R
entered by Richie Morris Racing/Hal’s Speed Shop and ridden by Dan
Bilansky and Clint Brotz won the ASRA Team Challenge endurance race,
part of the three-day American Sportbike Racing Association (ASRA) Road
America Festival of Speed held over Independence Day weekend. Bilansky
and Brotz completed 38 laps of the four-mile Road America course to take
the overall win and to lead the GTO class. James Gang/Hoban Bothers
Racing/Appleton Buell riders Paul James and Jeff Johnson completed 37
laps to take the Team Challenge GTL class win and finish fifth overall
on a Buell Firebolt XB12R.
Bilansky
said the RMR/Hal’s Buell 1125R turned in a strong performance despite
being raced in mostly stock trim.
“This
is a bike we built for me to use in sprint races, and we decided to use
the Team Challenge to shake it down,” said Bilansky. “We were using
the stock Pirelli Corsa III street tires and even the stock brake pads,
with racing bodywork, dry break refueling system, and a slip-on muffler
as the only mods. It worked really well, in fact it’s probably the
best-handling motorcycle I’ve ever raced at Road America.”
The
ASRA/CCS races were witnessed by hundreds of Buell owners attending
Buell 25th Anniversary events held at Road America during the
weekend, including demo rides, autograph sessions with Buell racers and
an opportunity to ride in a parade lap session around the 4-mile track.
More than 500 Buell owners were registered for the historic event.
Estok
Second in Pro Thunderbike
For
the second race in a row, Deeley H-D/Buell Canada/Ruthless Racing rider
David Estok turned in a strong performance on a Buell XB12R borrowed
from another team and rode to a close second-place finish in the ASRA
Pro Thunderbike National at Road America.
With
his primary and back-up race bikes down with mechanical problems, the
Deeley team borrowed a Buell XB12R from the Hal’s H-D/Buell/Hal’s
Speed Shop squad, fitted Estok’s suspension and bodywork, and put the
defending Thunderbike champion on the starting grid. At the start, Estok
joined a group at the front that included BMW rider Nate Kern, H-D/Buell
of Frederick rider Bryan Bemisderfer, Hal’s H-D/Buell/Hal’s Speed
Shop rider Dan Bilansky and Bison Racing/Eagle H-D/Buell rider Walt Sipp.
Kern led the first lap and started to open a gap on the group of Buell
riders, but by lap three of the five-lap race Estok had set a new
Thunderbike track lap record, reeled in the BMW and passed for the lead
as the pair exited the first turn.
“I
was not familiar with the clutch on the Hal’s bike, and I got a
terrible start,” said Estok. “Then it took me a lap to get
comfortable on the bike. Kern was faster on the long straights but I
could out-brake him into the turns, so I focused on braking to close the
gap.”
On
the last lap of the race, Estok passed Kern again in the first turn.
Kern took back the lead on the downhill straight leading to turn five,
only to see Estok retake the lead as the pair exited Canada Corner. Kern
was able to draft past Estok on the long straight to the finish line to
take the win by .097-seconds, the closest finish in ASRA Thunderbike
history.
“I
got a really good drive out of the last turn, but he had the draft and I
couldn’t hold him off,” said Estok. “I’d really like to thank
Dan Bilansky and the Hal’s team for loaning me the bike. I may have to
trade purse money with him.”
Bilansky
finished third, several seconds behind Kern and Estok. James Gang/Hoban
Brothers Racing/Appleton Buell rider Paul James was awarded fourth place
after Sipp was penalized for jumping the start of the race, and
Bemisderfer was penalized for exceeding the class horsepower limit.
Suzuki rider Ed Key finished fifth.
After
five events, Kern leads the Thunderbike series with 162 points, followed
by Estok with 132 points and Sipp with 115.
The
next stop on the eight-race ASRA Pro Thunderbike schedule is the Barber
Festival of Speed, August 9-10 at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Ala.
Buell
Riders Win Six CCS Sprint Races
In
MotoSport.com Championship Cup Series (CCS) twin sprint races at Road
America, Joel Spalding rode a Buell XB12R to take two wins in Amateur
Thunderbike. Dean Hagemann won Expert Lightweight F40 on a Buell XB12R.
Bilansky rode a Buell 1125R to take two wins in Expert SuperTwins, and
Estok won on Saturday in Expert Thunderbike.
To
learn more about Buell motorcycles, visit your local Buell dealer today
and experience the pure streetfighter attitude, style and performance
only found on board a Buell. For the Buell dealer nearest you, pull into
www.buell.com.