| Author | Message | ||
     Buellerthanyou |
From H-DNet: Eslick looks to continue winning streak at Road Atlanta East Troy, Wis. (April 2, 2009) - Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing/RMR/GEICO rider Danny Eslick shocked the motorcycle racing community with a double-header sweep of the second and third rounds of the AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike class at California Speedway March 20-21 to claim the first major wins in AMA Pro Racing against its Japanese and European competition. Eslick’s historic wins were the first for an American manufacturer in a premier AMA road racing class since Cal Rayborn won an AMA Grand National race at Laguna Seca aboard a Harley-Davidson XR750 in 1972. Controversy erupted after the race, led by Kawasaki factory rider Jamie Hacking who finished second in both races, but Eslick is not letting critics distract him from his bid to continue the winning streak at Road Atlanta this weekend. “I like Atlanta. My expectation is to keep winning, but the goal is to stay on the podium and be consistent. We definitely want to go for the championship this season,” the 22-year-old Broken Arrow, Okla., rider said. Message boards and enthusiast websites lit up in the weeks following the races. Some critics dismissed the Buell as an overdog with a displacement advantage, but a post-race laptime analysis released by AMA Pro Racing showed that Eslick’s times on his 1125R were only the third fastest posted during the weekend, and his performance significantly outpaced that of other riders on similarly prepared Buells. “The rules allow [the 1125R] in the class, as well as other brands with large displacement, and our bike passed post-race inspection,” Eslick said in an interview following a taped appearance for SPEED’s AMA Pro Prime Time television show that will air Saturday night at 10pm ET. “It’s not like we have any special parts. We’ve got the same stuff as the others guys [on Buells.] I’ve heard a lot of whining, but it just goes in one ear and out the other.” Like his GEICO Powersports/RMR teammate Michael Barnes, the Buell 1125R Eslick raced in the Daytona and Fontana rounds was equipped with a stock crate engine, modified only with an aftermarket muffler and a recalibrated engine computer. “Some people want rules specifically made for motorcycles that are only produced by four import manufacturers. That’s not the American way. In America we embrace diversity. AMA Pro Racing has written rules that allow fair competition among many more brands, and we had six brands in the top eight at Fontana. Some people say we have an unfair displacement advantage, but this class allows bikes like the BMW 1200, the Aprilia 1000, and the KTM 990 to also compete,” said Erik Buell, Chairman and Chief Technical Officer of Buell Motorcycle Company. “The fact is that a privateer racer on a street bike beat the Japanese factories’ barely disguised race bikes, and I’m proud of that,” Buell said. “As an ex-privateer racer, who personally experienced dealing with never having equipment comparable to what the factory guys had, this is a great moment. It also proves that Buell’s American innovations like the ZTL front brake, underslung exhaust, and fuel in the frame work as well on the track as they do on the street.” Road Atlanta also marks the debut of privateer racer Taylor Knapp aboard Latus Motors Racing’s 1125R in the Daytona SportBike class. Knapp, who finished in the top ten in both American Superbike races at Fontana on a Suzuki GSX-R1000, tested last week with the team at Talladega Grand Prix and replaces Alan Schmidt, who has left the team. In the Moto-GT series, Old Glory H-D/Buell joins the action in the Moto-GT2 class with riders Jaycent Gebers and Dennie Huff on a Buell XB12R. Founded by visionary motorcycle designer and former privateer racer Erik Buell in 1983, Buell Motorcycle Company, a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, Inc., produces sport motorcycles, motorcycle parts, accessories and apparel, including the 1125R superbike and air-cooled XB-series Ulysses, Firebolt, and Lightning. To learn more about Buell motorcycles, or to locate the dealer nearest you, log onto www.buell.com. Go Buell! HellBuelly J "Calling upon my years of experience, I froze at the controls." --Striling MossBuelly | ||
| Court |
Sweet. . . | ||
| Fast1075 |
"including the 1125R superbike and air cooled XB-series Ulysses, Firebolt and Lightning" Left out "The only American built Thumper Cycle...the Blast"....the essence of pushrod thumpness... | ||
| Gregtonn |
“The rules allow [the 1125R] in the class...I’ve heard a lot of whining, but it just goes in one ear and out the other.” What else need be said? G |
