Michelin Pro Series Round 2 Heartland Park-Topeka Topeka Kansas April 25-26, 2009 It’s finally time to get back racing, after an eight-week hiatus the 2009 Michelin Pro Series resumes at Heartland Park-Topeka this weekend for Round 2 of the championship. This signifies the start of real race to the title since these are the riders who are chasing a Michelin Pro Series Championship in the four ASRA sanctioned sprint classes. The one class that doesn’t see a change is ThunderBike. At this point it’s shaping up as another BMW/Buell showdown as the defending champion Nate Kern saw his chance at Daytona victory snatched away by Dan Bilansky by 0.001 second. Bilansky, the 2006 ThunderBike Champion, will be bringing his Buell to Heartland Park to try to extend his point lead over Kern and the formidable BMW. Factory Pro SportBike will see the return of 2007 CCS Mid-West Champion Brian Hall to the Michelin Pro Series after an injury forced the Illinois rider to sit out the 2008 season. Brian will have his work cut out for him as he faces last year’s winner Robert Jensen from North Dakota and runner-up Matt Hall from nearby Kansas City. Also joining them will be Wisconsin’s Ray Hofman, who is fresh off a win in the A&J Recognition Solo Challenge at Carolina Motorsports Park last Sunday. Hofman won’t have the luxury of 60 laps to beat these riders, but he could be a factor in the final standings. It will be Pennsylvania’s Paul Allison trying to build on his second place finish at Daytona. Allison will have to come up with an answer to Jensen’s past dominance at Heartland Park, but with renewed confidence from a great start to the season, Allison has a great opportunity to leave Topeka with the SuperBike point lead. Another rider returning to the Michelin Pro Series after injuries a couple of seasons ago is Brian Stokes from Georgia. Brian tried his luck as a Team Owner for the past two seasons and now has decided to return to the pilot seat for his program. Stokes will face fierce challenges from Matt Hall, Robert Jensen and Brian Hall, a hurdle he’ll have to cross to have a chance at the 2009 Michelin Pro Series SuperStock Championship. Michelin Pro Series racing starts at 12:00pm on Sunday April 26th at Heartland Park-Topeka, tickets are just $15 and include a full schedule of CCS Pro-Am races starting a 9:30am.