BILANSKY RIDES BUELL TO THUNDERBIKE WIN AT DAYTONA Buell 1125R Riders Win Three CCS Sprint Races DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. Hal’s H-D/Buell/Hal’s Speed Shop rider Dan Bilansky rode a Buell XB12R to win the Thunderbike National at the first round of the 2009 ASRA Michelin Pro Series at Daytona International Speedway. Bilansky executed a perfect last-lap drafting pass of the defending Thunderbike champion, BMW of Atlanta rider Nate Kern, to take the win. In Motosport.com Championship Cup Series sprint racing on Saturday at Daytona, Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing Buell rider Danny Eslick scored a convincing victory in Expert SuperTwins, the first Daytona victory for a rider aboard a Buell 1125R. On Sunday, Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing Buell rider Michael Barnes, testing his injured hand in preparation for the March 6 Daytona 200, rode a Buell 1125R to second place in Expert Unlimited SuperSport. The Thunderbike win confirmed Bilansky’s last-minute decision to make the trip from Wisconsin to race at Daytona, despite a tight budget. “It was like déjà vu out there, because that was exactly the same pass I made on Kern to win the Thunderbike championship at Daytona in 2006,” said Bilansky. “And I think it was just as close, maybe half a bike length. My Hal’s Buell had the power to get the job done.” Ray Price Harley-Davidson/Buell rider David Estok posted the fastest lap in Thunderbike qualifying with a time of 1:57.801, but was penalized three positions when his Buell XB12R was 0.7 horsepower over the class formula in post-event testing. That moved Kern to the pole with a lap of 1:58.026. A sudden weather change on Sunday morning produced rain, dropping temperatures and high winds before the start of the nine-lap Thunderbike National. The track was mostly dry, and Estok took the lead for the first lap before retiring with a mechanical problem. Kern and Bilansky then opened a wide lead on the rest of the field. “Nobody wants to be leading on the last lap at Daytona, and at about the mid-point of the race Kern ran way wide at the chicane to let me know it was my turn at the front,” said Bilansky. “I let him through later, but then on lap seven I made a legitimate mistake and he got about 25 bike lengths on me and I was afraid I would lose the draft. On the last lap I had to go really deep on the brakes at turn one and at the chicane, and got back to about 10 lengths behind, which was the perfect set-up for the last lap. It was really blowing hard so he was making a big hole in the wind.” Bilansky used that draft to accelerate past Kern and was leading by only 0.001 seconds as the pair crossed the finish line. Third place went to Hal’s H-D/Buell/Hal’s Speed Shop rider Joel Spaulding, making his Expert debut on a Buell XB12R. Spaulding ran alone in third place for most of the race. Fernando Ferreyra was fourth on a Bimota, followed by Soundwaves.com rider Sam Rozynski on a Buell, Eric Helmbach on a Honda, and Joe Rozynski on a second Soundwaves.com Buell. Ray Price Harley-Davidson/Buell rider Jordan Richardson finished eighth on a Buell. After one ASRA Michelin Pro Series Thunderbike race, Bilansky leads the series with 35 points, followed by Kern with 31 points and Spaulding with 26 points. The next event on the 10-race ASRA Michelin Pro Series schedule is April 25-26 at Heartland Park Topeka, in Topeka, Kan. Buell Riders Win Motorsports.com CCS Sprint Races Other Buell winners in Motorsports.com CCS sprint competition at Daytona include Ray Price Harley-Davidson/Buell rider Jordan Richardson in Amateur SuperTwins and Amateur GTO on a Buell 1125R, and Bilansky in Expert GT Lights on a Buell XB12R. Kegel H-D/Buell rider Jay Smith rode a Buell XB12R to win in Amateur Lightweight Super Sport and Amateur Lightweight GT. 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. More, from a press release issued by The Syndicate: STRONG START TO 2009 RACE SEASON FOR TEAM ESP/ VENEMOTOS YAMAHA March 2, 2009 (Daytona Beach, FL)”” Evan Steel Performance has been renamed Team ESP/ Venemotos Yamaha, reflecting support from Vito Ippolitos’ Venemotos organization. Team ESP/ Venemotos made the most of the rain interrupted CCS/ASRA weekend with a race win and a new class lap record. Robertino Pietri was able to pull out a victory after starting from the back row of the Unlimited Grand Prix Expert race. The Factory Pro Sportbike race was a mix of highs and lows for the ESP/ Venemotos Yamaha team. After a miscue at the start, new recruit Damian Cudlin recovered and was up to fourth on the first lap going into the back straight chicane when he got tangled with another rider and ran off the inside of the track. Once off the track, Damian encountered the slick grass and was unable to keep the bike upright and had a low speed tip-over. At the same time as Damian’s off track excursion, Robertino Pietri was battling at the front of the pack with M4 Suzuki’s Jason DiSalvo. Robertino later passed DiSalvo but also had an off track excursion when he went straight through the chicane on the back straightaway. He re-entered the race in third and set about catching the leader. Although unable to make it back to the lead, Robertino made it back to second place and ended up setting a new class record lap time of 1:51.209. Team ESP/Venemotos Yamaha will use the next two days to continue preparing their machines for AMA Pro Racing’s season opener Daytona 200. Damian Cudlin: “The weekend could have gone better but overall it was good to see this place and figure out which way the track went. We were going to sit out the race because of the weather but decided at the last minute to give it a go. I hadn’t even watched the start of the other races and when I rolled up on the grid I was looking for the starting lights. I never found the starting lights””because there weren’t any! When everyone else left the grid I decided I had better go too. When I made it to the chicane I think I was around fourth but I might have been a little too keen to make it third. I ended up running up on the guy in front of me and had to run off into the grass to avoid a collision. Once I hit the grass, it was like ice and I ended up low-siding the bike causing minimal damage to the bike and none to myself. I’m ready for my first AMA race, it’s been a long time coming, and I’m ready to prove what I can do.” Robertino Pietri: “What a great weekend! My long time sponsor Venemotos is now a part of Team ESP/ Venemotos Yamaha. I won the Unlimited Grand Prix Race riding a 1000 and came in second in the Factory Pro Sportbike race riding the same R6 I’m going to race in the 200. From the time that Evan (Steel) and Phil (Allison) rolled the bike off the truck it has been good. The 2009 Yamaha R6 is awesome, we have only had to make a few clicks of adjustment here and there and the bike feels great. I am so excited to be back on Yamaha, and the ESP/ Venemotos crew was great to work with this weekend. This was a great weekend and I am really motivated going into the 2009 AMA season, I can’t wait for the Daytona 200!” Team ESP/ Venemotos Yamaha: Evan Steel Performance is a small, personal, specialized shop located in Tucson, Arizona that deals with all aspects of motorcycle road racing. ESP bikes have had some of the highest trap speeds in their classes at AMA Nationals, as well as the highest top speed at start/finish at the 50th annual Macau Grand Prix. In 2008, ESP scored a very rare privateer podium at the VIR AMA National in the Superstock class with Chris Peris. ESP is open to any level of racing, from basic race prep to planning a season at the Nationals. ESP can be reached at (520) 294 3050 or www.evansteelperformance.com