DISAPPOINTMENT FOR ROBERTS NATIONAL SUPERSTOCK CHAMPIONSHIP Brendan Roberts suffered his first disappointment of the year this weekend at Silverstone Circuit. The 2006 National Superstock Champion crashed out of the 15-lap race after a coming together with Hudson Kennaugh on the last lap. Roberts had looked strong all weekend on the Astro Van Centre Kawasaki, setting the fastest time in first qualifying and ending up in third position on the grid for the race. A number of adjustments were needed throughout the weekend to get the Kawasaki ZX10 set up to suit the flat, fast track. This was time consuming as the bike was set up for the bumpy and twisty Cadwell Park Circuit, which Roberts finished second at a few weeks prior. A technical problem on the opening lap in morning warm up saw him miss the session, as the mechanics set out to fix the bike before the race. Roberts got a good start and was into third by the first corner and was in the lead at the end of the first lap. Holding the lead until the third lap when Kennaugh made a tidy manoeuvre on the young Australian, the South African, Kennaugh, began to extend his lead at the front. By the end of lap seven the gap was 1.3. Roberts was eager to get his head down and challenge for the lead and at the start of the last lap he had narrowed the margin to 0.5 and was in with a chance of the win. Hunting down Kennaugh, Roberts saw a gap at Priory and went to pass on the inside. Sadly the front end tucked and he collided with Kennaugh and both riders ended the race in the gravel. After taking six wins in the series it was a disappointment for the Grantham based rider not to hold his 100% point-scoring season. Commenting Roberts said “I had a run on Hudson all be it from a long way back but I had made it until the front tucked, I’m sorry for wrecking Hudson’s chances as he was riding awesome all weekend and deserved to take his second win. From here I’ll be concentrating on the European Championship with a three day test at Imola to prepare for the meeting, then we move onto Magny Cours so it will be a busy few weeks.” Roberts will next be riding at Imola Circuit in the Penultimate round of the European Superstock Championships on the 1st October. More, from a press release issued by Buell Motorcycle Company: BUELL XBRR TAKES DEBUT WIN AT PRO-TWIN FINAL IN FRANCE Michel Amalric triumphs at prestigious Bol d’Or race meeting CRETEIL CEDEX, France – France’s Michel Amalric, racing his Macadam Moto sponsored Buell XBRR, secured a dramatic win at the famous Magny-Cours circuit last weekend. In only his second competitive outing on the Buell XBRR, Amalric beat the challenge of a 39-strong field in the Pro-Twin Final and took the checkered flag 1.14 seconds ahead of Alain Cottard’s Aprilia RSV 1000 and 3.94 seconds ahead of Stephane Molinier’s third-place Ducati 999. Amalric’s stirring performance for the Macadam Moto team (the official Buell dealership in Marseilles) proved to be even more impressive when the news emerged that the race at Magny-Cours was mainly being used as preparation for the 2007 Pro-Twin championship season. “The Macadam Moto team had decided to use this last race of the 2006 season as an opportunity to get some quality racing experience under their belts in preparation for a full race program in 2007,” said Jean-Luc Mars, managing director of Buell France. “Michel also overcame the additional problem of qualifying on a wet surface and then the final took place on a dry track. Due to tight time constraints, as well as the newness of this team, he simply had not been able to get any practice in on dry conditions,” Mars added. The Buell XBRR’s performance proved to be a superb testament for the limited-edition production racing motorcycle (which is based on the highly-acclaimed Buell Firebolt XB12R) as more than 70,000 motorcycle racing enthusiasts converged on Magny-Cours over the course of the weekend. The climax of this celebrated race meeting is the 24 hour Bol d’Or (Gold Cup) race which is held on the Magny-Cours Formula 1 track and is one of motorcycling racing’s hardest endurance races. Although this was only the Moto Macadam Buell XBRR’s second competitive race in France, the team was quietly confident that they might be able to spring a surprise after Amalric finished a creditable fifth in their debut race at Ledenon in August. Buell’s European marketing director John Lewis commented: “We’re delighted that Erik Buell’s vision of offering private racers with a professional-level, race-ready, production-based racing motorcycle is now succeeding so well here in Europe. The Moto Macadam team has certainly underlined the real potential of the XBRR in just their second outing and we’re really looking forward to seeing what they can achieve next season.” RACE RESULTS ‘CIRCUIT DE NEVERS MAGNY-COURS’ PRO TWIN FINAL Top ten finishers 10 lap race 1. Michel Almaric Buell XBRR 2. Alain Cottard Aprilia RSV 1000 3. Stephane Molinier Ducati 999 4. Fabienne Migout Ducati 998 5. Frederic Bottoglieri – Aprilia RSV 1000 6. Jeremie Rasting – Ducati 998 7. Jean-Yves Bonnet Ducati 998 8. Didier Dalet Ducati 998 9. Jose Lattuada Ducati 998 10. Aurelien Bantigny Ducati 999 The Buell XBRR is a limited-edition production racing motorcycle based on the Firebolt XB12R, which is reworked at the factory into the XBRR for use in closed-course competition. It offers private racers a professional-level, race-ready, production-based platform.