From a press release issued by Buell:

BILANSKY ROMPS AT ROAD AMERICA

Buell Riders Dominate Formula USA Thunderbike National

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Hal’s Harley-Davidson/Buell rider Dan Bilansky roared away from the pack aboard his Buell Firebolt for a convincing victory in the Formula USA National Thunderbike race at Road America. Harding Harley-Davidson riders Bryan Bemisderfer and David Estok finished second and third to complete a podium sweep for Buell riders in the Thunderbike class.

For Bilansky, the win offered some redemption after a disappointing outing in the F-USA season-opener at Daytona International Speedway in February, where he crashed out of the lead.

“Daytona was a hard one to get over,” said Bilansky, who is from Delafield, Wis. “But I want to win a championship and to do that I have to be consistent, so maybe a win today makes up for being a race behind after Daytona. This was a kick today because we are so close to home. I have lots of family here who haven’t seen me race in several years, and this is a home-town race for everyone from Buell and Hal’s.”

“It’s great to see so many talented privateer racers competing in Thunderbike,” said Erik Buell, Chairman and Chief Technical Officer. “The Formula USA power to weight ratio rules give the riders an equal chance to win, even without big budgets.”

Hoban Brothers Racing/Appleton H-D/Buell rider Jeff Johnson set a blistering pace aboard his Buell Firebolt to take the pole position for the Thunderbike race with a 2:37.219 lap of the four-mile Road America course in cool but dry conditions on Saturday. However, dense fog enveloped the Road America course on Sunday morning and the start of racing action was postponed until almost noon. Crashes in several support races further delayed the Formula USA National feature events, which were then shortened from 10 to five laps because of time constraints.

Johnson jumped the start before it went green and then hesitated as Bilansky raced off to open an early lead while Bemisderfer, Estok, Suzuki rider Ed Key, Johnson and Harding rider Tripp Nobles battled in a pack behind him. On the second lap, Bemisderfer ran off the course in turn five after trying to out-brake Nobles. Bemisderfer managed to stay upright and remained in contention. Nobles went out on lap four with a mechanical problem.

“Second place gives us some good points towards the championship,” said Bemisderfer. “Bilansky got that great start and then just took off full speed. I think the rest of us took a lap to gauge track conditions before we really pushed it today and gave him too much of a head start.”

Estok, who said he is still recovering from a concussion suffered in a March automobile accident, was also happy to come away with solid points on the day. “I’m still a little foggy, to be honest, and really didn’t feel smooth all weekend until the race started,” he said. “I’m still leading the Thunderbike points, which is awesome. They’ll have to watch out when I’m back to full speed.”

Key finished fourth, with Kosco H-D/Buell rider Joe Rozynski fifth. Johnson was fifth across the line, but a one-lap penalty for jumping the start bumped him back to 23rd place in the final standings.

Estok maintains his lead in the Thunderbike series with 41 points, just a one-point margin over his teammate Bemisderfer.

The third stop on the eight-race Formula USA Thunderbike series is May 29-31 at Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, W.Va.

The Formula USA Thunderbike series is a horsepower-to-weight ratio restricted class, open to a variety of production-based motorcycles. Buell-mounted riders competing in the eight-event 2004 Thunderbike series are racing for a share of the $70,500 contingency fund posted by Buell Motorcycle Company and Buell Rider’s Adventure Group (BRAG).

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.