American Agip / Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, Inc. Indy Mile Race Report The 2009 running of the Indianapolis Mile was the setting for Aaron King’s second race aboard the American Agip / Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Aprilia and Larry Pegram’s debut of the newest Foremost Insurance / American Agip / Pegram Racing / Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati. Anticipation was high as for the entire team knowing that this race draws more media attention than the other races on the schedule due to the fact that it is run in conjunction with the Indianapolis Moto-GP event. The Italian Aprilia and Ducati were favored by the partisan European crowd as evidenced by the roar of the sold out grandstands when Aaron and Larry were introduced. Qualifying heat race action was nerve racking for the team as both Larry and Aaron were scheduled for the same 10-lap heat race. The new format places the top four riders from the heat directly into the main event. Everyone else has to race the 8-lap semi qualifier and finish in the top 3 to qualify for the main event. Aaron, who just qualified for his very first Twins National main event two weeks earlier at Beulah Park, finished the heat race in 3rd place and earned a direct transfer spot. Unfortunately Pegram, on the new dirt track framed Ducati, ran into trouble on the last lap of the heat race. “I was running fifth for the last three laps right behind Joe Kopp (Beulah Park’s runaway winner) and Aaron. I am pretty sure that I could have definitely drafted by Joe if he was behind a Harley, but Aaron’s bike was fast enough to pull Joe along in his draft. Going into turn 3 on the last lap I knew I needed to get Joe to go directly to the main. I ran it in there really hard on the outside of Joe and when I went to bring the bike back down on the groove I was going to run into the back of Aaron. I did not want to chance knocking Aaron down so I laid it down. I was joking with Rich (Aaron King’s father and retired Factory Harley rider) that I can’t be racing with these guy’s kids. If it was Rich I would have bounced him right off of the groove, but I couldn’t chance it with his son. Rich laughed and thanked me at least 3 times” said Larry Pegram. Repairs were made in the limited time between qualifiers and Larry was able to line up for the semi-final race but had to start from the third row in 18th place. In only 8 short laps (39 seconds each) Larry worked his way up to 4th place and missed the main by one spot. “I am obviously disappointed to not make the main, but making a Grand National Main is a very difficult thing to do. Laying it down in the heat race put us behind for the semi. I would be more disappointed if the bike wasn’t so good. We all worked really hard building this bike in a very short time. It would be unfair to say that it has potential to run up front because I think that it is already capable of racing at the front. I am hoping that we can find some good support for the program and come back next year with a full time rider and then I can ride a few of the miles again as my road race schedule allows” continued Pegram. Aaron King got a good jump in the first start of the final event and ended up running down the back strait in 3rd place from the second row. Unfortunately, the race was stopped due to a scary crash behind Aaron. “I had a real good jump in the first start. The second time around I was up to 7th place but a certain rider ran into me really hard on the first lap and drove me way high off the groove. I dropped back to 15th place and eventually would up finishing in 12th for the second Twins National in a row. I am really happy”¦I got another 25 laps under my belt and I will be that much more prepared for the Springfield Mile next week. Once again I really want to let the entire team and our sponsors know how much I appreciate their efforts” said Aaron King. When asked to comment, Rich King said, “I am really proud of Aaron. Ever since he got asked to ride for this team, he is really using his head and riding at a comfortable pace to get experience and move forward. The team is really great about not putting too much pressure on him and he is doing what he needs to be doing. I have to take some credit though, I think the lucky wheel that I brought out of the barn for him to use might have had something to do with it”. “We had a really good night at Indy” said David Lloyd. A large crowd surrounded our pit area all evening. I think that the fans really appreciate the diversity that we bring to the sport with the brands that we are racing. It took a huge effort by a lot of people to build the new Ducati. Without the support of our financial sponsors, we wouldn’t be here. We are sponsored by the best companies so please check out their websites and order their products on our behalf” Link to event photos: ~https://cid-f75aa20634e56049.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Indy%20Mile~ Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, Inc. is sponsored by: American Agip (www.americanagip.com), Saddlemen / Travelcade, Aprilia USA, Penske Racing Shocks, Shelly Rossmeyer Motorcycles of Daytona, Eurosports.net, Leo Vince, K&N Filters, Diamond Chain, Motion Pro, Vortex, DynoJet, Vesrah, Suzuka Tire Warmers, Daniel Kalal, VMC Racing Frames, A&A Racing, Yuasa Batteries, RaceImage.net, GP Glass Works. More, from a press release issued by Conor Cummins’ publicist: Cummins battles hard for top ten position at Cadwell Conor Cummins battled hard to maintain his run of top ten finishes in the Metzeler National 1000cc Superstock Championship when he took ninth place at Cadwell Park on Monday. It was the seventh race in the row that the Team Blackhorse Yamaha rider had taken a top ten finish and although the seven points maintained his ninth place overall in the Championship table, he left the Lincolnshire venue in a somewhat frustrated mood. Fresh from his Ulster GP success, Conor had to re-adapt to the different characteristics of the R1 Yamaha but with dry, sunny conditions for both qualifying sessions he did so with ease. Eighth in the first 30-minute session, a time of 1m32.130s in the second saw him jump up the leaderboard and he lined up for the 15-lap race in sixth place and on the second row of the grid. With a perfect start, he found himself in fifth place at the conclusion of the opening lap, with the pack bunching up after Steve Brogan crashed out at the hairpin. However, the first three riders were able to make a bit of a break after the spill and Conor became embroiled in a terrific six-rider dice for fourth with positions changing with frequent regularity. Initially pushed back a place by Marshall Neill, Conor was finding it difficult to keep the group behind him at bay because although he was quicker through the third and fourth sectors of the track, through the tight corners of the woodland section, he was losing out on the first and sector sectors – the two long, and high-speed, straights. One by one the rest of the riders overhauled him and although he could claw back the ground through the woods, there was no opportunity to overtake, very frustrating indeed for the 23-year old. However, he battled hard throughout the race and took ninth, still only four seconds adrift of fourth place. Speaking later Conor said; “It was a solid weekend for me here at Cadwell but extremely frustrating. Practice went extremely well and it was a case of ‘happy days’ when I took 6th place and the second row after qualifying but the race itself was hard work. I couldn’t have asked for a better start and felt that I had the pace to go with John (McGuinness) and Adam (Jenkinson) iwho went on to finish second and third but when Steve went down it allowed them to get away from the rest of us. I was also struggling a bit with grunt off the corners and with outright top speed and whilst that made it difficult for me to overtake, it gave the riders behind me plenty of opportunities! I was really strong from the Mountain to the start and finish and could always close back up there but after the start was where I began to fall back slightly and the riders were queuing up behind me, eventually shooting by at the end of the back straight. We’re all working our backsides off in the team and I was battling it out for fourth place so I can’t ask for anymore from them. I’ll just keep working hard and try my utmost to get back into the top six at the next meeting.” Conor’s next race will be at Croft, North Yorkshire for round 10 of the Metzeler National 1000cc Superstock Championship with the meeting taking place on September 11-13. More, from a press release issued by Ducati North America: DUCATI ISLAND AND NICKY HAYDEN HIGHLIGHT THE RED BULL INDIANAPOLIS GP The second annual Indianapolis Grand Prix featured an event within the event at Ducati Island Indianapolis, IN Last weekend, in his first Indianapolis Grand Prix as a Ducati rider, American Nicky Hayden posted a season best third place; highlighting a Ducati centric weekend. While everyone unable to attend saw the Nicky’s third place on TV, Ducati Island was the talk of the track, with countless festivities and revelry taking place. The highlight of the island activities was Ducati MotoGP rider Nicky Hayden receiving the surprise gift of his own personal Nicky Hayden Edition 848. Ducati noticed one of the 150 bikes had a VIN ending with 69 and took that as a sign it was destined for Nicky, who had no idea he was going to be presented with it on stage at the Grand Prix. As a slight reprieve from the speed on the track, Ducati Island also featured a Ducati Bocce Ball court was built and decorated in a special tricolore paint scheme. The Italian Heritage Society of Indiana was on hand for everyone wanted to play a game, learn the rules, or needed an extra Bocce partner. Topeka AMA double-winner Larry Pegram was also on the Island all weekend interacting with fans- a rare opportunity to spend a day with a factory Superbike rider. For those watching the races; the Ducati grandstands had the best view of the track, including corners 1-4 and a view of the big screen- ensuring not a moment of the action was missed. Ducatisti also showed their charitable side, where a silent auction held for the Make-A-Wish Foundation raised $13,000. The auction featured Ducati memorabilia spanning back several decades; including some normally “unobtainium” items such as Desmosedici GP9 body panels and a Ducati-Burton Snowboard. A few notable bids included a set of Larry Pegram’s racing leathers for $2,700 and a factory MotoGP uniform signed by Nicky Hayden for $700. Ducati Island will return to American road race circuits in 2010. For more information about the Ducati lifestyle and its happenings, please visit www.ducatiusa.com.