SPEEDWAY CELEBRATES ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL FALL CYCLE SCENE Thousands of bikers take part in “must do” activities at DIS DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Highlighted by an inaugural 8-hour endurance race more than 100 displays and vendors on site, thousands of bikers enjoyed the sites and sounds of Fall Cycle Scene at historic Daytona International Speedway over the weekend. “What a memorable weekend for racing fans and bikers who visited Daytona International Speedway last week,” said Speedway President Robin Braig. “From taking a spin around the 31-degree high banks of ‘The World Center of Racing’ in the Monster Dash to hob knobbing with master bike builders like legendary Eddie Trotta, to witnessing the historic inaugural SunTrust MOTO-ST Series race, there was something to do for everyone that stepped on the historic grounds of DIS last week.” DIS welcomed thousands of bikers from around the world, treating them to several “must do” activities at the “World Center of Racing.” In addition to the CCS and ASRA sprint races, DIS hosted the inaugural SunTrust 8 Hours at Daytona MOTO-ST Series race. The San Jose BMW team of Brian Parriott of Calistoga, Calif., Belgian Stephane Mertens and Nate Kern of Cherry Hill, N.J. held on to take a 14.856-second victory on their No. 46 BMW R1200 over the No. 18 M4 EMGO Suzuki SV1000S of Michael Barnes of Boca Raton, Fla., Geoff May of Gainesville, Ga. and Chris Ulrich of Lake Elsinore, Calif. In addition to claiming the overall win the BMW team took the Buell Motorcycle Company SuperSport Twins (SST) class. They took the endurance motorcycle series’ inaugural event on Saturday, a race which offered $100,000 in purse and lap money. Prior to the event, every rider participated in an autograph session to the delight fans that waited in line to get the autograph of their favorite rider. Friday’s highlight included what one rider called “the No. 1 thing I had to do when I got here to Daytona.” Led by a police escort and the Daytona 500 Grand Marshal Vehicle, more than 100 riders took part in the DIS Monster Dash a parade lap around Daytona International Speedway followed by a party that included the band “Taboo” in the NEXTEL FANZONE and the Budweiser Bistro. Proceeds from the Monster Dash went to the Halifax Medical Center Women’s and Children’s Program. Inside, bikers were invited through the historic Twin Tunnels and treated to International Master Bike Builder Row, a new display added to the 2006 Fall Cycle Scene activities list. Legendary builders from the International Master Bike Builders Association including Eddie Trotta, Indian Larry’s Legend Cycles, Matt Hotch and Dave Perewitz showed off custom choppers. Outside, motorcycle enthusiasts had their choice of free manufacturer demo rides from Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Buell, Yamaha, BMW, Vespa, Harley-Davidson, Victory, Boss Hoss and Bourget Bike Works. Thousands of bikers also perused the Daytona Motorcycle Marketplace where the nation’s top aftermarket parts, accessories and apparel companies proudly displayed their wares. Bikers also caught up with old friends at the Budweiser Cool Your Pipes Zone, located just outside the Speedway’s twin tunnels and a stones throw from the area’s largest vendor, display and demo ride marketplace. More, from a press release issued by Buell Motorcycles: BILANSKY RIDES BUELL TO ASRA THUNDERBIKE CROWN AT DAYTONA Estok and Bemisderfer Falter in Final Race of the Season DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Hal’s H-D/Buell-Hal’s Speed Shop rider Dan Bilansky executed a perfect last-lap pass to win the American Sportbike Racing Association (ASRA) Thunderbike National Championship at the 23rd Annual Daytona Race of Champions at Daytona International Speedway. Bilansky, riding a Buell Firebolt XB12R, passed BMW rider Nate Kern to win the Thunderbike National race by about one bike length to claim the season championship by a single point. It was the third ASRA Thunderbike win of the season for Bilansky. Bilansky, from Waukesha, Wis., arrived at Daytona for the eighth and final round of the ASRA Thunderbike season in third place, trailing Veatch Motorsports rider Dave Estok by 27 points and H-D/Buell of Frederick rider Bryan Bemisderfer by 16 points. To win the championship, 28-year-old Bilansky would need to win the Daytona race and have Estok and Bemisderfer fail to finish, a turn of events that seemed unlikely. Qualifying for the Thunderbike National was cancelled due to scheduling problems on Saturday, which put points-leader Estok on the pole. At the start of the 10-lap national, Bilansky and Kern pulled away together, with Kern officially leading the first lap. Bilansky passed for the lead on lap two, but Kern passed the Buell rider back on lap three. Bemisderfer and Estok were not far behind, but both suddenly dropped out on lap four, Estok with a mechanical problem and Bemisderfer with a dead battery. Bilansky rode the last six laps of the race glued to Kern’s tail and in position to attempt a drafting pass on the long final straight leading to the finish. He timed the pass perfectly and beat Kern to the line for the win. Kern was later disqualified for failing to report directly to tech inspection following the race. Bimota rider Chris Boy officially finished second, followed by Ducati rider Tommy Eckfeldt in third. Appleton Buell/Hoban Brothers Racing rider Jeff Johnson was fourth on a Buell Firebolt, followed by Buell riders Joe Rozynski (Sound Waves/Hal’s Speed Shop) and Andrew Hamblin (Custom World.com/Hal’s Speed Shop), and Ducati rider Rhiannon Lucente in seventh position. Buell riders Sam Rozynski (Sound Waves/Hal’s Speed Shop), Tim Hall (Jim’s H-D/Buell) and Anthony Caligiuri (Liberty H-D/Buell) rounded out the top ten. Bilansky ends the season with 199 Thunderbike points, one point ahead of Estok and 11 points ahead of Bemisderfer. Sam Rozynski is fourth with 159 points, followed by Kern with 134 points. The ASRA Thunderbike title is the first national championship for the 28-year-old Bilansky, who finished second in Thunderbike points in 2005. “Because of the points situation, we really didn’t come to Daytona trying to make anything happen,” said Bilansky. “During the race I didn’t realize that Estok and Bemisderfer were out, and I didn’t know I needed to win to take the championship. My Buell was performing flawlessly today, and I was just going for one more win to end the season.” While he won three races in 2006 and finished on the podium at two others, Bilansky also failed to finish three Thunderbike events, including two in a row in the middle of the season. “That was a discouraging stretch, but our problems were really just racer’s bad luck,” said Bilansky. “We bounced back and won the last two races of the year. But I might not have made it to Daytona without some generous last-minute financial support from my family, friends and some local businesses. My dad even drove my truck down here for me.” Bilansky also won the five-lap CCS Expert Thunderbike National Championship on Friday at Daytona in a battle of CCS regional winners. Buell Team on MOTO-ST Podium On Oct. 21 at Daytona International Speedway, James Gang Racing (Paul James, John Fox and Greg Avello), sponsored by Hal’s Speed Shop/Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Buell/Kegel Motorcycle Co., raced a Buell XB12R Firebolt to a second-place finish (182 laps, 21st place overall) in the Grand Sports Twins (GST) class during the inaugural SunTrust MOTO-ST Series 8 Hours At Daytona endurance event. The class was won by Team Ducati Toronto (Pat Barnes, Robert Trottier and Matt McBride) aboard a Ducati (207 laps, 14th overall). Buell is the presenting sponsor of the MOTO-ST SuperSport Twins (SST) class and offered $10,000 of contingency support to privateer Buell racers aboard XB and XBRR model motorcycles at the inaugural Daytona event. 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.