Tucson Dragway

Buell Riders Fill Podium at ASRA National, Estok Retains Points Lead
 
JOLIET, Ill. (Sept. 10, 2006) – Hal’s H-D/Buell-Hal’s Speed Shop rider Dan Bilansky rode a Buell XB12R Firebolt to win the American Sportbike Racing Association (ASRA) Thunderbike National at the Autobahn Festival of Speed, held at the Autobahn Country Club South road course. The win was the second ASRA Thunderbike victory of the season for the rider from Waukesha, Wis.
 
Buell riders filled the Thunderbike podium, as Veatch Motorsports rider Dave Estok finished second and H-D/Buell of Frederick rider Bryan Bemisderfer was third. Eleven of the 15 ASRA Thunderbike entries were Buell motorcycles.
 
Estok, the defending National Thunderbike champion, topped qualifying for the event on Saturday with a lap of 1:30.826 seconds on the two-mile course. The start of the race saw the Buell Firebolt of Sound Waves/Hal’s Speed Shop rider Joe Rozynski take the early lead, ahead of a pack that included Bemisderfer, Bilansky, Estok and Suzuki-mounted Ed Key. Bilansky worked his way to the front and took the lead on lap four of the 14-lap race, and opened a comfortable gap on Estok, Bemisderfer and Key.
 
“The Hal’s team had a flawless weekend,” said Bilansky. “We didn’t have a single mechanical problem, the Buell V-twin engine was strong, and I think we broke the track record for Thunderbike during the race. We were really happy with the performance of our Pirelli tires. They were as good at the end of the race as they were on the first lap.”
 
Key finished the race in fourth position, followed by Buell riders Paul James (Hal’s Speed Shop/Spyder Leatherworks), Sam Rozynski (Sound Waves/Hal’s Speed Shop), and David Myers (Delta Distributing). Ron Kopec was eighth on a Honda, followed by the Buells of Greg Avello (Hal’s Speed Shop/Badger Motorsports) and Darren Conrad (Conrad H-D/Buell).
 
Buell racers also took three wins and 10 podium finishes during the Championship Cup Series support races at Autobahn. Estok won CCS Expert Thunderbike, Bilansky won CCS Expert SuperTwins, and James was the winner in CCS Expert Lightweight SuperSport.
 
By finishing ahead of Bemisderfer, Estok retains his Thunderbike season points lead. After seven of eight races, Estok has 191 points, Bemisderfer is second with 180 points, and Bilansky moves up to third with 164 points. Sam Rozynski is fourth with 142 points, while BMW rider Nate Kern, who did not race at Autobahn, falls back to fifth with 134 points. The next and final race on the 2006 ASRA Thunderbike National schedule is during the 23rd Annual Race of Champions, October 20-22, at Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla.
 
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.