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Buell teams head home to Road America

(6/4/2009)  Buell racers and teams head into the sixth round of the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing season at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, June 5-7 with optimism and high expectations at the company’s home track.

With three wins so far in the Daytona SportBike class, early season standout Danny Eslick (Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing/RMR/GEICO Powersports) has seen his one-time points lead slip to third place with challenging races at the last two rounds at Barber and Infineon. But Eslick hopes that support from the home field crowd and the high-speed nature of the track will put him back into the championship mix.

“It’s going to be a good weekend; I’ve always liked this place,” said Eslick, who races for Elkhart Lake-based Richie Morris Racing. “We’re coming in on a high note, being in Buell’s backyard, and I need to win a couple of races to get myself back in the championship. With [Team M4 Suzuki’s] Martin [Cardenas] winning four races in a row, he’s pulled out a little bit of a gap on us. We fell off the pace a little bit at a couple of rounds, but we scored points. So we have to get through here with some good finishes. The track’s going to be good for us and the bike, rain or shine, so we’re really looking forward to it.”

Eslick’s teammate, Michael Barnes, riding the GEICO Powersports/RMR Buell 1125R sees this weekend as a chance to get his season back on track after a difficult start.

“Being back in Buell’s home territory, with all the employees coming out, it will be special for everyone, ourselves included,” Barnes said. “I’m really looking forward to a top finish. I’ve had one top five and one top ten and I’m really ready to get two strong results out of one weekend.”

Both riders are gunning for a strong showing in Friday’s 10-rider Superpole final qualifying session: “This is a track I’ve always gone well at. Superpole is my minimum expectation, but I really expect Danny and I to be running up front,” Barnes said.

The home field advantage will be equally strong for Buell teams entered in Saturday’s SunTrust Moto-GT series 2-hour endurance race, where two local teams are joined by another sponsored by a local company.

Wisconsin-based James Gang/Hoban Brothers Racing will field two Buell teams sponsored by H-D/Buell of Appleton, and team riders Paul James and Jeff Johnson will continue their quest for a podium finish in Moto-GT1 aboard their Buell 1125R after a season best 5th place finish at Barber Motorsports Park in May.

"We've had a challenging season so far, learning a new bike, new tires and new tracks," said James. "We've made progress in developing the bike, and we look forward to racing it at our home track of Road America."

The second James Gang/Hoban Brothers entry will be a Buell Firebolt XB12R in Moto-GT2 ridden by motorcycle journalists Kevin Duke from Motorcycle.com and Troy Siahaan from Sport Rider magazine. This will be the AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT debut for both riders.

Elkhart Lake-based Richie Morris Racing rejoins the Moto-GT series with a GT1 class entry with Wisconsin-based riders Clint Brotz and Danny Bilansky aboard an 1125R. Rounding out the Moto-GT Buell entries is the Liberty Waves Racing/H-D/Buell of Antelope Valley GT1 team of Eric Pinson and Eric Haugo are sponsored by Wisconsin-based Dairyland Cycle Insurance, who are currently fourth in the Moto-GT1 points standings. The Old Glory H-D team of Jaycent Gebers and Dennie Huff rejoin Moto-GT2 after taking the Barber round off .

In addition to the on-track action, Buell Motorcycle Company will host a series of events in East Troy and at Road America for fans, beginning Friday morning with an open house at the Buell factory in East Troy and continuing throughout the weekend at Road America.

Scheduled activities at East Troy on Friday June 5 include:

* Open house at Buell Motorcycle Company
* Factory tours
* Outdoor product display
* Autograph session with Erik Buell

In addition to the East Troy open house, Homecoming activities at Road America during the AMA race weekend, June 4-7, include:

* Demo rides on the full line of Buell Motorcycles (Friday-Sunday, 9-5pm)
* Racer autograph session under the Buell demo canopy
* Rider recharge hospitality area under the demo canopy
* Exclusive Buell motorcycle parking near the demo area

Founded by visionary motorcycle designer and former privateer racer Erik Buell in 1983, Buell Motorcycle Company, a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, Inc., produces sport motorcycles, motorcycle parts, accessories and apparel, including the 1125R superbike and 1125CR cafe racer and air-cooled XB-series Ulysses, Firebolt, and Lightning.

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