AMA Flat Track: Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Announces Signing of New Crew Chief Brent Armbruster for 2013 AMA Grand National Twins Series Championship Season

The Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team has announced that AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship-winning tuner and crew chief Brent Armbruster will be joining their team effective immediately for the upcoming 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season for the series' and team's Twins Series Championship assault.

A long-time member of the AMA Pro Flat Track fraternity hailing from the Clio, MI. area, tuner and master wrench spinner Armbruster had been involved with the Rogers Racing team that led 2012 AMA Grand National Champion Jared Mees to the title this past season.  Armbruster also tuned the machine that took Mees to his first win at Springfield in May '11 and to five wins during the 2011 season, and has been involved with flat track racing for several decades now.

Speaking with team co-owner Dave Lloyd this morning, Lloyd noted the great effort that has been put in by departing crew chief, Dave Gamble, over the course of the last few seasons.  "Dave has done a great job in heading up our efforts over the course of the last few seasons, and we wish him the very best in his endeavors going forward.  We're looking forward to a new chapter in our history with Brent coming on board, as Mike and I have known him since around 1987 when we were novices getting started in the sport."

After losing three engines this year and missing the set-up and the Nationals at two rounds this season (Hagerstown and Knoxville), the team still pulled out three top-10s (Santa Rosa 6th-place, Tucson 8th-place, Pomona 7th-place) and two top-5 results (Lima 2nd-place, Indy 4th-place) for their hard-earned efforts, and are looking to improve dramatically on the season as a whole.

In the shot above the team is shown getting ready for the first practice session of the Twins Series season at round 5 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Springfield Mile I event on May 27. 

As rider Henry Wiles gets ready to head out for practice on the team's #17 LBM/Foremost Insurance Group/Ramspur Winery/Motorcyclist Magazine-sponsored Italian 'L' twin, he can be seen on the right talking with Dave Gamble and Dave Lloyd, while brother and co-owner Mike Lloyd can be seen talking with 2000 AMA Grand National Champion Joe Kopp (far left, seated).  Kopp was the team's rider during the 2010 season which saw him get them their first-ever win in the series on the team's potent Ducati 'L' twin mount at the Arizona Mile I round in Prescott in May '10.

Brent Armbruster is shown with Jared Mees and the #9 Rogers Racing/Blue Springs H-D/Saddlemen/National Cycle-backed XR750 just before the riders hit the track for the Dash for Cash event at the Springfield Mile I round on May 27, 2012.  2-Time AMA Grand National Champion Jake Johnson is shown ready for battle on the #1 Zanotti Racing XR just beside Armbruster.

According to team co-owner Dave Lloyd, Armbruster will be taking possession of the team's big red twins and doing all of the prep-work at his home in Michigan and then transporting the team's rig and bikes to each event for the 2013 season, which should free-up more time for the LBM brothers to concentrate on the daily runnings of the team and dealing with sponsors, "and should help travel to-and-from each event for Brent and Henry" noted Dave Lloyd, since they both live close to one another.

Michiganite Armbruster should be a great addition to the team for the coming year and his vast knowledge of bike prep and turning wrenches will be another plus for the team.  Under Armbruster-prepped mounts, Mees only suffered from a small handful of mechanical failures in the last few seasons, which finally translated into a Grand National Championship this year for the fellow-Michigan resident and Rogers Racing team.

Team co-owners Mike (left) and Dave Lloyd (right) help crew chief Dave Gamble finish with some final settings on the #17 Foremost Insurance/Ramspur Winery/ENI USA/Motorcyclist Magazine-sponsored Ducati just prior to the running of round 5 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Illinois State Fairgrounds mile oval.  The team suffered it's first engine loss at the first Twins Series event at Springfield, and put them in the hole right from the start of the year.  With Armbruster coming in to help out immediately going forward, this should help in terms of freeing up time for the Lloyds to concentrate on sponsorship and team operations.

"We're further ahead today then we were at this time last year in getting sponsorship situated for next year," commented Dave this morning from his new home just outside of the Evansville, IN. area, "and we have a lot of the same folks coming back as we move into the new season, and Ramspur Winery is stepping up their involvement for 2013, while Foremost Insurance will also be involved again as they were this year and the last few seasons with the team.

"You're never done with bringing in sponsorship in racing, but we're looking forward to the new season with a new fresh face in the team to help us reach our goal of winning another Twins Series event," continued Lloyd.  "Brent and I have known one another for almost three decades and are looking forward to working together moving forward."

This is great news for one of the hardest working and most professional looking and run teams in The Rolling Thunder Show, and helps to guarantee that they will be back again for the 2013 season to again battle it out with the other greats in the best racing series on wheels in the world.

Congrats to the LBM crew and to Brent Armbruster for this great news and we can't wait until the first Twins Series event of the 2013 season to see them all in action together!

Press release courtesy of the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Twins Series Championship team.

Columbus, Ohio -- October 27, 2012

Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, Inc. (LBM) is proud to announce that multi-time Grand National Championship and AMA Pro Racing Tuner of the Year, Brent Armbruster will be joining the team effective immediately.

“Our entire team and sponsors are extremely excited to have Brent join our efforts,” exclaimed team co-owner David Lloyd.  “I have known Brent for almost three decades. His personality, work ethic, race craft and attention to detail will be a big step forward for the team.”

“I am really excited about a fresh start in 2013 and working with the LBM team and Henry Wiles.  I have known David and Michael Lloyd since we first raced Amateur Nationals when we were 14 years old.

"I have a lot of respect for what the Lloyd Brothers team has done in the past and their efforts to build the sport,” said Armbruster.  “Henry is a great rider and his record speaks for itself.  I am really looking forward to excellent finishes next season as the team challenges for the overall championship” continued Armbruster.

To learn more about Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, Inc. log on to www.lloydbrothersmotorsports.com 

or Lloyd Brothers Motorsports on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lloyd-Brothers-Motorsports/167527649947476?fref=ts

AMA Flat Track: Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Team Raises $10.2K for Air Fence Fund in 2012 Buell Raffle Sales

Round 4 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.coms season gets ready to roll into action as the first Twins Series event of the year is set to hit the track at the Springfield Mile I on May 27.  2-Time AMA Pro Flat Track Singles Champion Henry Wiles slips on his gloves as he prepares to take the #17 Lloyd Brothers Motorsports/Foremost Insurance Group/Ramspur Winery/Motorcyclist Magazine-sponsored Italian 'L' twin out for the day's first practice session as team co-owner Mike Lloyd looks on while brother Dave fires up the big red machine.

In their second year of partnering with AMA Pro Racing, the Ohio-based team again put on a raffle this season to help gather funds for the flat track Air Fence Fund.  The prize this year was another 2009 Buell XB12 simliar to the machine that was raffled off last season, both of which were used during the '09 AMA Pro Road Racing seasons as pace bikes.  Along with Saddlemen, Arai, and a host of other great sponsors and people, the team added to the $11.5K raised last season by bringing in just over $10.2K this year in ticket sales, which is the fourth largest donation overall to the dirt track side of the air fence fund to go along with last season's third-largest donation.

The RoadRacing World Air Fence Fund is THE single best way that anyone can get involved by helping to support the series, and most importantly the safety of the riders in the series.  An impact-absorbing 'air pillow' that lines the track and helps to protect the riders from immoveable objects, this safety device is probably the single-biggest innovation in safety in high-speed motorcycle racing in the last few decades.

Transported from race-to-race and maintained by the great folks on the AMA Pro Flat Track Blue Crew, sections of this great life saver eventually wear out and have to be replaced, and that is where these last two seasons' of raffle tickets sold have been so helpful and so needed, in order to maintain the high level of safety needed at each and every event on the schedule.

A big thanks go out to the LBM team for their undying efforts to help maintain and add to the sanctity of this great life saving effort, for their time in transporting the bikes the last two seasons to each of the Twins Series events on the schedule, to getting the tickets made up and sold at each of those events, and for doing such a top-notch job of displaying not only their wares in the sport, but for doing so with the Buell display at each event for the fans to check out.

While some of the fans check out the '09 Buell XR12R on display (background left) at round 5 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season, Lloyd Brothers Motorsports co-owner Mike Lloyd sells another raffle ticket to another great fan of the sport for the 2012 Air Fence Fund Buell raffle at the Lima Half-Mile on June 30.  Brother Dave looks after the funds just behind him during the fan walk held at the Allen County Fairgrounds event.

The LBM team and rider Henry Wiles helped contribute to the RoadRacing World Air Fence Fund again this season and added to the donations raised for the dirt track donation list, with the help of AMA Pro Racing, Saddlemen, Mr. Sign and Army Armstrong.

William Jones of Ramsey, N.J. won the grand prize Buell that was announced at the season-finale at Pomona on October 13, and Bob Morris of Wheeler, MI. won the Saddlemen runner-up prize for their worthy ticket purchases this season.  Congrats to you both!

And again, a big thanks to the super efforts of Mike, Dave, Henry, crew chief Dave Gamble and the rest of the great people involved with the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team for taking the time to go the extra distance in helping to keep the riders safe, and a tip of the helmet as well goes to AMA Pro Racing for donating the Buells the last two season to be raffled off for the Air Fence Fund.

You can check out the official press release below from the LBM team.

Press release courtesy of the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports AMA Pro Flat Track Twins Series Championship contenders


Note-right click, open in new window to view:

You can keep up with the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team here via their official site:

http://www.lloydbrothersmotorsports.net/

And here is the link to the list of people that bought tickets for the 2012 Air Fence Fund Raffle:

http://www.lloydbrothersmotorsports.net/tickets.htm

Here is the complete list of contributors to the RoadRacing World Air Fence Fund for dirt track:

http://actionfund.roadracingworld.com/contributors/dirt-track/

AMA Flat Track: Henry Wiles Takes Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati to 4th-Place Finish at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile

Henry Wiles rockets down the long straight at the Indiana State Fairgrounds during the first practice session at round 10 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile on August 18.  Fresh off of his record-tying 8th-win in-a-row at the Peoria TT the previous Sunday, Hammerin' Hank was ready to get the #17 Lloyd Brothers Motorsports/Foremost Insurance Ground/Ramspur Winery/ENI USA-sponsored Italian V-twin back at the front in the Twins Series event held over the 5th Annual Red Bull Indianapols MotoGP Weekend after a rough start to the 2012 season.

To say that he accomplished that goal would be a gross understatement, if only for the fact that for 3 of the 4 previous Twins Series events Henry and the Ohio-based team had had their share of rough luck on and at the track.  After what was diagnosed as an electrical malady at the season-opening Twins round at the Springfield Mile I event on May 27 that relegated the team to a 14th-place finish, the team sprung back like the strong contenders they are to pull-off a hard-earned 2nd-place finish at round 5 at the Lima Half-Mile in late June. 

Heading to round 6 at the Hagerstown Half-Mile, they worked with the set-up to try to get the former 2-Time Singles Series Champion into the field only to miss the main.  On to round 7 at the Sacramento Mile, things seemed to take an even worse turn for the hard-working LBM team when they lost a motor and had to settle for an 18th-place finish, scoring only a single point for their efforts.  Team co-owner Mike Lloyd told me at Indy last Saturday that the motor was toast and they were only able to salvage the heads from the 1098-based mount.  Back to square one and again rebuilding another motor for the team who faced the same obstacles on the western swing during the 2011 season.

But Indy was a different animal and things really started to look up for the long-time contenders in The Rolling Thunder Show.  After practicing in the 23rd spot, crew chief Dave Gamble and co-owners Mike and Dave Lloyd went to work like the perennial horses they are and got the big red machine dialed in for Henry to go out and qualify in the 11th spot out of the 47 riders who took a timed lap, and just a tick over .8 seconds behind fast-qualifier Bryan Smith on the Crosley/Howerton/Eaken Kawasaki.

Setting off in heat 2, Henry appeared to get a rough start about mid-pack of the 16 rider heat #2.  But like the hard-charger he is, The Hammer put the hammer down and worked his way into a spot in the National main to finish 4th and a second row start in the big show.

From there, Henry worked his way into the top-7 and by the mid-point of the 25-lap National main event in front of a packed house held for the first time in over a decade during the Indiana State Fair, Henry moved himself into the top-5 and came out with a very strong 4th-place finish, just over 2.3 seconds behind event winner Sammy Halbert on his South East H-D XR750 and scoring the team's second top-5 of the season.

It may not have been the big '1' that the team is deserving of, but it sure beat almost all of the other results and troubles they have faced and overcome this season, and poises Henry and the great LBM crew for a solid effort heading into the next Twins Series event at the Springfield Mile II on September 2, where they most assuredly will be ready to move up a few spots to help make up for what had been a tough season stretch thus far in the 2012 season.  Way to go guys, great job!

Head crew chief Dave Gamble and team owners Mike and Dave Lloyd put the final touches on the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports/Foremost Insurance Group/Ramspur Winery-backed #17 Italian V-twin of rider Henry Wiles early in the day at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile on Saturday, August 18.  With the laptop plugged into the data logger and setting up the air/fuel mixture on the big bore motor, the team makes the necessary adjustments in order to get their mount ready for the greatest racing show on wheels in the world.

These guys are one of the hardest working teams in the great show of AMA Grand National Championship racing and work together like a well-oiled machine.  What had started off as a rough year for the boys really turned around for them on Saturday night as Henry took the bike to it's second top-5 finish of the season, and just in time to help keep him in the hunt and in the 5th-place spot in the overall championship.

Make sure and take the time to check these guys out at the next AMA Grand National Twins Series event you get out to, stop by and talk it up with them as they are full of enthusiasm and know how to have a good time and do a super job of representing their sponsors and thrilling the fans.  And don't forget to get yourself a raffle ticket for the Buell giveaway that all money collected will go into the AMA Flat Track Air Fence fund, the best way you can help give back to the sport in helping to keep the riders safe!

Check out the press release below straight from the boys of Ohio to see what they have to say about their run at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile, and we'll have a review this weekend up from all of the action at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and talk about all the great happenings at the track last weekend.


Press release courtesy of the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Twins Series team.

(Note-right click, open in new window to view.)

Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Wants to Remind You About the Buell Raffle for Air Fence Fund for AMA Pro Flat Track

The Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team make some final adjustments on Henry Wiles' #17 Foremost Insurance Group/Ramspur Winery/ENI USA/Motorcyclist Magazine-sponsored Ducati 'L' twin before the on-track action resumes at round 4 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Springfield Mile I event on May 26.

In the shot above, rider Henry Wiles can be seen relaxing and talking with someone in the LBM pit area while Lyle Pizzino (frame fabricator/VMC Racing Frames), crew chief Dave Gamble, team co-owners Dave (foreground right) and Mike Lloyd (background right) go about their respective duties to get their bikes ready to roll for the first Twins Series event of the season.

One of the hardest working and most dedicated teams in The Rolling Thunder Show, the Columbus, OH.-based team has again taken on the task of selling raffle tickets for the 2012 season that in the end will support the Air Fence Fund for AMA Pro Flat Track, the best safety and innovative support system available to keep major injuries at a minimum in the greatest racing series on wheels in the world.

This year's prize will again be another one of AMA Pro Road Racing's pace motorcycles from the 2009 season, a 2009 Buell XB12XP.  Last year's benefit collected $11.5K that was donated to the worthiest safety cause in racing in order to transport, repair, replace and erect air fence at each and every AMA Pro Flat Track event in the country.

There are several benefits to this raffle, but the most important one is obviously rider safety in the great world of AMA Grand National Championship racing.  One of the others is you get to get up close to one of the most sano and most professionally managed teams in any sport, and meet and talk with some of the great guys on the LBM team.  Their enthusiasm and efforts put forth in this great sport of ours is always evident on or off the track, and they are some of the nicest guys around to talk to about the sport and their team's operations.

So either way you go, you get to hang out and meet some great people and racers, and most importantly you can also get involved directly with THE best way to help support the safety of the riders and the sport, the Air Fence Fund.  You can't go wrong!

Your next chance to hook up with these guys in the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season will be at round 10 at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile, the next Twins Series event on the schedule, set for Saturday, August 18 over the Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP Weekend.  Indy is set to be a big weekend all-around, but you don't want to miss the return of the Indy Mile to the Indiana State Fair at 1201 E. 38th Street.  The place will be rockin'!  And your next chance after Indy will be the Springfield Mile II over the Labor Day Weekend on Sunday, September 2.

So get your tickets now and help a very worthy cause, it may save another rider from serious injury, or worse!

Lloyd Brothers Motorsports co-owner Mike Lloyd works on hawking some more tickets for the 2012 Air Fence Fund Buell Raffle at the Illinois State Fairgrounds running of the Springfield Mile I on May 27.  With the grand prize sitting in the foreground, Mike works his heart out to sell some tickets for what is the best safety improvement in AMA Pro Flat Track and is also one of the best ways that fans can get involved to help support the sport and keep the riders safe.

For $20/ticket, you get a great chance at the '09 Buell XB12XP that was used by AMA Pro Road Racing during the 2009 season as the series' pace bike, and you get to get directly involved in a cause that is the most worthy way of giving back to and supporting the sport and the safety of the riders in The Rolling Thunder Show.


Press release courtesy of the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Team, sponsored in the 2012 season by the Foremost Insurance Group, Ramspur Winery, ENI USA, Motorcyclist Magazine, DPC Racing, Daniel Kalal, Nicky Hayden, Penske Shocks and a host of other great sponsors.


August 6, 2012


Dear Flat Track Supporter,


In 2012, Lloyd Brothers Motorsports with AMA Pro Racing, Saddlemen and Foremost Insurance is raising money to add new and repair existing air fence for the racers.  The grand prize in the raffle is the final 2009 Buell Ulysses XB12XP that was used as the official Pace Motorcycle during the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing season.  The Buell, which has less than 500 original miles, was donated by AMA Pro Racing.

Second place prize is a custom seat of your choice from Saddlemen. There will also be a special prize for the purchaser of the most tickets.  Artist Army Armstrong will paint a custom painting of the favorite racer of the person that purchases the most tickets!

Again in 2012, as in 2011, 100% of the donations will be spent on air fence.  


To date we have only been able to sell 149 of a total of 1,000 available tickets at the races.  So far there are pretty good odds on this bet!

Unfortunately, it has been difficult for us to canvas the paddock and stands while at the same time focusing on the race day.  To help make it easier for you to enter, we have set up a donate button for PayPal or Credit Card on a special web page for the raffle:

 http://www.lloydbrothersmotorsports.net/airfence.htm

 For every donation, we will fill out a ticket for you and send you an email with the ticket number that is entered on your behalf.  Your name will also be added to the list of ticket holders at: http://www.lloydbrothersmotorsports.net/tickets.htm

Please consider supporting this great cause to keep our racers safer.

If anyone saw the big crash at Springfield this spring, you know that the air fence really works and saved 4 of the top flat track racers in the world from serious injury.


Thanks again for your support.

Kindest regards,

David Lloyd
Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, Inc.

Here's the original press release from the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team and AMA Pro Flat Track from May 2012:

AMA Pro Racing and Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, Inc. Announce 2012 Fundraiser for Roadracing World Action Fund

The following is a joint press release issued by AMA Pro Racing and Lloyd Brothers Motorsports regarding a fundraising activation in support of the Roadracing World Action Fund. Participation in the fundraiser will be available at each round of the 2012 AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Lucas Oil and Motorcycle-Superstore.com:

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 17, 2012) - Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, Inc. with support from Foremost Insurance Company, Saddlemen and AMA Pro Racing is pleased to announce participation in an exciting fundraiser for the Roadracing World Action Fund. Throughout the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track season, the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team will be volunteering efforts to raise money for the Roadracing World Action Fund, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization which advocates and promotes the use of soft barriers to help prevent rider injuries at racetracks.

 

The first-prize winner of the fundraiser will receive a 2009 Buell Ulysses XB12XP - AMA Pro Road Racing Pace Motorcycle, donated by AMA Pro Racing, and the second-place prizewinner will receive a new custom Saddlemen seat donated by Tom Seymour of Saddlemen. The motorcycle will be transported, displayed and have tickets sold by Lloyd Brothers Motorsports at each of this season's half-mile and mile AMA Pro Flat Track races.

 

"The safety of our competitors is of paramount importance to us, and a key to building the sport of flat track racing," said Dan Johnsen, Director of Flat Track for AMA Pro Racing. "We are very thankful for the commitment and support that Lloyd Brothers Motorsports has shown to our paddock by taking part in a second consecutive year of fundraising in support of the Roadracing World Action Fund."

 

"We are excited to continue to help raise funds for flat track Airfence," stated Lloyd Brothers Motorsports co-owner Michael Lloyd. "Airfence is invaluable to the safety of racers. We are really hoping that the racing community will continue to rally around this cause so that we can expand the amount of Airfence available for the safety of our racers."

 

"Foremost Insurance Company is proud to support the efforts of Lloyd Brothers Motorsports. Foremost Insurance and Lloyd Brothers Motorsports share common interests in not only striving to be the best but also to help create the safest environment possible for our participants and clients," said Randy Slotten, of Foremost Insurance Company.

 

There will be 1,000 tickets available. Tickets will be sold at each AMA Pro Flat Track half-mile and mile event for $20.00 each and the winners will be drawn and announced in front of the grandstands at the final race of the season.

 

 

Donations can also be made via the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports website: http://www.lloydbrothersmotorsports.net/airfence.htm

 

Winners do not need to be present at the time of the drawing; they will be notified after their ticket is drawn. To learn more about Airfence or to donate directly to the Roadracing World Action Fund, please visit http://actionfund.roadracingworld.com/.

About the Roadracing World Action Fund:

The Roadracing World Action Fund (http://actionfund.roadracingworld.com/) is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization which advocates and promotes the use of soft barriers to help prevent rider injuries at racetracks. Since it was founded in 2001, the Roadracing World Action Fund has raised approximately $900,000 in donations used to deploy Airfence.

 

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.   For additional information contact: AMA Pro Racing Communications, (386) 492-1014, communications@amaproracing.com