Aaron Yates Signed to Ride for Erik Buell Racing in 2013 AMA Pro Superbike Championship

Aaron Yates and members of the GPTech team take a final look at the team's #20 BCL Motorsports/GPTech GP212 before Double A-ron heads out for another practice session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, August 11, 2012.  Yates and the team were taking part in AMA Pro Road Racing's and IMS's hosting of the pre-race testing held at The Brickyard the weekend before the 5th Annual Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP.  After getting used to the team's Suzuki GSX-R1000 set-up, Yates and the GPTech team were ready to do some tire testing with the Bridgestone 'Battlax' spec tire of choice for the MotoGP and CRT class.  

Yates, in his first big return to racing after suffering a severely broken leg at Fontana in March '10, went on to finish 16th at Indy the next weekend in his and the team's MotoGP debut.  After having raced a couple of WERA events before the Indy round, Erik Buell Racing brought him back to the Superbike class in AMA Pro Road Racing's premier U.S. series towards the end of last season, and Yates rewarded himself and the team with a 4th-place finish in one of the season-ending rounds.

EBR announced yesterday that Yates would be back with the team, and full-time for the 2013 AMA Pro National Guard Superbike Championship season and along with returning sponsors AMSOIL and Team Hero will be on-board the team's EBR 1190RS superbikes, starting with the upcoming Daytona doubleheader opening round in less then 40 days.  Great news for EBR and for Aaron!

You can read the full press release below and we're looking forward to seeing #20 back on the track full-time again for the 2013 season!


Thanks to RoadRacing World.com for this press release announcing Aaron Yates' signing to ride for Erik Buell Racing in the 2013 AMA Superbike Championship.

Attack Performance MotoGP CRT Team Granted Wild Card Entries for Three 2013 U.S. MotoGP Rounds

Rider Steve Rapp works on seating position just outside the Attack Performance garage at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the open test hosted by AMA Pro Road Racing and the Hulman Family-owned facility on Saturday, August 11, 2012.  The California-based team and rider were on-hand to get more rider and machine input prior to the running of the 5th Annual Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP over the August 17-19 weekend ahead on the #15 Attack Performance APR CRT-based mount.

The Richard Stanboli-built and designed Attack machine is fitted with a modified Kawasaki ZX-10R motor and coupled to a hand-built chassis of Stanboli's design, in accordance with the CRT (claiming rules team) guidelines and rules as set forth by Dorna and the powers that be in the MotoGP World Championship rule book.  The 2012 season saw the first year that the machines, running production-based power nestled into special chassis' were allowed to run in the prestigious MotoGP class alongside the multi-million dollar factory prototype machinery.

Along with the U.S.-based GPTech team that saw former multi-time AMA Pro Road Racing champion Aaron Yates campaign the Indy round of the MotoGP schedule, former Daytona 200 winner Rapp and the AP team made it two CRT-based teams that were home grown in the U.S. rounds in the 2012 season.

 

The Attack Performance technicians go about dialing the APR machine in prior to the afternoon testing session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the tire warmers get the Bridgestone rubber up to operating temps.

Team owner and machine designer Richard Stanboli (right) helps one of the team's technicians get the Attack Performance Kawasaki-based mount buttoned up prior to another test run at IMS.

Attack Performance and team owner Stanboli can be seen talking with a member of the media while the team goes about the finishing process of readying the APR machine for the next test session at Indianapolis.

With owner Stanboli and rider Rapp talking in the background, right of this shot, the Attack Performance technicians ready the team's CRT effort for the afternoon of testing on the MotoGP-spec Bridgestone Battlax rubber.

Steve Rapp gets a push start from two of the Attack Performance team members as he heads out for the afternoon testing session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on August 11, 2012.  With only six days until the opening day of practice for the 5th Annual Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP round, the team had their work cut out for them in getting ready to qualify for their first MotoGP event in the new-for-2012 CRT entry class.

It obviously paid off.  Rapp ended up putting the APR machine in the field at Indy the next weekend, qualifying in the 21st-place spot just ahead of the final grid position held by Aaron Yates and the GPTech team.  Rapp went on to finish in the 14th-place spot in his first-ever grand prix after having just missed the show at the Laguna Seca round just weeks before.  Rapp and the rookie team also garnered two points in the 2012 MotoGP World Championship for their hard earned results at Indy.

For the upcoming 2013 season the team will have three rounds in which to improve their results with their newly-granted wild card entries into next season's three United States rounds at the COTA in Austin, Texas, Laguna Seca and Indy.  It wasn't announced whether rider Steve Rapp would be back on board, but we can't see where this won't happen after Rapp's good showing at Indy and his long-time association with Stanboli's team and Attack Performance.  Rapp won the 2007 edition of the Daytona 200 while riding an Attack-prepped and sponsored Kawasaki ZX-6R and finished out the '07 season ranked 2nd in the now-defunct AMA Formula Xtreme Series Championship class and has continued his association with AP riding this last season in the AMA Pro National Guard Superbike Championship on the team's ZX-10R-based superbike, garnering 13 top-10s and four top-5s along the way.

Here's wishing the team the best of luck in the coming year, they definitely deserve it for their great efforts on this beautiful machine, as does rider Rapp.  You can read the official news below and check out some more reading on owner Richard Stanboli's efforts to build a competitive CRT MotoGP entry from scratch.

Thanks to Motorcycle.com's Dennis Chung for this news out yesterday concerning Attack Performance's entries being accepted for the CRT class in all three of the rounds in the U.S. for the 2013 MotoGP season.  The article reference's GPTech's entries for next year also, which we covered earlier this month:

http://blog.motorcycle.com/2012/12/14/manufacturers/kawasaki/attack-performance-gptech-to-race-all-three-us-motogp-rounds-in-2013/

Attack also campaigned the Laguna Seca and Indy rounds during the 2012 season.  Here is one of the articles that talked about this from back in April, again thanks to Dennis Chung and Motorcycle.com:

http://blog.motorcycle.com/2012/04/09/manufacturers/kawasaki/attack-performance-announces-motogp-crt-effort/

Motorcyclistonline.com's James Parker penned this story of Attack's Richard Stanboli and Steve Rapp contesting the two rounds in the CRT class during the 2012 season:

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/features/columns/122_1211_steve_rapp_attack_performance/


You can also find out more about the fine line of Attack Performance's wares here via their official site:

http://www.attackperformance.com/

Roadracing World.com Reports GPTech MotoGP CRT Team Awarded Wild Card Entries for 2013 U.S. MotoGP Rounds at COTA, Laguna Seca & Indy

The GP Tech team goes about readying the #20 BCL Motorsports/GPTech GP212 mount for rider Aaron Yates just before the afternoon practice session of testing hosted by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August '12, while The Enforcer waits in the background with his helmet on and his steely-eyed focus on what was yet to come. 

In only their third outing on-track before the next weekend's events surrounding the 5th Annual Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP, Yates and the team were still in the process of becoming familiar with the MotoGP-spec Bridgestone tires (after testing at two other venues with AMA-spec rubber) and making adjustments to the electronics on the GSX-R1000-powered CRT machine.

Only getting a brief minute to talk before he headed back out for more laps, I took the time to introduce myself to one of the true legends of AMA Pro Road Racing.  Having been a long-time fan of Yates' I explained, that it was great to see him back out at it again and that the sport needed more guys with his personality.  He took the time to thank me and shake my hand while casually saying 'we're just going to do what we can' and try and 'have some fun' in the process.  He also assured me his leg was completely healed from his devastating injuries suffered in an AMA Superbike practice session in California in spring of 2010.

Roadracing World.com reported earlier today that the GPTech team has been granted wild card entries with their CRT (claiming rules team) machine for all of the U.S. rounds in the 2013 season.  You can read more on that below.

Aaron Yates looks over the GPTech MotoGP CRT machine as the team preps the bike for another test run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on August 11, 2012.  The team had previously entered wild card entries in the Moto2 class at Indy with Jason DiSalvo in 2010 and Jake Gagne during the 2011 round, and decided to 'step-up' to the premier class at the 5th Annual Red Bull Indy MotoGP.

With the new claiming rules team bikes allowed on the grid with the multi-million dollar MotoGP prototypes in order to help fill the grids, the GPTech team was one of the first along with Attack Performance Kawasaki to field entires in the first season with the new rules in one or both of the U.S. rounds of the series. 

Yates put in a great effort for himself and the team in what was his first big race back at the track.  He had previously done some WERA events in order to get re-acclimated to being back in the saddle again after his long break from the track after being injured at Fontana back in early 2010 while still riding for the Michael Jordan Motorsports AMA Superbike team (note Yates' leathers from that season).  Although they finished 16th and first out of the points in the final, they were still running at the end and held the distinction of being the last bike running at the end of the 28-lap race.

Hopefully with the team announcing their intent to run all three U.S. rounds in the upcoming 2013 season they will be able to utilize the fine efforts of 'Double A-ron' again.  With the first U.S. round scheduled in Texas in late April '13, they have just a few precious months to get ready.  And regardless of the outcome, it was great seeing Yikes Yates back on the track again!


David Swarts at Roadracing World.com reports today that the GPTech MotoGP team has been awarded wild card entries for all of the MotoGP rounds in the United States next year for their CRT effort.  Read on:

http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=50411

Here's a great glimpse at the team's efforts from their inuagural outing in the MotoGP class at the 5th Annual Red Bull Indy MotoGP round in August, thanks to Dean Adams and SuperbikePlanet.com.  This also has a great shot of the bike in it's 'raced-in' livery as opposed to the 'testing' basic graphics as what were used during the team's initial outing at IMS just a week before the Indy round:

http://superbikeplanet.com/2012/Aug/120817p2wsaxz.htm

And this was posted on Roadracing World.com back in early August '12 about the team's efforts to get ready for the Indy round over the August 17-19 weekend:

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=49267

Stu's Shots & the AMA Salute Our Veterans on November 11, 2012

An honor guard of all branches of the U.S. military assemble on the victory podium at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway prior to the opening ceremonies of the 5th Annual Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP in August 2012. 

On this Sunday, November 11, 2012, Stu's Shots would like to salute and thank all of the men and women of this great nation who have given their time, their lives and their relentless spirit and resolve to defend this land of ours of the red, white and blue.

The stars and stripes of the United States hangs over the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in December 2004.


God Bless you all and thank you for your service and may He always be looking over your shoulder as He does with this great country of ours, The United States of America!

American Motorcyclist Association salutes veterans

PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- November 11, 2012 -- The American Motorcyclist Association thanks American veterans the world over this Veterans Day, Sunday, Nov. 11, for their willingness to serve to protect and defend the United States and the American way of life.

"There has long been a special relationship between motorcyclists and veterans," said Rob Dingman, AMA president and CEO. "Today, on Veterans Day, we honor that relationship, and salute America's veterans for their devotion to serving our country.

"The patriotism, dedication and valor of American servicemen and women is unmatched anywhere in world," Dingman said. "Our veterans have put their lives on the line in the defense of our principles and freedoms, and we must never forget the sacrifices they've made on our behalf."

About the American Motorcyclist Association

Since 1924, the AMA has protected the future of motorcycling and promoted the motorcycle lifestyle. AMA members come from all walks of life, and they navigate many different routes on their journey to the same destination: freedom on two wheels. As the world's largest motorcycling rights organization, the AMA advocates for motorcyclists' interests in the halls of local, state and federal government, the committees of international governing organizations, and the court of public opinion. Through member clubs, promoters and partners, the AMA sanctions more motorsports competition and motorcycle recreational events than any other organization in the world. AMA members receive money-saving discounts from dozens of well-known suppliers of motorcycle services, gear and apparel, bike rental, transport, hotel stays and more. Through the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, the AMA honors the heroes and the heritage of motorcycling for future generations.

For more information, please visit AmericanMotorcyclist.com.

Media contact: James Holter
Phone: (614) 856-1900, ext. 1280
E-mail: jholter@ama-cycle.org

AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series Review From Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP Weekend

The Geico Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing spec-class AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series made it's second appearance as the undercard over the 5th Annual Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP Weekend from August 17-19, 2012.  This year instead of being 'garaged' behind the museum at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IMS, Dorna and the AMA came together to have them paddocked in the Gasoline Alley-area of the track, amongst the vendors set up in the garages over the 3-day weekend. 

This made for great up-close glances of the behind-the-scenes action in the 3-year old series that pits race-kitted Harley-Davidson XR1200s against one another in what started as an 'experiment' of five races in the 2010 season into what has since blossomed into a 12-round must-see support event full of action and some great, close racing.  On 500 lb. motorcycles with tricked-out 17" front wheels (part of the $3500 Vance & Hines race kit), overworked trick suspensions and spec tires, fuel and gearing.

Starting with the season-opening round at Daytona, AMA Pro Road Racing revamped the points and money awards into a 'shoot out' for the last four rounds and eight races, ala NASCrash and the NHRA.  Points were reset for the top-10 riders and were evened out when the series arrived for it's round 8 of the 2012 season at Indy, fresh off of a summer break after the previous event at Mid-Ohio in mid-July.

The top-3 riders heading into the showdown had been putting on a torrid fight for the championship coming into the Indy round, with Tyler O'Hara on the #29 JCR/Scrubblade/Bartel's H-D/RS Taichi-sponsored mount leading the overall with 196 points, followed by Kyle Wyman on the #33 KLR Group/Spyke's H-D/Vesrah/GK Motorsports-backed XR with 184 points.  Michael Barnes followed closely in the 3rd-place position on the #34 KLR Group-like sponsored mount to team mate Wyman with 166 points.  Their closest pursuer in the 2012 AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series Championship fight was 61 points in arrears of Barnie (Michael Corbino.)

But Indy arrived and the duo of O'Hara and Wyman split wins over the weekend, with Wyman carding his win in race one and a 2nd-place in race two, and O'Hara 'supermanning' his way to the race two win after crashing and remounting to pull-off a 12-place finish in race one.  Barnie, the veteran of the series by at least 15-16 years over the winning duo, soldiered his way home for a 4-5 finish over the two days' events. 

Wyman leads the points heading into the New Jersey round coming up September 7-9 with 1055 points, Carlson slipped into the 2nd spot with 1046, O'Hara up next with 1040, then Corbino with 1036 and Barnes rounding out the top-5 with 1034 points.  With just six races to go in the season everyone will be hungry to go after a chunk of the $60K payoff in the shoot-out for the remaining rounds at New Jersey, Homestead and New Orleans.

GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing Recap: AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Doubleheader at Red Bull Indianapolis GP

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 28, 2012) - The Indy GP weekend was a chance for the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series to shine on a big stage. With a massive crowd from all over the globe keenly watching, one of the most historic venues in the world hosting, a $50,000 weekend purse on the line, and the $60,000 XR Showdown finally underway, there was no way there wasn't going to be fireworks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the doubleheader.   But even with the excitement, money, significance, and talent (with a number of proven roadracing stars joining the regulars to get a piece of the action) all ratcheted up, few expected this.  Saturday's opening leg ended in dramatic fashion.   Skillful youngster P.J. Jacbosen, a former class race winner and AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike podium finisher now racing in Europe, made a one-off Vance & Hines XR1200 Series return at Indy riding for the MOB Racing/K Tech/Orient Express/Moroney's outfit. He immediately made headlines by leaving the class' established top-three usual suspects in his dust in qualifying, grabbing the pole with a second-and-a-half to spare.   Jacobsen appeared poised to school the field in the race as well, pulling clear to a four-second advantage after one of the winners of last year's Indy races Tyler O'Hara (JCR/Srubblade/Bartel's Harley-Davidson) fell off the chase -- literally -- crashing out of what had developed into a two-man scrap for the lead in the early going.                               Tyler O'Hara #29 leads Benjamin Carlson #45, Kyle Wyman #33 and Bobby Fong #30 during race two of the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series round at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway round of the Red Bull MotoGP Weekend on August 19, 2012.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson.     However, Jacobsen then unexpectedly fell himself. His fall was followed by several others, as soon the track was a scene of mechanical carnage and red flags, with fallen XRs crashing into previously fallen XRs.   The race was stopped and ultimately called complete due to oil that had been laid down on the course, causing the multi-rider accident in the first place.  Jacobsen was initially tabbed the winner but an extensive review made evident the fact that Jacobsen's machine had caused the red flag and as a result, he was moved back to tail-end of the lead lap in the official results.   That meant that KLR Group/Spyke's Harley-Davidson/Vesrah Racing's Kyle Wyman was elevated from runner-up to race winner, giving him a huge early advantage in the XR Showdown over luckless rival O'Hara, who crashed twice in the race and finished a lowly 13th (he also fell in the pile-up and believes he crashed initially due to fluid from Jacobsen's machine as well).  Surburban Harley-Davidson's Benny Carlson and XP Motorsport's Michael Corbino rounded out the adjusted podium, while title contender Michael Barnes wound up fourth while making another team transition, racing as teammate to Wyman on the KLR Group/Spyke's Harley-Davidson/Vesrah Racing team.   Sunday was all about redemption. Jacobsen appeared to be in line for it, racing out to an early advantage, but his impressive corner speed and lean angles came with a risk. O'Hara was unwilling to take that same gamble and allowed his young rival to escape, which proved wise when the leader crashed out while holding a near-two second advantage as the race approached the halfway point.   O'Hara was all too happy to take the reins and he powered to a lopsided win of his own, which he wrapped in his trademark 'Superman' fashion at the checkered flag.   "It was really awesome," O'Hara said after his bounce-back win. "I felt like (Saturday) I got a little bit unlucky that we were able to restart the race after the red flag. I had some bad luck, and that's not a good way to start the chase. So now, my goal is to win every race here on out to stay in the hunt. It's going to be tough no matter what.  P.J. was riding awesome, and Kyle and Benny were up there. P.J. tucked the front and crashed, and I just put my head down. I built up a nice gap and was just monitoring the gap through my pit board.  It's just awesome. From yesterday and how it went, to rebound like that feels really good. This place is really special to me -- I got my first win here a year ago and, ever since, it's just sort of been a blur."   Despite not showing the outright pace of Jacobsen or O'Hara during the weekend, Wyman was the weekend's big winner. He edged out Carlson and ringer Bobby Fong, a one-time AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike race winner, in the fight for second and boasted an immediate commanding lead over season-long rivals O'Hara and Barnes following the first two of five XR Showdown races.   Wyman has 1055 points, 15 up on O'Hara, who is ranked third, and 21 up on Barnes, who is fifth following his 4-5 weekend.   Commenting on Saturday's wild ride, Wyman said, "Tyler went down three or four laps in, and I was thinking I was in a pretty good position. P.J.'s not in the chase, and I had a gap back to third, so I figured we'd start settling in. But I looked up in Turn 10 and saw P.J. on the ground ahead of me and before I knew it, I was on the ground too. It's not the way you want to end the race, but I can't say enough about my KLR Group Harley -- it was working great. We've had a little bit of a struggle trying to find the chassis set-up with the tire change last weekend. We're making progress, and I'm glad to get a result."   While Jacobsen, Fong, and former AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike star Steve Crevier, who finished fifth and seventh, at Indy, were big name wild cards who made their presence felt over the course of the weekend, Carlson only felt like one.  The former AMA Supermoto Unlimited Champion quietly slipped into the XR Showdown by taking the tenth and final spot into the five-race shootout. But riding loose and confident at Indy, Carlson demonstrated that he must be considered a threat to win the title.   Taking full advantage of the title reset that put the ten Showdown finalists even at 1000 points prior to the IMS weekend, Carlson showed the ability to dice with the likes of Wyman and promised more to come following his breakthrough 2-3 weekend.   Carlson said, "(Saturday) was kind of a gift, but today I think we earned the podium position. I think we had the speed to get second place -- I just had a little trouble getting off the corners and getting down the straights. Kyle is a bit lighter than me, so he gets down the straightaways pretty good, so the only option I had was to go really deep on the straights, and I did that four or five times. We battled all race, and I had a lot of fun."   Corbino too worked his way into the mix with his Saturday podium, which he followed up with a Sunday sixth, putting him fourth and ahead of Barnes in the Showdown standings.  Harv's Harley-Davidson's Travis Wyman is sixth following Indy with a pair of eighths, followed by Ruthless Racing's David Estok who took tenth and eleventh place finishes on the weekend.  O'Hara's teammate, Josh Chisum, Kuryakyn/Racing for a Wish's Gerry Signorelli, and Ruthless Racing's Darren James all suffered through rocky starts to their XR Showdown bids.   Meanwhile, non-Showdown qualifiers Barrett Long (Longevity Racing) and Shane Narbonne (Teterboro Rams LLC) enjoyed relatively strong weekends, notching up 11-9 and 9-10 results, respectively.   AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series Extends Through 2014   AMA Pro Racing, Vance & Hines and the Harley-Davidson Motor Company announced on Saturday that the Harley-Davidson spec racing class will be extended for the 2013 and 2014 seasons in the GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing Championship.   Continuing with the Harley-Davidson XR1200 platform modified with a spec racing kit from Vance & Hines, from 2013 onward, the class will be renamed as the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series.   Next Event   GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing will bring the full show to New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ on September 7-9 for the American Red Cross Devils Showdown presented by Team ProMotion.

Friday Saturday Sunday      Red Bull Indianapolis GP Race One Highlights Red Bull Indianapolis GP Race Two Highlights Steve Rapp Rides Attack Performance CRT Bike in MotoGP Race PJ Jacobsen Returns to AMA Pro Racing With MOB Racing Brice Cooper Rides Indy GP With Pan Am Ben Spies Talks Red Bull Indianapolis GP Weekend Vance & Hines' Terry Vance on Series' Renewal Valentino Rossi Attends Indy Mile MotoGP CRT Rider Colin Edwards is Grand Marshall for Indy Mile Tyler O'Hara at Indianapolis     American Red Cross Devils Showdown presented by Team Pro Motion- Sep. 7-9

Race One Results Kyle Wyman (HAR), 5 Laps Benjamin Carlson (HAR), +4.422 Michael Corbino (HAR), +4.878 Michael Barnes (HAR), +4.900 Steve Crevier (HAR), +5.535 Bobby Fong (HAR), +5.589 Michael Beck (HAR), +8.345 Travis Wyman (HAR), +8.748 Shane Narbonne (HAR), +9.594 David Estok (HAR), +10.271 Barrett Long (HAR), +13.325 Tyler OHara (HAR), +15.763 Josh Chisum (HAR), +32.950 Paul Schwemmer (HAR), +38.683 Charlie Long (HAR), +41.751 Lee Kuhn (HAR), +51.145 Paul James (HAR), +55.785 Brice Cooper (HAR), +56.995 Ray Delaney (HAR), +1:04.853 Matthew Heidel (HAR), +1:05.550 Richard Barnett (HAR), +1:07.638 Aaron Borello (HAR), +1:13.457 Calvin Martinez (HAR), +1:24.644 PJ Jacobsen (HAR), +1:24.645 Gerry Signorelli (HAR), DNF Darren James (HAR), DNF Nicholas Hansen (HAR), DNF Josh Guyer (HAR), DNF Peter Cline (HAR), DNS   Race Two Results Tyler OHara (HAR), 10 Laps Kyle Wyman (HAR), +1.891 Benjamin Carlson (HAR), +2.360 Bobby Fong (HAR), +2.431 Michael Barnes (HAR), +9.300 Michael Corbino (HAR), +11.849 Steve Crevier (HAR), +12.859 Travis Wyman (HAR), +12.869 Barrett Long (HAR), +21.097 Shane Narbonne (HAR), +21.113 David Estok (HAR), +21.492 Josh Chisum (HAR), +49.447 Nicholas Hansen (HAR), +1:06.233 Josh Guyer (HAR), +1:18.513 Lee Kuhn (HAR), +1:19.070 Ray Delaney (HAR), +1:56.518 Richard Barnett (HAR), +1:56.593 Aaron Borello (HAR), +1:58.675 Calvin Martinez (HAR), +3:29.210 Michael Beck (HAR), +8 Laps Gerry Signorelli (HAR), +6 Laps Brice Cooper (HAR), +52.710 PJ Jacobsen (HAR), +5 Laps Matthew Heidel (HAR), +1 Lap Darren James (HAR), DNS Paul Schwemmer (HAR), DNS Charlie Long (HAR), DNS Paul James (HAR), DNS Peter Cline (HAR), DNS     AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series - XR Showdown Point Standings Kyle Wyman, 1055 Benjamin Carlson, 1046 Tyler OHara, 1040 Michael Corbino, 1036 Michael Barnes, 1034 Travis Wyman, 1026 David Estok, 1021 Josh Chisum, 1017 Gerry Signorelli, 1000 Darren James, 1000

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

Reflections of the 5th Annual Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP Weekend August 17-19, 2012

The 5th Annual Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP Weekend saw the first repeat winner at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when 2010 winner Dani Pedrosa on the #26 Repsol Honda RC213V took home the top honors on a weekend that will be remembered for the Spaniard's second win on the oldest race track in America, but also for the carnage that littered the track and paddock long after the checkered flag had fallen.

Pedrosa is seen at high speed rocketing down the long front straight at Indy during the first practice session of the weekend, where speeds of 208 MPH were recorded during the 3-day weekend in the series' first visit to Indy in the 1000cc era of MotoGP World Championship racing.

Pedrosa's team mate, Casey Stoner on the #1 Repsol Honda (and the defending MotoGP Champion and Indy winner) faired much worse then his double-winning team mate over the long weekend at The Brickyard.  After a seriously nasty highside during the qualifying round that saw the Australian suffer serious ankle injuries, Stoner at first wasn't expected to contest the weekend.  But like the tough competitor he is, the #1 machine soldiered on to a strong 4th-place finish at Indy.

Stoner however had to sit out this weekend's Brno event and is hopeful for the next round at San Marino on September 14-16.  This was Stoner's last trip to the track he loves to hate as he announced his retirement from the sport earlier this summer after the 2012 season.

Honda was one of the many manufacturers on-hand for the 5th Annual Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP Weekend, and one of theirs and all of the displays that was catching a lot of interest was the new Honda CBR1000RR.

Ben Spies' 2012 season troubles continued at Indy in spite of his 4th-place qualifying effort on the #11 Yamaha Factory YZR-M1.  Elbowz got a monster start at the drop of the green in the MotoGP main event and led a few laps before being passed by eventual-winner Dani Pedrosa.  But while giving chase, the motor expired on the long front straight and was highly reminiscent of his 2012 season in which he has suffered a series of maladies and get-offs.


























On a brighter side for the 2009 World Superbike and 3-Time AMA Superbike Champion, the 2011 Petronas Factory Yamaha M1 that Spies rode at the Laguna Seca and Indy rounds last year graced the Yamaha display in the infield at IMS.  The paint job helped Yamaha celebrate their 50th anniversary.

Andreas Dovizioso continued his season of superior runs on the #4 Monster Energy Tech 3 Yamaha M1 with a 3rd-place finish at the 2012 version of the Red Bull MotoGP Weekend. Dovi signed between Sunday's Brno round and Indy to ride for the Ducati factory in the 2013 season alongside America's own Nicky Hayden.

You can't talk MotoGP without making a shoutout to and about 9-Time World Champion and 7-Time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi.  The Italian was the first Ducati home at Indy, bringing the #46 Marlboro Factory Ducati GP12 home in the 7th-place spot.

Rossi was also on-hand at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile on Saturday, August 18, hanging out with Tommy Hayden and Chris Carr on the stage as a special guest of Family Events Promotions and AMA Pro Flat Track.  He also went home with his own Harley-Davidson XR750 to ride on his backyard track, and it was reported that Carr helped to broker the deal for the popular MotoGP icon.

Ducati Island at The Brickyard was at the usual level of excitement that is seen amongst the 'Ducatista' fans and one of the nicest displays at the track was set up for the Ducati compatriots and other fans on-hand throughout the weekend.  The display included two street versions of two of the three Ducatis that 3-Time World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss rode to his titles, and a Ben Bostrom #1 Vance & Hines Ducati from the '99 AMA Superbike Championship season.  Can you say drool...............

The #17 Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati GP12 of Karel Abraham and the #69 Marlboro Ducati Factory GP12 enter the garage area at Indianapolis after the end of the first practice session of the weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway-hosted 2012 MotoGP World Championship round.

In another case of two ends of the spectrum, Abraham brought the satellite machine home in the 8th-place spot (and just under 11 seconds behind Rossi) while The Kentucky Kid saw air/sky/ground in a brutal crash during qualifying that saw him suffer serious wrist injuries and miss his first home race in the five years that the series has visited Indy.  It was a sad weekend for fans of the popular former '06 MotoGP World Championship and former '02 AMA Superbike Champion.

Teknic Leathers had one of the coolest displays on-hand in the Gasoline Alley vendors area at IMS, which among others included a pair of Miguel Duhamel's leathers from his season of racing the Harley-Davidson VR1000 in the '94 AMA Superbike Championship and a pair of Kurtis Roberts' leathers from his days with the Erion Racing Honda team in the early '00s in the AMA Superbike Championship.  Alongside are a set of Aaron Yates' leathers from one of his years with the Yoshimura Suzuki team and John Hopkins' leathers from his days with the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP squad.

In what was a joint effort among IMS, AMA Pro Flat Track and Family Event Promotions, the promoters of the 2012 Lucas Oil Indy Mile on August 18, 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Saddlemen Rookie of the Year Brad Baker and Bryan Smith were on-hand Friday afternoon, August 17 to sign autographs for the fans and talk about the next night's great racing at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.  AMA Pro Flat Track announcer Scottie Duebler talks with the boys while Baker's #12 Dodge Brothers XR750 and Smith's #42 Crosley/Howerton/Eaken Kawasaki sit on display for the several hundred fans that showed up to talk to the two stars of the greatest racing series on wheels in the world.

For the first time ever, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosted a garage at the Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP round called the Social Media Garage.  Set-up for the fans with several laptops, big screens showing the action and racing simulators, the lounge-like atmosphere was a very cool place for fans to come and hang out and chat with some invitees that were on-hand to cover the action at the track for Twitter, Facebook and their respective websites.

Stu's Shots was one of the five invited guests to this special event, thanks to Cassie Conklin with the Indianapolis Motor Speeway, along with Lance Lau, Terry Hampton, Daniel Lo and Larry Lawrence of The Rider Files.com.  It was due to LL's kind mention of Stu's Shots to Ms. Conklin that we were invited and I owe a big thanks to both for allowing me to attend this special event, which included among other perks full access to any stand in the house and free premium parking and credentials that made it a breeze to enter and exit the track I have been stalking since the spring of '69 when I was just a wee junior high student still living in Iowa.

For what was started this year as an experiment with the Indy 500 and The Brickyard 400, the special event was a big hit with fans and with Stu's Shots.  I was and still am humbled by the invite and the great treatment that was given me and I appreciate the efforts of all in putting this super weekend together!

In a finishing touch to wrap-up the 5th Annual Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP Weekend review, and a shallow and self-serving mode of self-promotion, 'Stu's Shots' was advertised inside the Social Media Garage over the weekend along with the other four invitees with scrolling LED read-outs of each of our respective sites and/or Twitter feeds. 

I'm still not quite sure to know what to do with seeing my name in lights for the first time in my life, but I guarantee you I won't let it go to my head!

Again, a big thanks to the folks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a great weekend of racing and for the special invite.  It was a blast and again a stellar running of another World Class event.

Bravo and thank you!