Very sad news from Buell Motorcycle Company

Buell Motorcycle Company has been dissolved and will discontinue building motorcycles immediately.

http://www.buell.com/en_us/

Well to say this news is devastating is an understatement. I have gotten to know Erik Buell, in fact Janet and I spent most of our evening sitting by him, visiting and laughing at the Red Flag Fund auction at Blackhawk Farms just a few weeks ago. He is an extremely passionate guy and was teasing us about new models coming in 2010 so I know this news must have hit him really hard and fast.

I want all our friends to know that I will continue to campaign my Buell XB12R in CCS competition as it is an extremely competitive motorcycle in the classes I compete in and the only bike I care to race. My only hope for Buell is that someone out there with the means to revive the brand will come forward to continue production of the only American sportbike brand available.

End of the season results

I had a steep learning curve this year racing with the folks in the MidWest Region. This region
is tougher to place well in but it has helped make me a better racer with faster lap times.
My final season results are...

Blackhawk Farms Track Championship
Lightweight Formula 40 - 2nd out of 9 racers
Thunderbike - 5th out of 24 racers
Lightweight SuperSport - 6th out of 20 racers

CCS MidWest Region
Lightweight SuperSport - 6th out of 26 racers
Lightweight Formula 40 - 6th out of 13 racers
Thunderbike - 10th out of 28 racers

I'd like to thank all the 2009 sponsors for their generous help with my race program.
Sliver Eagle Harley-Davidson Buell
John Kahrs - ASMSOIL
Top to Bottom Home Inspections
Butler & Sons Barber Shop
The Farrell Family
Gron4 Photography
Mike Boomer and Mr. "X" for all their tuning help

Gron 4 Photography joins the effort!

I'm really excited about becoming a part of the G-Team, thanks the Mikel and Andy Gronfor otherwise known as GRON4 Photography.

The vast majority of great photos you've viewed on this blog are the handywork of these two talented guys and now they are offering racers an opportunity to be a part of their program.

I'll be sporting their jazzy decals for the last round of the season at Blackhawk Farms in a couple of weeks!

CCS Mid-West region points update

These are the current points as of August 26th.
Since I've only been able to race 3.5 races out of the 7 that have been run to date, I'm very pleased where I'm at currently in the points chase in the three classes I compete in.

7th - Lightweight SuperSport / 22 competitors
7th - Lightweight Formula 40 / 12 competitors
10th - Thunderbike - 21 competitors

There is one round left that I can get to at Blackhawk Farms in September. That is also a double points event so we'll see how that will affect the final points outcome.

Wish me luck!!

New sponsor joins the effort!!

Even though we are at about the mid season point, good friend, Curt Balvanz has joined our race effort as a sponsor with his company, Top to Bottom Home Inspection Services.

Curt is the guy to call if you're in need of an inspection whether you're buying or selling a home in N.E. Iowa. Although the business is still young, he has solidified his company as a major player in the local market.

I'm very excited about having Curt's company on board!!

Thank you, Curt!!

Blackhawk Farms race report

Blackhawk Farms Race Report
Vol. 4, #2
Blackhawk Farms Raceway, South Beloit, IL. - May 30-31, 2009

What a great weekend of racing at Blackhawk Farms!! The weather was outstanding and I had three really strong races there.
I knew the MidWest Region was going to be tough but I didn’t realize how large the fields would be at Blackhawk!

Saturday started out with drizzle but when it quit the track dried very quickly. I skipped the first practice session so I wouldn’t have to change tires and concentrated on the second practice session to get reacquainted with the lines around the track. A red flag shortened the session but I felt confident that I could navigate the track at speed. Let’s go racin’!

Race #1 - Lightweight Formula 40
This race was a combination of four classes, 125 GP, Femmoto Lightweight, Ultra Lightweight Superbike and us, both expert and amateur, which placed 29 bikes on the grid, a little crowded compared to what I was used to.

The green flag dropped and I was off with a great start! Turn one was a little crazy but everyone got through it and we were off! With so many of us racing on fairly equal equipment it was impossible to know if you were racing with someone in your class or not. It really didn’t matter to me who I was racing with but when the checkered flag flew I knew I’d run well.

I have no idea where I finished overall but ironically, there were only two of us racing in the amateur LW Formula 40 class and I’d taken second! A podium finish right out of the gate!

Race #2 - Thunderbike
O.K., now it was time to come down to earth because Thunderbike is no walk in the park and I knew I’d be working real hard to stay with the pack. With 32 bikes on the grid, both experts and amateurs, I knew I’d need one of my patented great starts to keep from getting swallowed up!

The experts were green flagged first then us and I did have a great start! The race went will but the faster guys were gradually getting around me. I just couldn’t hang with the quicker guys but felt like I was running well and as it turned out I finished 12th out of the 15 amateurs in the field.

That night Erik Buell and his band the Thunderbolts played a free concert at the track which was the capper of a very good day for me! Sunday, I would have only one race so a good meal and rest was definitely on the schedule!

Race 3 - Lightweight SuperSport
This was a fun race! I had a great start again and I was mixing it up with a couple of different racers including a guy on a Buell. He got around me on the 5th of 8 laps and I could get right up to him but couldn’t get past. I was all over the guy but I just didn’t have the confidence to pitch it into one of the high speed corners to pass. Then on the straight, the white flag was waving, one lap left, so I knew I had to commit to a strong pass so I drove in a little deeper into turn one as I watched myself going by him, I knew I could out brake him! It worked, I’d out braked a guy into turn one!! Then I was off and I never saw him again! I finished 7th out of the 9 amateurs which is a little farther down the results than I’d like to be but I did race well and got a chance to improve my race craft with some very good riders so it was a very successful weekend!

Farrell family rejoins as sponsors

The Farrell family rejoins as sponsors on the Longus Motorsports Buell XB12R racebike for a second year. Clair and Mike are family friends and when they offered to help out again this year I was very happy to have them on board again!
Thank you, Clair and Mike!!