June 27, 2008
Alton, VA - Buell rider David Estok rode a borrowed Buell XB12R to a second place finish in the fourth round of the 2008 American Sportbike Racing Association (ASRA) Pro Thunderbike National series at Virginia International Raceway.
Estok’s motorcycle blew a head gasket in pre-race practice on Sunday, and the team borrowed a Buell XB12R from another squad and quickly got the bike set up for the defending Pro Thunderbike champion.
“We threw our bodywork and suspension on the other bike, and I ran the CCS SuperTwins race to test the set-up,” said Estok. “My hat is off to everyone on the team and especially to our suspension techs for getting the bike dialed in so quickly.”
The race featured a small but very competitive field. Estok qualified third for the Pro Thunderbike national with a lap time of 1:32.759, behind Englishman Richard Cooper on his BMW (1:32.474) and BMW rider Nate Kern (1:32.646). H-D/Buell rider Bryan Bemisderfer qualified fourth on a Buell XB12R, but did not start the race after his motorcycle had a mechanical problem in practice.
Cooper took the lead at the start of the 10-lap Thunderbike national, followed closely by Kern and Estok. The trio set a blistering pace. Estok broke the five-year-old Thunderbike lap record on the second lap. Cooper lowered the record with a 1:32.023 effort on lap four, and was leading until lap six when a coil popped off and dropped him to third behind Kern and Estok. Kern broke away and posted a 1:31.912 time on lap seven, and beat Estok to the checkered flag by 6.377 seconds. Cooper was third. H-D/Buell rider Walt Sipp was fourth on a Buell XB12R.
“Riding a borrowed race bike, I didn’t think I had a chance to even make the podium,” said Estok. “But we went out and broke the lap record and had a great result to stay in the hunt for the season championship. Now we are going to have to really work hard to be ready for the BMW teams at Road America.”
After four of eight events, Kern leads the Thunderbike series with 127 points, followed by Sipp with 104 points and Estok with 102.
The next stop on the eight-race ASRA Pro Thunderbike schedule is the Road America Festival of Speed, July 4-6, at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Reid Wins Four for Buell in CCS Sprints
H-D/Buell rider Carl Reid Jr. rode a Buell XB12R to win four MotoSport.com Championship Cup Series (CCS) sprint races at VIR. Reid won Amateur Lightweight Superbike, Amateur Lightweight GP, Amateur GT Lights and Amateur Thunderbike. Bemisderfer won in Expert Formula 40.
