AMA Pro Racing / AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 at Road America!
GEICO Powersports RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing’s Danny Eslick and Jake Holden put on an outstanding show with a electrifying 1-2 finish in the inaugural AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 race at Road America.
Victory for #9 Danny Eslick
The two rider’s muscled their tightly-restricted Harley-Davidson XR1200s at the front of the pack, stealing the lead from one another at every possible contingency around the scenic racetrack.
The result at the checkered flag was almost too close to call with Eslick climactically going down in the record books at the class’ very first race winner, taking the honor over fellow Lucas Oil-sponsored competitor Holden by a minuscule 0.055 seconds.
The race was restarted after John Ashmead of Brady Schwemmer Racing had a mechanical problem on the third lap, leaking oil on to the track. The race was restarted once the track was cleaned, was soon halted with another red flag after two riders made contact, knocking down James Gang Hoban Brothers rider Paul James on the front straight.
After discussions with riders and their teams, officials decided to restart the race at 4:30 pm after the other AMA Pro Road Racing classes had finished.
The delay gave the Schwemmer Racing team time to repair their XR1200 Motorcycle and rejoin the race, though they had to start at the back of the pack. James was unable to rejoin the race however due to some minor injuries and a possible concussion from the fall. When the race finally restarted at 4:30 pm, hours after the originally scheduled 12:30 pm start time, it was Eslick and Holden at the front.
Eric Stump beats Kyle Wyman for 3rd
The two riders swapped the lead through the race, with Eslick officially leading for six out of ten laps. Behind them, it was AMA Supersport racer Eric Stump battling for third against brothers Travis Wyman of Harv’s Harley-Davidson Racing and Kyle Wyman of RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing.
In the Daytona SportBike class, the weekend was all about damage control for the reigning class champion. Eslick, who was still feeling the effects of a pulled hamstring suffered while flat tracking at Springfield last weekend, registered a pair of gritty rides to come away with two important points paying results.
After putting his GEICO Powersports RMR Suzuki GSX-R600 on the front row in qualifying (third, 2:20.711), the Oklahoman took a well-deserved fifth place on Saturday and backed that up with a seventh on Sunday to keep his title defense very much alive.
The race ended with Eslick beating Holden by 0.054 seconds. Stump would finish third, beating Kyle Wyman by 0.024 seconds in another close battle.
Eslick is currently ranked second in the Daytona SportBike title chase with 198 points at the season’s midpoint on the strength of a win, five podiums, two pole positions, and four points earned for leading the most laps. The next round in the 2010 AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 series will take place July 16-18 at Mid-Ohio Sports Ca Course in Lexington, Ohio.