Mixed Results for Buell Twins

Richie Morris Racings Mike Smith and Clint Brotz won in the GrandSport Twins class, while James Gang Racings Jeff Johnson and Paul James earned their second podium finish of the season by coming in third to place two XB12Rs on the podium. They sandwiched the Ducati PS1000LE, ridden by Team RightsforBikers.coms Jason Edmonds, John Linder and Rodolfo Ramirez.

Damp pre-race conditions caused several teams to start the race on wet tires, but the Buell teams decided to start on Pirello Diablo Super Corsa DOT tires. Their gamble paid off as the entire race ran under dry conditions.

The two podium spots put the two Buell teams one-two in the standings with Richie Morris Racing at 65 points and James Gang Racing at 62. Wagner Motorsports Ducati sits in third with 60 points after its sixth place finish in Virginia.

In the SuperSport Twins class Bruce Rossmeyers Daytona Racing team had a disappointing weekend. Riders Shawn Higbee and Dan Bilansky had a good start, qualifying in second and leading for several laps before their Buell 1125R suffered from suspected clutch problems after 37 laps.

Rossmeyers team also had technical problems in the season-opening Moto-ST race in Daytona, making it two straight DNFs for the 1125R.

Aprilia USA won the SST class with Ty Howard and Mike Himmelsbach on an Aprilia Tuono, duplicating their success from Daytona. The team came back from a crash an hour into the two and a half hour race for its second win.

In the Sport Twins class, Virginia racers Brian Kcraget and Ben Walters won in their home state as Speedwerks.com came out on top ahead of M4 Avteq Racing. Both teams rode Suzuki SV650 motorcycles.

The next stop in the SunTrust Moto-ST series is at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. on June 7.

Related Reading:
Moto-ST: Bringing Twins Back to the Track
Impressive start for the Buell 1125R
First Ride: 2008 Buell 1125R