CCS/ASRA RACE OF CHAMPIONS
DAYTONA INTL SPEEDWAY
OCT 19 thru 21, 2007
BMWXPLOR.COM, FOOTHILLS BMW R1200S WINS WITH 4 PODIUM FINISHES AT DAYTONA SPEEDWAY RACE OF CHAMPIONS
The BMWXPOLR.COM, FOOTHILLS BMW R1200S piloted by #166 Brad Hendry produced the results at the CCS/ASRA Race of Champions held at the Daytona National Speedway the week-end of OCT 19-21 with 3 firsts, 1 second and an 8th (due to wrong tire choice) in the 5 races that the FOOTHILLS BMW R1200S competed in.
The GT LIGHTS 25 minute endurance race saw the BMWXPOLR.COM, FOOTHILLS BMW R1200S off to a strong start from 16 position in a field of 26 riders on various Buells, Ducati, Suzuki and Honda machines as well as the San Jose BMW. Very quickly the SAN JOSE BMW jumped into first position and gapped the field. The FOOTHILLS BMW came thru the field and by lap 2 had challenged the 2nd placed Ducati 1000 of Jason Edmonds. With a superb pass coming out of the famous horseshoe turn at the Daytona Speedway, the #166 BMW piloted by Brad Hendry moved into 2nd place and opened the gap. By the white flag lap both BMW’s were well ahead of the field and then the San Jose machine pulled off the course leaving the FOOTHILLS BMW R1200S to take the chequered flag and a large margin win.
The CCS THUNDERBIKE race saw heavy rain before the start then started to clear up quickly. The FOOTHILLS RACING TEAM made the decision to run with full wets as the in-field was damp while the banking was quickly drying at the start of the race. Staring from 16 in a field of 23 riders on Buells, Ducatis, Suzukis and Hondas, the BMW R1200S had a tremendous start and quickly moved into 2nd place behind a Factory Buell 1200 while being closely followed by 2 other Buells. Brad slowly pulled away from the 3rd placed Buell during the first three laps but the track dried up faster than expected causing the rain tires to start to come apart. This slowed the R1200S down significantly causing a final finishing position of 8th.
The LIGHTWEIGHT GP race saw the BMWXPOLR.COM, FOOTHILLS BMW R1200S starting in 8th place against a competitive field of 16 Ducati, Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki machines. An excellent start by pilot Brad Hendry put the #166 BMW R1200S quickly into 2nd spot behind the #17 Florida rider, Jason Edmonds, on a Ducati 1000SS. Close dueling continued for 2 laps then coming out of the International horseshoe, the R1200S using it’s smooth, but excellent, torque spurted ahead of the Ducati rider. Slowly the BMW R1200S pulled away from the field to clinch its 2nd win of the race weekend.
The next race in the LIGHTWEIGHT SUPERBIKE class saw the BMW in 7th starting spot against a 13 rider field similar to the Lightweight GP class. However the rain had started again and the entire field, including the BMWXPOLR.COM, FOOTHILLS BMW R1200S was on full rain tires. An excellent start to this wet race saw the BMM R1200S of #166 Brad Hendry passing the lead Ducati 1000SS of Jason Edmonds into the first corner. The BMW and Ducati then slowly pulled away from the rest of the field in very wet conditions with the Ducati all over the #166 Brad Hendry piloted BMW R1200S. Slowly the BMW started to pull away from the Ducati 1000 which then unfortunately went down in the in-field leaving the BMW well ahead of the rest of the field. Another great win for the BMWXPOLR.COM, FOOTHILLS BMW R1200S.
The ASRA THUNDERBIKE promised to be an excellent race with 4 BMW R1200S’s in the line-up and 3 factory Buell riders including the Canadian National Thunderbike Champion amongst an entry of 25 riders on Buells, Hondas, Ducatis and Suzukis. The rain had stopped but the track was damp and the weather looked threatening making tire choice a real gamble. The FOOTHILLS BMW TEAM decided to go with full race slicks while most of the other teams were on intermediate rains. A great start from the 7th grid position by the BMW R1200S had the #166 BMW R1200S in 2nd spot after the first turn with the #1 factory Buell XB12R of Dave Estok in 1st spot and the other 2 factory Buells closely trailing the FOOTHILLS BMW R1200S. However after the first lap, where the BMWXPLOR.COM R1200S crossed in 2nd place, a red flag was given due to an accident on track requiring a re-start.
The factory Buell teams quickly changed tires with their riders now moving to full slicks. The re-start saw the factory Buell XB 12R of Dave Estok into first place with the BMW R1200S in second closely followed by the 2 other factory Buell riders. While the lead Buell pulled away there was a great battle between the BMW R1200S and the 2 factory Buell XB 12Rs until, in the 3rd lap, the BMW R1200S entered the famous horseshoe too fast for the damp conditions and the pilot Brad Hendry had to stand the R1200S up and went into the grass. This allowed the 2 factory Buell riders to take 2nd and 3rd spots. The BMW R1200S quickly re-joined the chase in 4th position and in the corner onto the NASCAR Turn1 theinside factory Buell low sided taking down both the riders into the airbags. The BMWXPOLR.COM, FOOTHILLS BMW R1200S now moved back into 2nd position and held that spot to the end of the race.
“This was a very challenging race week-end” said Brad Hendry. “This great BMWXPOLR.COM, FOOTHILLS BMW R1200S performed excellently up against its true competition. The excellent torque delivery in the damp to wet condition gave me a good advantage and the late breaking capability allowed me to catch my competition in the corners. However tire choice was very tough and our gamble in the CCS Thunderbike just did not work. Other than that, 3 firsts and a second, what a great weekend.”
To follow Brad's progress on the awesome new R 1200 S, go to his Xplor page for more pictures and news on this years race season! (http://bmwxplor.com/riders/Racing616)
Brad would like to thank all of his sponsors: BMW Motorrad North America / BMW Xplor / Foothills BMW Motorcycles / Michelin / Vanmar Racing / Bel Ray / Suomy / Spidi / Sidi / VP
Foothills BMW/Triumph Motorcycles is going racing again in 2008! Stay tuned for more updates as contracts get finalized! We will be adding news, information, and pictures from the race season as it progresses. We will also be looking to involve our customers in a big way with two official Foothills rides to the races, so be sure to check out our customer corner for updates!
