| Author | Message | ||
     Anonymous |
http://www.ris-timing.be/vitesse/bcup/2007/4/07_PR OT.pdf http://www.ris-timing.be/vitesse/bcup/2007/4/09_PR OT.pdf Perhaps Peter Clark can supply details. Spa has been historically one of the fastest circuits on the GP circuit, so it's interesting to see the victory over the Ducati and Aprilia water-cooled bikes. | ||
| Slaughter |
HO-LEE-CHIT! Awesome. Hope to hear more! | ||
| Jens |
Peter, well done! GREAT! And CONGRATULATION for the Championship!!!! ((-: Jens (Message edited by Jens on August 13, 2007) | ||
| M1combat |
Sweet  | ||
| Anonymous |
Bruno won the French Protwins championship for Buell with this win. Michel, after a miserable start -- he waited for a red flag to be thrown for a jumped start only for the race to be continued -- was out of the race with a timing sensor failure after working his way from the very back to 7th. | ||
| Diablobrian |
Wow, that's a great story! (Message edited by diablobrian on August 13, 2007) | ||
| Bigdaddy |
Jens, Spa is very close to home | ||
| Peterr |
Hi guys, well, it's great news for Buell, they wrapped up the championship here on this legendary circuit of Spa with a clear victory, and have stamped themselves a place in Protwin history by not being off the podium for the entire season. There is one race left, at the opening of the Bol d'Or 24 hour race, in September, and Team Macadam need to finish first, with Bruno behind and none of the other three pretenders for the title of vice-champion on the podium to clinch a 1-2 for Buell, and to make up for our disappointment at our poor results here at Spa. Dave will have some images soon, and you can see the disastrous start of the first race, which left us floundering around at the back of the pack, and having to fight back to 7th before the pickup gave up the ghost....it looks like the long, weltering wait on the grid before the start, plus the hammering the engine got in the first few laps of struggle got the engine too hot as well, so I'll be pulling her down and verifying everything before the next race in a months time. With no spare pickup available, we chose to continue with our wet-weather bike, a valiant XB12R dressed as an XBRR, but with it's friendly and supple stock engine. Sadly, we didn't get the rain we were hoping for, and went to a gunfight with a knife....Dave will have the full story on his website as soon as I finish beating my head against the wall....  | ||
| Jimidan |
thanks for the excellent report Peterr...looking forward to the photos. | ||
| Blake |
Tough luck Peter. Bravo for keeping up the good fight. Thanks for the notice Anony! | ||
| Blake |
And... Congratulations to H-D Grenoble Racing team and racer Bruno Destoop! Way to persevere! | ||
| Davegess |
Peter's excellant report and some great pictures up at my site. www.pegasusracingnews.com | ||
| M1combat |
I don't suppose we could get a good pic from Eau Rouge? Maybe just as the bike goes over the top and gets light? Down through the bottom would be fine as well . | ||
| Blake |
Dave, You have email. | ||
| Peterr |
Hi M1, I'm still waiting for some photos from Spa, but here are a couple of Eau Rouge, and one of the really very cool Krugger Buell that was there a couple of weeks back, for the Classic festival. Edit to add, I can't seem to modify the size of the images,  but if you want, send me a PM and I'll mail them to you. Then you can size them and post 'em if you want. Cheers, Peter | ||
| Imonabuss |
Awesome! A national championship for Grenoble Buell with the XBRR, and and it looks like Macadam's XBRR is still in the hunt for finishing high in the standings? And against great bikes like the 998,999, 1098 and Mille? These are two quality French Buell race teams, that's all I can say. If Buell were any other company, all kinds of people would be cheering. But I am expecting to see the haters start bashing away at any moment. Why is there so much negativism towards Buell? It just seems crazy to me. Is it becauise Buell is American, and everyone hates America, including Americans? | ||
| Jens |
Imona, we get used of it. Its not an US phenomena. Looks like Buellers are (often) a bit introverted. Maybe thats why they choose that special brand (-: They cheer at home.... Its an amazing success, you understand it when you see the competitors field ! Like I wrote last year, when they all talk Buell Racing down: The show just started. Jens | ||
| Jimidan |
Imonabus sez: If Buell were any other company, all kinds of people would be cheering. But I am expecting to see the haters start bashing away at any moment. Why is there so much negativism towards Buell? It just seems crazy to me. Is it becauise Buell is American, and everyone hates America, including Americans? The only real negativism I have heard is NOT because Buells are winning races, even if it has to be in France! But rather it concerns folks unrealistic perceptions of the anemic effort of the mighty HD/Buell factory in supporting the race teams here in the US. Americans are very competitive in their spectator sports, in a passive way since after all, they are merely spectators. They need to feel like their country's manufacturers can compete on the world's racing stage, and they are obviously frustrated with the fact that this just hasn't occurred much lately here at home, or abroad. This has nothing to do with Americans hating America (preposterous), but a lot more with Americans always wanting a winner that they can personally associate with...giving them some sense of national, state or local pride. When they do not get the desired results, they whine. They not only disassociate with the brands, teams, or whatever that they sense has 'let them down', but display scorn upon them like a kid who has been rejected...'I never like you anyway!' In essence, it is "crazy" like you say because they are not even remotely personally associated with the brand, teams or whatever. Their idolatry is misplaced, since those that they wanted to win so that they could pretend that that made them winners too by default, probably wouldn't have liked them if they knew them. jimidan (Message edited by jimidan on August 16, 2007) | ||
| Blake |
Please compare/contrast the financials of Honda Inc., Yamaha Inc, and Suzuki Inc. versus BMC. If you are willing to ignore such realities, your expectations may be way off base. | ||
| Easyrider |
congrats, peterr.. nice job.. | ||
| Jimidan |
Please compare/contrast the financials of Honda Inc., Yamaha Inc, and Suzuki Inc. versus BMC. If you are willing to ignore such realities, your expectations may be way off base. It is not MY case to make here, as I said "it concerns folks unrealistic perceptions of the anemic effort of the mighty HD/Buell factory". I understand that Buell is going it alone in their racing efforts without substantial backing from the parent company, and it was extending $$$ to do what they did last year with McWilliams. I am also glad that there are some privateers like Bison and Walt and these dudes in France having some fun with their XBRR's. Nobody on here likes reading about their successes more than I do. Sure, I personally thought that HD should have given their subsidiary more support with XBRR racing, much more, but it was not to be. So did a lot of other American fans, and their frustration as expressed on this and other forums is understandable to me. However, the truth is I am glad they spent the money on the 1225R instead of the XBRR FX racing program, which wasn't going to garner them much street cred anyway. Besides, the XBRR wasn't something I was ever going to purchase anyway. The 1225R is another matter entirely. But that wasn't the point at all I was making to Imonabus, as I was giving my take on why it isn't a matter of some grand conspiracy like he posed in his question "Is it becauise Buell is American, and everyone hates America, including Americans?. Rather, it has some basis regardless of how "crazy" and inane it may seem. | ||
| Jimidan |
Perhaps Peter Clark can supply details. Spa has been historically one of the fastest circuits on the GP circuit, so it's interesting to see the victory over the Ducati and Aprilia water-cooled bikes. Maybe next year, the XBRR will have another water-cooled bike to contend with in this series...the 1225R. Who will we pull for then? The old tech XBRR or the new Buell? I suspect that those who say they prefer the air-cooled XBs to the 1225R will root for the old tech XBRR, and vice versa. It will be fun to watch them compete though.} | ||
| Jens |
and again a threat with great news is drifting away.... | ||
| Peterr |
The "threat" is still there, Jens, for the other makes of bike !!  Actually, I'm really looking forward to see the 1125R and the XBRR running together, because both represent the philosophy of Erik Buell, and what he has attempted to achieve. It will be a bit like watching a Tamburini race a Terreblanche, both are Ducati's, but both are different, although with the same linage. I see the two generations of Buell's as being complementary, and it doesn't matter much to me if one has an air and oil-cooled heart or if she has a water and oil-cooled heart, as long as she's on the podium ! | ||
| Jimidan |
Nobody is trying to steal the thunder of the great win of Bruno of the French Protwins championship for Buell! Even though Whosonabus was trying to make a political statement about folks with legitimate gripes about the lack of HD's support of Buell's XBRR racing program equating to anti-Americanism (who's bus IS he on, anyway?)  , we ALL congratulate them for their amazing accomplishment. Bring on the dancing girls! I wish we had more like these French teams here in the USA so we could actually go watch them run. (Message edited by jimidan on August 18, 2007) | ||
| Jens |
Peterr, we ordered a 1125 R for the track and race an XBRR next year as well. With our RR comes a bigger AH clutch package and some more innovations (-: Podium matters, victorys and championships. Jens | ||
| Ithaca280 |
Well said jimidan! People like Buell because it represents something different other than the status-quo. Americans are very competitive and as Buell becomes more competitive you'll see many others getting in line. As for HD, get a grip and pull your heads out of your aces, and start throwing some money at Buell racing to show that you really care! Pitiful on HD's part. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Yay, Buell top of the tree in the Protwin at the Bol d'Or. GO BUELL. (Message edited by Mr_grumpy on September 17, 2007) | ||
| Anonymous |
Bruno first, Michel 2nd at the last Challenge ProTwins race. Bruno passed Michel on the sixth lap, which kept Michel from coming in 2nd in the championship that Bruno had already won -- not exactly something we'd have encouraged if they'd been riding under team orders, but perfectly understandable as they were on different Buell teams. In the end, it was Buell XBRR(Bruno), Aprilia RSV, Ducati 1098, Buell XBRR, Ducati 998R in the championship. a bad translation of the event: Thursday afternoon for the first qualificative meeting, it is Christophe Charles-Artigues (alias Moustic n°95) who carries out best time (1' 50'' 706) on a NCR Millona 1100, a twin 2 valves of 116 CH for 140 kg explains me one. It makes the measuring rod in powerful Buell and Ducati which carried out the season!! Then Friday Jérémie Rasting (n°7 Ducati 1098) decides to improve its time of 2 second the day before (1' 48'' 791) in order to be in pole. It is accompanied on this first line by Bruno Destoop (n°88 Buell 1340), Jean-Yves Bonnet (n°3 Ducati 1098) and Michel Amalric (n°34 Buell 1340). Friday evening, briefing with the whole of the pilots which is seen giving the batches of the partners - thank you with them for this season, some making us the honor be present - and meetings photographs which give place to enormous insane laughter. Saturday morning when we arrive on the bed, the pilots concentrate whereas others joke while the latecomers run to plunge themselves in their leather combination (a little fresh). Everyone is in prégrille per hour but a red flag agitated at the time of the race of the TZ (right before us) cuts down our test by 2 turns. They have 8 turns to be made last once pleasure for this year. Some spectators early riser and amateurs of twin-cylinders come to encourage the pilots. Laurent Termeau (n°25 Ducati 998R) deviates from the grid, his machine smokes. He will not take the departure. Red light… Green light, it left… my post office to the tower of the announcer, not easy to follow the race, the posts of time clerks of the Bowl are not completely installed and we see only the line of the stands. I am accompanied by Florence de Salves who wish to take over side presses and by Jean-Christophe Palla. We thus wait impatiently to see the head of the race. Michel Amalric widens already the gap with his prosecutors Jérémie Rasting, Jean-Yves Bonnet, Bruno Destoop and Frederic Bottoglieri (n°5 Aprilia RSV). Jean-Yves will have to return to the stand at the end of the first tower victim of a driving break-in. Frederic Bottoglieri benefits from it to follow Michel Amalric, Bruno Destoop in his wheel. At the time of the 3rd passage, Bruno passed in front of Frederic who must manage his race and his place with the classification, this vis-a-vis the wild competition of Jérémie, Patrick Lechaix (n°16 Ducati 996R) and Louis-Luc Maïsto (n°6 Ducati 1098). It is in full straight line of the stands under our eyes that Bruno charmed the place of leader with Michel with the 6th turn. It will not leave it until the passage of the flag with checkerworks. We thus find Bruno Destoop, Michel Amalric and Jérémie Rasting (which had however loupé its departure in his opinion and for which it is the first podium) on the steps of the podium of Magny-Course. We once re-examine them at the time of our traditional “podium jam” which changed, is not habit, in a Nutella podium, cheeses of the East manufactured by Cyrille Schertenleib (n°74 Aprilia RSV 1000) and shoe of Alain Marchand (Protwineur of the last years) and a watering in rule of the winner 2007 Bruno Destoop!! With the final classification, the 5 first are Bruno Destoop (161 pts), Frederic Bottoglieri (93 pts), Louis-Luc Maïsto (93 pts), Michel Amalric (90 pts) and Laurent Termeau (78 pts). | ||
| Peterr |
There is nothing like a Babelfish translation to give you an "elegant smile happy".... Actually, that's about what happened. Lots of insane laughter, some strong cheese, much merry-making watering, but a bit of a bummer that the vice-champions place was whipped out from under our noses by the other Buell, to prove a point, and hand the 2nd place in the championship to Aprilia. Yay. Never mind, the Buell's were dominant during all the season, and we had some silly teething problems that gave us three DNF's, and one sad, far-away-from-points finish at the fastest circuit on the calender with our brave little XB12R wet-weather bike. So, 4 races finished with the XBRR, and 1st or 2nd places in all. Not bad. Next season, no prisoners. I'm wrestling with a thunderstorm (not the engine...) to try and type the report for Dave, and if my anti-surge box goes "plink" one more time I shall "Manipulate it in vigorous happy fashion".... | ||
| Blake |
Congrats to Bruno and to you and Michel and your team Peter. You put together a very admirable season considering it was your first full one with the XBRR. We'll sure be cheering for you next year too. |
