DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 5, 2018) – Lloyd Brothers Motorsports has announced it will field three-time AFT race winner Stevie Bonsey aboard a liquid-cooled Ducati Testastretta 821 in select American Flat Track events this season.
The Dillard Family Racing/Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati squad will be gunning for victory in a full ten races in 2018, starting with the next event on the calendar – this weekend’s Harley-Davidson Atlanta Short Track presented by Hellbender Harley-Davidson at Dixie Speedway on April 7.
The team will then head to the Arizona Mile, the Sacramento Mile, both Springfield Miles, the Red Mile, and OKC Mile, the Lima Half-Mile, the Minnesota Mile, and the season-ending Meadowlands Mile.
“We are excited to welcome another manufacturer to American Flat Track, in this break-out season,” said Michael Lock, CEO of American Flat Track. “Ducati boasts a great racing heritage in MotoGP and World Superbike, and the Lloyd Brothers team know their way around the unique technology and engineering of this famous Italian brand better than anyone in the AFT paddock. Flat Track fans all across the world have another great reason to follow the 2018 season.”
Lloyd Brothers Motorsports and Ducati made history together in 2010 by snapping Harley-Davidson’s near two-decade run of uninterrupted dominance at the series’ Miles with a victory at the Arizona Mile. The expanded 2018 effort with Bonsey at the controls is a strong indication of their seriousness to add to that maiden and – to date – sole American Flat Track victory.
Bonsey, a former Grand Prix motorcycle racer who logged four top-ten 125cc finishes one decade ago, adds a unique story of his own to the equation.
He was one of the hottest riders on the AFT circuit in 2016 before a massive crash resulted in a broken neck, bringing his season to a premature end. A planned comeback in 2017 was largely derailed by an offseason ACL tear and lingering numbness as result of his C1 cervical spine fracture.
Bonsey finally returned to the fray in last year’s season finale. There he promptly battled up front, ultimately finishing fourth just 0.041 seconds off the podium.
“I feel very privileged to get a chance to ride for Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati for the 2018 season,” Bonsey said. “It’s going to be a challenging season with a class full of Indians, but I truly believe we have a bike and a team more than capable of going to the front. I’m ready to grab the bull by the horns.”
Team co-owner David Lloyd said, “We are very happy to have Ducati involved with both our team and the AFT series. Since 2010, we have been racing air-cooled Ducati two-valve engines and have managed one Main Event win and three second-place finishes despite racing the Ducati no more than six times a season.
“Last year we put together two proof-of-concept race bikes built around the liquid-cooled, four-valve, Testastretta 11° engine,” Lloyd added. “The bike showed very well the few times it was on track. And with our latest revisions we are excited and thankful to have sponsorship to be able to race our new Ducati Testastretta 821 in 10 races in 2018 with one of the most talented riders in the series, Stevie Bonsey.”
“We knew that this combination of team, rider and bike would give the Ducati brand an opportunity to contend with the best in the field in the fastest-growing motorcycle sport in the U.S.,” said Jason Chinnock, CEO of Ducati North America. “We’ve given our Ducati fans a team to cheer on, and we’re excited to see progress in action as the season develops.”
Next Up:
The American Flat Track paddock will next head up I-65 for the Harley-Davidson Atlanta Short Track presented by Hellbender Harley-Davidson this Saturday, April 7 in Woodstock, Ga., for Round 2 of the 2018 season. Live coverage can be viewed on FansChoice.tv beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET with Opening Ceremonies scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET. NBCSN’s coverage of the Atlanta Short Track will premiere on April 15 at 5:30pm ET. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at atlanta-short-track.
About Lloyd Brothers Motorsports:
Lloyd Brothers Motorsports (LBM) is a professional motorcycle race team co-owned by David and Michael Lloyd that’s been active in professional motorcycle racing for 34 years. Based out of Atlanta, Ga., LBM has a long and successful history of European brand podiums. Currently, LBM is the top Ducati development team in American Flat Track. For 2018 LBM is proud and honored to be supported by the following long time sponsors: Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati is sponsored by Dillard Family Racing, Ducati, Daniel Kalal, Motion Pro, DucShop, Fuller Moto, M4 Exhaust, Desmo Pro, Ducati.net, Ohlins, GMD ATL, Spectro performance lubricants, Arts Radiator, Diamond Chain, Mr. Sign, Speed Cell, Pure Attitude, XT Racing, Tovella CNC, Factory Pro, Goodridge, 6D, Alpinestars, Drew Masa, EKS brand, Asterik, and Josh Chisum Racing.
How to Watch:
NBCSN and FansChoice.tv are the official homes for coverage of American Flat Track. For the 2018 season, NBCSN’s coverage of AFT moves to highly-coveted, weekend afternoon programming slots within two weeks of each event. The complete schedule for AFT on NBCSN can be viewed at http://www.americanflattrack.com/events-nbcsn/. FansChoice.tv remains a cornerstone of AFT’s digital strategy, providing live streaming coverage of every event on AFT’s live page while previous events and exclusive features are available on AFT’s VOD page.
About American Flat Track:
American Flat Track is the world’s premier dirt track motorcycle racing series and one of the longest-running championships in the history of motorsports. Sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing in Daytona Beach, Fla., the series is highly regarded as the most competitive form of dirt track motorcycle racing on the globe. For more information on American Flat Track, please visit http://www.americanflattrack.com, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, check us out on Instagram, live stream the events at FansChoice.tv and catch all the American Flat Track racing action on NBCSN.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati North America:
Ducati joins Stevie Bonsey and Lloyd Brothers Racing in the American Flat Track Grand National Series 2018
Ducati & Lloyd Brothers tap former GP racer Stevie Bonsey
Bonsey will be riding a Ducati powered Monster 821
Team, Rider and Motorcycle will debut April 7 in Woodstock, GA
Mountain View (California), April 5, 2018 – Ducati North America partners with The Dillard Family Racing / Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team to back former Grand Prix motorcycle racer Stevie Bonsey for ten rounds of the American Flat Track (AFT) championship. First race of their season will start with the Atlanta Short Track on Saturday, April 7 in Woodstock, GA at the Dixie Raceway.
Stevie Bonsey, one of the fiercest riders on the AFT circuit mounts his official comeback after a serious crash left the Salinas, CA native with a broken neck in 2016. Bonsey made an appearance at last year’s finale promptly battling up front and finishing just 0.041 seconds off the podium.
The bike is built around Ducati’s twin-cylinder four-valve liquid-cooled Testastretta 11° Monster 821 engine specifically set up for American Flat Track racing by the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team and the support from Ducati and sponsorship from long-standing Ducati collector Jim Dillard.
Lloyd Brothers Motorsports has a history running Ducati-powered machines. History was made together in 2010 by snapping Harley-Davidson’s nearly two-decade winning streak with a victory at the Arizona Mile as a privateer effort. The expanded 2018 program with Bonsey at the controls shows a seriousness of winning intentions by all involved.
“I feel privileged to get a chance to ride of Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati for the 2018 season, it’s going to be a challenging season with a class full of so much talent, but I truly believe we have a bike and a team more than capable of going out front.” Says Bonsey
Team co-owner David Lloyd said “We are very happy to have Ducati involved with both our team and the AFT series. Since 2010, we have been racing air-cooled Ducati two-valved engines and have managed a Main event win and podiums; we have now put together two proof–of–concept liquid cooled four-valve engine race bikes that have shown very well the few times on track. With our latest revisions, we are excited and thankful to have sponsorship to be able to race our Ducati Monster 821-powered machine this season with one of the most talented racers, Stevie Bonsey”
“We knew that this combination of Team, Rider and Bike would give the Ducati brand an opportunity to contend with the top in the field in the fastest growing motorcycle sport in the US. We’ve given our Ducati fans a team to cheer on and we’re excited to see progress in action as the season develops”, said Ducati North America CEO, Jason Chinnock.
About Lloyd Brothers Motorsports:
Lloyd Brothers Motorsports (LBM) is a professional motorcycle race team, co-owned by David and Michael Lloyd which has been active in professional motorcycle racing for 34 years. Based out of Atlanta, LBM has a long and successful history of European brand podiums. Currently, LBM is the top Ducati development team in American Flat Track. For 2018 LBM is proud and honored to be supported by the following long time sponsors:
Dillard Family Racing, Ducati, Daniel Kalal, Motion Pro, DucShop, Fuller Moto, M4 Exhaust, Desmo Pro, Ducati.net, Ohlins, GMD ATL, Spectro performance lubricants, Arts Radiator, Diamond Chain, Mr. Sign, Speed Cell, Pure Attitude, XT Racing, Tovella CNC, Factory Pro, Goodridge, 6D, Alpinestars, Drew Masa, EKS brand, Asterik, and Josh Chisum Racing.
About Ducati:
Additional information about Ducati, including participating dealers and availability can be found at www.ducati.com.