From a press release issued by Buell American Motorcycles:

CICCOTTO RIDES FIREBOLT TO BUELL PRO THUNDER VICTORY

First AMA National Win for Buell Firebolt

Mike Ciccotto rode a Hal’s Performance Advantage Buell Firebolt XB9R to its first AMA National victory in the Buell Pro Thunder Series event at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway. Ciccotto, of Sebastian, Fla., overcame a bad start and hunted down series points leader Kirk McCarthy, erasing a 7.6-second deficit to pass for the lead on lap 13 of the 17-lap race. Ciccotto went on to win by 0.712 seconds.


“That Buell Firebolt was just awesome today,” said Ciccotto after the race. “After I passed Kirk, I saw him coming right back at me and I had to put my head down. When I saw the white flag, I knew I had to have a good last lap. I had some pretty good slides. It was a fun race.”

McCarthy held on to finish second aboard a Ducati 748, with Ducati rider Thomas Montano of Berkeley, Calif. third 6.2 seconds behind the winner. Pole winner Vincent Haskovec of Lake Elsinore, Calif. was a distant fourth on another Ducati.

Ciccotto, who had qualified third for the event, wheelied off the start and entered the first turn behind McCarthy and Tilly Harley-Davidson/Buell rider Tripp Nobles, who took the early lead. McCarthy passed Nobles on the first lap, and Nobles crashed out of second place on lap four. At that point Ciccotto was more than seven seconds behind McCarthy, but the Buell Firebolt rider began reeling the Australian in and was on his tail by lap 10. Ciccotto passed for the lead in Turn 11 on lap 13 and stormed on for the win.

With his second-place finish in this final event of the season, McCarthy secured the Buell Pro Thunder Series championship with 184 points. Ciccotto finishes second in points with 158.

To learn more about Buell Motorcycles, visit your local Buell dealer today and experience the pure streetfighter attitude, style, and performance only found on board a Buell. Call 1-800-4909-9635 for the Buell dealer nearest you. Or pull into www.buell.com.



From a press release issued by Austin Bleu Bayou Ducati:

PICOTTE COMPETITIVE AT LAGUNA SECA

Pascal Picotte and the Austin/Bleu Bayou Ducati team earned sixth place in the Laguna Seca AMA Superbike race, with Pascal and fellow Canadian Miguel DuHamel dueling for fifth place until the checkered flag. The Honda rider took the spot by less than a bike length in a very competitive battle, but Picotte and the Texas-based Ducati team made significant progress this weekend in their aim to win AMA Superbike races.

Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom won the event after a hectic start in which the Austin/Bleu Bayou team was not allowed to get the team to the pit wall until just five minutes before the race. Over 98,000 fans attended the combined AMA/World Superbike weekend in perfect Monterey weather over three days.

“It was a great finish for us,” Pascal said. “We’re still fifth in the championship. As a team, we’re definitely moving forward and the Austin/Bleu Bayou team worked really well this weekend. The bike ran great, everything went smoothly and we have a winning atmosphere here.”

Pascal felt this race was the most competitive for the ambitious Austin/Bleu Bayou Ducati program, started after Daytona this season. “The last few races, we have still been learning the machine and that definitely hurt our finishes. This weekend, we fixed the little problems that have been holding us back and finally got the chance to show what we can do. STM helped us get out clutch working great and Michelin gave us really good tires this weekend. The only downside was that we didn’t get much track time.” In fact, Pascal and the Austin/Bleu Bayou team, who were not entered in the World Superbike race, had two hours less on the circuit than all the riders that finished in front of them.

“Miguel went away from me at one point when I got a bad break in traffic, but I caught him up at the end. Everyone else had three to five days testing here before the season started, so I’m pleased with where we finished. Now let’s go to Mid-Ohio and keep moving forward.”

The Austin/Bleu Bayou team will return to action at Mid-Ohio in two weeks on July 26-28 for an AMA Superbike doubleheader.