From a press release issued by HMC Milwaukee Ducati:

HMC DUCATI MILWAUKEE RACING BIT BY ELECTRONIC GREMLINS

HMC Ducati Milwaukee Racing – June 29, 2004

HMC Ducati Milwaukee Racing, located at www.hmcracing.com, experienced the first bad break of the season, which derailed the team’s outstanding results of late.

The Ducati Motor Holding (DMH) factory-backed Formula Xtreme 749R Dark racer found the mark right off the transporter by running an outstanding 1:39.576 in practice. Radar guns stopped Doug Chandler at 173mph and change; good enough for second quickest in class.

“We are showing gains with our program week in and week out, and then the electronic gremlins bite us.” stated Mitch Hansen, team owner. “When we qualified on Friday the bike wasn’t 100%; even so, Doug placed the race bike on the front row in third position. During the race the bike wouldn’t pull. We were down 3,000 revs so Doug pulled it in. There wasn’t any reason for us to stay out.”

Electronic bugs wrecked havoc on the team the entire weekend. After the race the team packed up the ECU (computer brains), wiring harness, and sensors and sent them off to Ducati for analysis.

“We have not had time to workout all the bugs,” Hansen commented. “We expect that we will be ready for our next race at Laguna Seca and give them a run for their money.”

Look for Doug Chandler signing autographs at the HMC Ducati Milwaukee Racing transporter at Laguna Seca. Fans can win a Doug Chandler t-shirt by registering at www.hmcracing.com

More, from a press release issued by Buell:

BARNES PUTS BUELL SIXTH AT BRAINERD AMA FORMULA XTREME

Kosco Buell Rider Cracks Top-Ten in Season Points Despite Missing First Two Rounds



BRAINERD, Minn. (June 26, 2004) – Kosco Buell/Innovative Motorcycle Research rider Michael Barnes had his best result of the season with a sixth-place finish aboard his Buell Firebolt at the Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme race during the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship Series at Brainerd International Raceway. The strong showing moved him into ninth in points.

Barnes qualified ninth for the event and despite a bad start in the 13-lap race, moved up steadily on the high-speed, three-mile-long road course as others faltered.

“We’ve got good momentum right now,” said Kosco Buell race manager Rich Cronrath. “We’ve finally got a good baseline and we’ve made some real progress. Consistency is the key and our best finishes are ahead of us.”

Hal’s Performance Advantage Buell rider Mike Ciccotto had a disappointing weekend at Brainerd. Mike qualified 12th due to some fuel injection mapping issues, but had the bike dialed in for the race. He got a fantastic start, and had moved up to fifth place by lap four, but a cracked oil fitting caused a leak that made Mike pull off for a DNF. The race was won by American Honda factory rider Miguel Duhamel, who leads the series after seven rounds with 250 points. Erion Honda rider Jake Zemke is second with 235 points. With his steady performance at Brainerd, Barnes is now ninth with 111 points.

“It’s great to see the Kosco team crack the top-ten in overall points, especially since they didn’t even compete in the first two rounds,” said Erik Buell, chairman and chief technical officer at Buell Motorcycle Company. “Both the Hal’s and Kosco dealer teams are racing hard in a very competitive national class, and they have gained the respect of all their competitors.”

AMA Formula Xtreme is a class open to highly-modified motorcycles with 600cc four-cylinder engines or larger-displacement V-Twin engines. The next stop on the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship schedule is July 9-11 at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey, Calif.

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. For the Buell dealer nearest you, pull into www.buell.com