AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Races at Indianapolis Milwaukee (August 29, 2011) - Tyler O'Hara and Chris Fillmore shared wins in a pair of historic AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 races presented by Harley-Davidson Insurance at Indianapolis Motor Speedway August 27 and 28, as the thundering sound of Harley-Davidson racing motorcycles returned to the famous Brickyard for the first time since the track's first year of racing in 1909.
In Saturday's first round of the double-header, held in conjunction with the Red Bull Indianapolis GP round of the FIM MotoGP World Championship, privateer racer O'Hara, running without external sponsorship, broke through for the first AMA Pro road racing win of his career in a dramatic victory over Parts Unlimited's Steve Rapp and Latus Motors' Jason DiSalvo in the first of two 10-lap contests at the Speedway.
Following a first lap crash that knocked several bikes out of the race, O'Hara, Rapp, DiSalvo, Fillmore (RMR/Bruce Rossmeyer's Daytona Racing) and Jeremy McWilliams (Harley-Davidson of Bloomington-Indiana) broke away in a five rider pack that diced for the lead until the final lap, when McWilliams, the 2010 UK XR1200 champion, tangled with Fillmore in a clash that left the championship leader on the ground and out of the race and points. O'Hara held on for a 0.048-second win over Rapp.
"It just feels really good right now," said an emotional O'Hara in the victory circle. "This is my first AMA Pro win, and it's been a long time coming."
In Sunday's second round of the double-header, Fillmore rebounded from Saturday's disappointment to take his fourth XR1200 series win of the season, leading Rapp across the Speedway's yard of bricks start/finish line by 0.169 second, with O'Hara in third 1.083 seconds behind.
"My plan going into [Race 1] was to kind of play it a little bit conservative," said Fillmore. That didn't go as planned, so I came in with a game plan of trying to throw down and pull away. It didn't happen, and those guys were right there, so we had to race it out. It was stressful, but I wasn't going to let them by."
With his pair of runner-up finishes, Rapp closed Fillmore's championship lead to 12 points going into Labor Day Weekend's season finale. O'Hara stands third ahead of Drag Specialties' Michael Barnes, who finished fourth in both races.
The AMA Pro Racing Vance & Hines XR1200 Series concludes the 2011 season September 3-4 at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ.
Indianapolis Race 1 August 27 Result:
1. Tyler O'Hara (Tyler O'Hara Racing), 10 laps
2. Steve Rapp (Parts Unlimited), +0.048
3. Jason DiSalvo (Latus Motors Racing), +0.107
4. Michael Barnes (Drag Specialties), +17.735
5. Steve Crevier (Motosports Plus), +24.430
6. Shawn Higbee (Indianapolis Southside Harley-Davidson), +24.440
7. Michael Corbino (Bruce Rossmeyer's Daytona Racing), +43.778
8. Michael Beck (J&P Cycles), +6.587 seconds, +44.008
9. Darren James (Deeley Harley-Davidson), +44.497
10. Jeremy McWilliams (Harley-Davidson of Bloomington-Indiana), +52.629
11. Cody Matechuk (Privateers Harley-Davidson), +56.110
12. Barrett Long (Longevity Racing), +56.686
13. Patrick McCord (HOG Racing/Harley Owners Group), +1:02.227
14. Chris Harmon (Vision Harley-Davidson), 1:31.886
15. Paul James (Hoban Brothers/Dark Horse Crankworks), +1:43.860
16. Jeremiah Johnson (BE-EV.com .New Roc Harley-Davidson), +1:47.605
17. Oliver Spilborghs (Trev Deeley Motorcycles), +1:52.751
18. Pete Demas (Bob Schaefer/Jim Howard/Dave Duffin), +1:52.896
19. Gene Burcham (ERMCO Electric), +1:52.936
20. Shelina Moreda (HOG Racing/Harley Owners Group), +2:15.161
21. Chris Fillmore (Bruce Rossmeyer's Daytona Racing), 9 laps
22. Kyle Wyman (Bruce Rossmeyer's Daytona Racing), DNF
23. Gerry Signorelli (Kuryakyn), DNF
24. Shane Narbonne (Suburban Motors Harley-Davidson), DNF
25. Samuel Proulx (Sherbrooke Harley-Davidson), DNF
26. John McRae (Deeley Harley-Davidson), DNF
27. Josh Chisum (Troy Lee Designs), DNF
28. Michael Morgan (Python Exhaust), DNF
29. Chase McFarland (Latus Motors Racing), DNF
30. David Estok (Black Hills Harley-Davidson), DNS
Indianapolis Race 2 August 28 Result:
1. Chris Fillmore (Bruce Rossmeyer's Daytona Racing), 10 laps
2. Steve Rapp (Parts Unlimited), +0.169
3. Tyler O'Hara (Tyler O'Hara Racing), +1.083
4. Michael Barnes (Drag Specialties), +11.567
5. Jeremy McWilliams (Harley-Davidson of Bloomington), +12.342
6. Steve Crevier (Motosports Plus), 32.746
7. Michael Corbino (Bruce Rossmeyer's Daytona Racing), +39.798
8. Michael Beck (J&P Cycles), +41.337 seconds
9. Kyle Wyman (Bruce Rossmeyer's Daytona Racing), +43.036
10. Shane Narbonne (Suburban Motors Harley-Davidson), +43.205
11. Cody Matechuk (Privateers Harley-Davidson), +47.021
12. David Estok (Black Hills Harley-Davidson), +47.163
13. Barrett Long (Longevity Racing), +47.666
14. John McRae (Deeley Harley-Davidson), +57.600
15. Chris Harmon (Vision Harley-Davidson), +59.858
16. Michael Morgan (Python Exhaust), +1:06.340
17. Patrick McCord (HOG Racing/Harley Owners Group), +1:07.297
18. Jeremiah Johnson (BE-EV.com .New Roc Harley-Davidson), +1:27.186
19. Paul James (Hoban Brothers/Dark Horse Crankworks), +1:34.512
20. Pete Demas (Bob Schaefer/Jim Howard/Dave Duffin), +1:51.563
21. Shelina Moreda (HOG Racing/Harley Owners Group), 9 laps
22. Chase McFarland (Latus Motors Racing), 8 laps
23. Gerry Signorelli (Kuryakyn), +4:09.690
24. Jason DiSalvo (Latus Motors Racing), 6 laps
25. Josh Chisum (Troy Lee Designs), +1.22.131
26. Gene Burcham (ERMCO Electric), 5 laps
27. Darren James (Deeley Harley-Davidson), 2 laps
28. Samuel Proulx (Sherbrooke Harley-Davidson), 1 lap
29. Shawn Higbee (Indianapolis Southside Harley-Davidson), DNF
30. Oliver Spilborghs (Trev Deeley Motorcycles), DNS
XR1200 Series Points Standings
1. Chris Fillmore, 199
2. Steve Rapp, 187
6. Tyler O'Hara, 135
4. Michael Barnes, 131
3. Kyle Wyman, 111
5. Michael Beck, 110
7. Michael Corbino, 107
8. Chase McFarland, 74
9. Paul James, 58
10. Michael Morgan, 52