O’Hara and Fillmore Split 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 I feel phenomenal right now; it’s been a long time coming. I've been racing pretty much my whole life, about eighteen years, and I've had a lot of upsets, led a lot of big races, and never really caught a break, and it seems like this weekend I was in the right place at the right time and caught a break there at the end.”

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. “After the crash I had on Friday, I wasn’t sure how I was going to be on the bike. That didn’t go as planned, so [for Race 2] 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 the whole time, so we just had to race it out. It was a little stressful for me, but I wasn’t going to let them by and I was going to do everything I could to keep it out front.”

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

Company Background

Harley-Davidson Motor Company produces heavyweight custom, cruiser and touring motorcycles 

and offers a complete line of Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts, accessories, riding gear and apparel, and general merchandise. For more information, visit harley-davidson.com.