O’Hara Wins AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Race at Mi

[totalmotorcycle]

O’Hara Wins @AMA Pro @Vance&Hines @Harley-Davidson Race at Mid-Ohio
Back-and-Forth Five-Rider Battle Settled on Final Lap

MILWAUKEE (July 21, 2014) – Tyler O’Hara (Josh Chisum Racing/Bartels’ H-D) won a thrilling five-rider battle to earn his second victory of the season in the AMA Pro Racing Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson series race Sunday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

O’Hara, who last prevailed at the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in March, started in the second spot on the grid after persistent rain on Saturday forced all on-track action to be postponed to Sunday, resulting in a shortened schedule and eliminating qualifying sessions. As a result, grid positions were determined by season points, putting Danny Eslick (Ruthless Racing/Trev Deeley Motorcycles), O’Hara and Benny Carlson (Suburban Motors H-D/Suburban Speed) on the front row, with defending champion Steve Rapp (Suburban Motors H-D/ Aerostar Global) starting in the sixth position.

At the drop of the green, O’Hara, Eslick, Carlson, Rapp and Kyle Wyman (KWR/Millennium Technologies) jumped from the front of the 17-rider field to a commanding lead over the pack, but there was never much daylight between them as they traded the lead multiple times throughout the 11-lap contest.

Each rider led at least one trip around the scenic 2.4-mile course, but the final order wasn’t settled until the final lap when O’Hara forced his way around Carlson and Eslick elbowed his way past Rapp to take second place, causing the veteran champ to sit up and fall to the back of the lead pack. Carlson salvaged the third step of podium followed by Wyman and Rapp.

“[The win] feels really good,” O'Hara said. “We’ve been off the box the last three races in a row. This weekend was a turning point for me. Every weekend from here on out we’re battling for every point. We have three races left and I expect nothing less than to just battle every weekend.”

The next round of the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley Davidson series will be a doubleheader August 8-10 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the FIM Red Bull Indianapolis GP.

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Race Results:

1. Tyler O’Hara (Josh Chisum Racing/Bartels’ H-D), 11 laps
2. Danny Eslick (Ruthless Racing/Trev Deeley Motorcycles), +0.173 second
3. Benjamin Carlson (Suburban Motors H-D/Suburban Speed), +0.477 second
4. Kyle Wyman (KWR/Millennium Technologies), +0.551 second
5. Steve Rapp (Suburban Motors H-D/ Aerostar Global), +1.143 seconds
6. Ryan Kerr (Thunder Roads Magazine), +19.229 seconds
7. Gage McAllister (Folsom H-D), +27.825 seconds
8. Nicholas Hansen (Aerostar Global/Suburban Motors H-D), +28.988 seconds
9. Hayden Schultz (Chili Pepper Racing/H-D of Bloomington), +30.033 seconds
10. Josh Chisum (Josh Chisum Racing/Bartels’ H-D), +35.547 seconds
11. Darren James (Trev Deeley Motorcycles), +41.143 seconds
12. David Estok (Thrashed Bike Racing/Arrow Aviation), +49.961
13. Joe Rozynski (Sirius XM/Sound-Waves), +1:12.208
14. Sam Rozynski (Sound-Waves.com/Sirius XM), +1:12.264
15. Paul James (Hoban Cycle/Spectro Oils), 10 laps
16. Shelina Moreda (Chili Pepper Racing), +10.155 seconds
17. Jerrett Martin (CPL Systems/Aggressive Insurance), 8 laps


AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series Points

1. Eslick, 120
2. O’Hara, 114
3. Carlson, 97
4. McAllister, 84
5. Rapp, 73
6. K. Wyman, 69
7. Hansen, 60
8. Kerr, 55
9. Schultz, 53
10. Chisum, 50