Two weeks have passed since our epic Daytona adventure, and I'm still smiling. Everyone made it home safely, and last week we displayed our Buell 1125R in a bike show near Appleton, Wisconsin. I met Mike and Dana in Chicago to transfer the bike back up to Hoban Brothers. We're all still charged up over a great finish in the Daytona 200.

Now the sponsorship hunt continues as we gear up to take on the new challenge of building a Harley-Davidson XR1200 into a race bike with the Vance & Hines kit in anticipation of running in the new AMA Pro XR1200 spec class. We also want to run the Buell in some future Daytona SportBike events and maybe some additional endurance races.

Here's the post Daytona press release...

JAMES GANG/HOBAN BROTHERS FINISHES 16th IN DAYTONA 200; ANNOUNCES INTENT TO ENTER NEW VANCE & HINES XR1200 CLASS

Waukesha, Wisc. - Following a solid 16th place performance in the 69th running of the Daytona 200, James Gang/Hoban Brothers Racing has announced plans to enter the new AMA Pro Racing Vance & Hines XR1200 class. The team intends to continue campaigning Buell 1125R motorcycles in select AMA Pro Daytona SportBike rounds this season and is searching for additional sponsorship to help the team develop and race Harley-Davidson XR1200s.

"It was truly a dream come true to finish in the top 20 of the Daytona 200," said rider and team co-owner Paul James. "As a bonus, our team helped Shawn Higbee build his Buell 1125R and crew for him during his 8th place run."

AMA Pro Racing's recently announced Vance & Hines XR1200 spec class will provide a new challenge for James Gang/Hoban Brothers Racing.

"We have some experience running 883 Sportsters back in the days of the AMA Harley-Davidson Twin Sports class," said team general manager and co-owner John Dahmer. "And we're excited to put a competitive program together for the new XR1200 spec class."

James Gang/Hoban Brothers is a national championship winning race team with three AMA Pro podium finishes aboard Buell 1125Rs, including a class win at Road America in the recently retired Moto-GT endurance series, and a 16th place finish in this year's 69th running of the Daytona 200.

For more information on James Gang/Hoban Brothers Racing, go to: www.jghbracing.com or follow team updates at: www.twitter.com/jamesgangracing

James Gang/Hoban Brothers sponsors include: H-D of Appleton, Darkhorse Crankworks, Kymco USA, SHIFT Racing, Spectro Oils, Arai, Regina USA, Erik Buell Racing, Vortex and Spyder Leatherworks.

When I first told my wife I wanted to try motorcycle roadracing, she gave me the encouragement give it a shot. While I don't believe she thought I'd still be racing motorcycles 16 years later, she has always supported me and my dreams.

I remember making a quick side trip to Daytona International Speedway with her while visiting my parents for Christmas. We stood there looking out on the legendary banking and I told her I wanted to race there someday. On those very high banks.

I got my first chance to race at Daytona in the AHRMA vintage series. It was also my first race weekend on a Buell, a tube framed M2 that fit into their modern twins classes. My old friend John Sandberg served as my crew and we met Karl Kegel as the only other Buell racer in the paddock. Unfortunately, my bike holed a piston in the first practice session and I never got to race. Daytona dream demolished.

And worse, a friend of mine from home was seriously injured in a racing accident that weekend. We visited him at Halifax Hospital and it made me think long and hard about the dangers of roadracing.

Still, I couldn't shake the dream. To race at Daytona. Wouldn't that be cool.

I finally got my chance through Championship Cup Series and the Formula USA/ASRA series. Along the way, I met a very special friend who asked if he could help me.

I had met Mike Kirkpatrick at a Buell track day and bumped into him again at Daytona. We were both there watching the Supercross races. He asked again about helping me. And then he just showed up at a race weekend, rolled up his sleeves and dug in.

With Mike's help, my bikes became better prepared, lighter, faster and more dependable. My results improved. And we won a lot of club races. We found endurance racing to be even more fun. Truly a team effort, Mike became an even bigger part of the equation. And the racing seemed to suit my methodical riding style.

The Daytona 200 was a dream for both of us. It's a race weekend I will never forget. I'll write more about the race later, but suffice to say that we, as a team, enjoyed every moment. 16th place in the record books. Good strategy, near flawless pit stops, and consistent riding. We did it.

Thank you Amy. Thank you Mike. And thanks to John D., Alex, Zach, John B., J., Dana and Stephanie. Dream achieved!

Just thinking about racing in the 69th running of the legendary Daytona 200 gives me butterflies in my stomach. Big, hairy, butterflies.

Daytona is a special place. So full of history. So fast. So dangerous. Add the high banks. The slippery infield. The simple, yet tricky turns. The bumps. The draft. Did I mention the flat out speed?

But that's just Daytona. This is the 200! The longest, most historic, most prestigious motorcycle race in the U.S. Against some of the best riders in country. Many of them top pros, some with world championship experience. Talk about intimidating.

But I have a great team behind me. And that gives me confidence. These guys have Daytona experience. They have crewed for Walt Sipp, giving Buell its first finish in the 200. And for Shawn Higbee, giving Buell its best finish, with a 5th last season. The bike is well prepped. It's faster and lighter than it was last season.

And so am I. Well, I'm lighter at least. 10 weeks of hard training has left me 15lbs lighter and no doubt stronger. Will I be faster too? I think so. I need to be. I have to be. I will be.

Will I be fast enough? Will I avoid the common mistakes and pitfalls of Daytona? Will I make the right decisions?

I'll have to draw on all my years of racing experience and every lap I've made around Daytona to make sure I will.

And I can't wait.

Well, my Buells aren't getting any younger. And neither am I. So...let's race!

With the demise of the Moto-GT series we have decided to move up to the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike class and take on the challenge of the Daytona 200. It's the most historic and prestigious race in the U.S. and one I've always dreamed of competing in. So, game on!

Read on for the press release and some media clips from last season as well as our Daytona 200 announcement.

JAMES GANG/HOBAN BROTHERS ENTERS BUELL IN DAYTONA 200

Waukesha, Wisc. - James Gang/Hoban Brothers Racing has entered a Buell 1125R in the 69th running of the Daytona 200, held under the lights of Daytona International Speedway on the evening of Friday, March 5. The Daytona 200 is the season opener for AMA Pro Racing's Daytona Sportbike class as well as its longest race with pit stops, fuel fills and tire changes.

James Gang/Hoban Brothers is an experienced endurance racing team with three podium finishes aboard Buell 1125Rs last season, including a class win at Road America, in AMA Pro Racing's now discontinued Moto-GT endurance series.

"Competing in the Daytona 200 has always been a dream of mine and I'm grateful for this opportunity," said rider and team co-owner Paul James. "And all of us on the team are die-hard Buell fans, so we're excited to put a Buell in the field."

For more information on James Gang/Hoban Brothers Racing, go to: www.jghbracing.com or follow team updates at: www.twitter.com/jamesgangracing

James Gang/Hoban Brothers sponsors include: H-D/Buell of Appleton, Darkhorse Crankworks, Kymco USA, SHIFT Racing, Spectro Oils, Arai, Regina USA, Vortex and Spyder Leatherworks.

http://www.motorcycle.com/events/mo-goes-ama-roadracing-88683.html

http://www.motorcycle.com/events/mo-goes-ama-roadracing-part-2-89127.html

http://www.theriderfiles.com/?p=2402&cpage=1

http://shiftracing.com/us/?id=13134

http://cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2010/01/28/james-set-for-daytona-200

http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=39246

http://www.roadracerx.com/news/james-ganghoban-brothers-enter-daytona-200/

http://www.2wf.com/content/view/3223/2/

This was the 4th annual 8 Hours at Daytona endurance race. We've competed in each one of them. And each one of the races was a battle. A struggle. A fight. The unexpected happens. The team is faced with adversity. Crashes. Fires. Broken and battered bikes, crew and riders. But in the end, our team has always prevailed. No matter what, we've always been running at the end and finished the race.

The first two years we finished on the podium. The last two, we finished running for pride. But we finished. And that means a lot.

This year we came to the 8 Hours at Daytona facing our stiffest competition yet. AMA Pro Superbike stand out Josh Hayes joined the very fast Westby Racing Team. And AMA Pro Daytona SportBike teammates Martin Cardenas and Jason DiSalvo were on board with the wild card (and defending race winner) M4 Suzuki team. Yikes. These guys are top pros. Paid guns. Fast.

But we had our own wild card. We had AMA Pro Superbike regular and all-around great guy Shawn Higbee on our team. Shawn rode with us to a podium finish at NJMP and he would be our anchor rider for the 8 Hour.

We worked on our set up and got ourselves up to speed during the ASRA 2-hour Team Challenge on Friday. We found a set up that worked for all three riders, and we finished 3rd in the ASRA GTO class. Not bad for pitting several times to make adjustments. But the big show was about to start.

That night we had two hours of Moto-GT practice. Shawn set the quick time early. And it held up for most of the session, until Jeff and I took over riding and the other teams worked their way up to speed. We qualified 3rd, behind Hayes and Cardenas. Not bad. Then it rained heavily as a cold front pushed through and washed out the rest of practice. Too bad. We could have used more time.

We ended the night with a pizza party in the RV.

Saturday morning Jeff and I did a quick warm up and gearing check. The crew got everything ready and before long it was go time. Shawn started the race and we kept him on the bike after the first pit stop for a double stint. He was battling for 3rd place throughout his stint, often times outbraking fellow pro rider and former Buell GEICO team rider Michael Barnes going into T1.

Then the first of our problems surfaced. Shawn radioed in that the rear wheel bearing had failed. He came back in the crash truck with a severely damaged rear wheel and sprocket. We replaced the rear wheel and I went out for my first stint. All was not lost. We had slipped back in the order, but after Jeff and I finished our stints we were clawing our way back up. Shawn went back out started gaining big chunks of time back. At the end of his stint, however, he came in with a smoking engine. He said it had just lost power and was on the verge of a failure.

We assessed the situation grimly and then Mike spoke up. "We're not going to go out like this. Let's change the engine and finish the race." Everyone agreed, we'd swap for a motor we'd run all season. The crew jumped to the task and within an incredible 1.5 hours, the bike was ready to go. I took it out and we were back in the fight.

We were so far back at this point, it was really an excercise in pride. However, there was one last meaningful detail. If we could finish 70% of the laps of the leader, we'd score our finishing points. And because the two teams ahead of us in the championship standings were parked and out of the race, we would leapfrog them to 2nd in the championship. Trouble was, we were right on the edge of making the cutoff. We pushed hard and for awhile it looked good.

In fact, we would have just made it, except on my last stint I felt the left footpeg getting slippery and then noticed the engine temp start to skyrocket. The bike was leaking water and overheating. We had to stop and diagnose the leak and get it back on track. We lost several more laps. But we got back out and took the checkered flag with Jeff on board.

In the end, we missed the 70% cutoff by 4 laps. 8 minutes of time during the course of an 8 hour race. Ouch. But we fought and never quit. And we finished the race.

We finished the AMA Pro Moto-GT series 4th in the season championship with two 3rds (Mid-Ohio and NJMP) and a win at Road America. We learned a lot. Won our first AMA Pro race. And had a lot of fun.

Thanks all for your support! We couldn't have done it without you...