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EIGHT HOURS, THREE PODIUMS & ONE CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE
Touring Sport Ducshop Ducati won their third consecutive Moto-GT2 Championship at the season finale AMA Pro SunTrust 8-hour endurance race at Daytona International Speedway yesterday on the # 77 Ducati PS1000LE.
The team’s other PS1000LE (#38) finished third in the class, while its Ducati 848 scored third in the Moto-GT1 class.
The team is particularly proud of the fact that it was the only Moto-GT1 privateer effort to reach the podium. Running against two of the strongest factory-backed endurance teams in the nation, Westby Racing and RoadracingWorld Suzuki, the Ducshop team boasted flawless pitstops and was as high as second place for part of the race.
Typically, the 8-hour race didn’t go to plan. The Ducshop team is considering petitioning to have the event changed to a seven-hour race because every year they suffer a calamity in the final hour.
This year’s happened on the famed Daytona embankment. Team strategy dictated the # 38 bike was to win the race while the # 77 machine was to be consistent and smooth enough to claim the championship, but after leading the class for seven hours #38 quit on the straight. Rider Brian Stokes, who had just taken the seat for the final stint, pushed the dead bike back to the pits. After 15 minutes of diagnosis, crew chief Mark Sutton replaced a faulty ECU with a Microtec ECU and sent them back onto the track, albeit in third position. Like last year, he’d saved the day, only this time without burning his fingers*.
Meanwhile the championship-leading #77 bike had taken over the lead, where it stayed until the checkered flag.
All nine riders did something to cause their team a 20-second penalty. Team owner Frank Shockley’s transgression brought out the entire team to help the marshal count down the 20-second drive-through penalty, and after his stint the crew forced him to do 20 pushups in his riding gear. Shockley was also awarded the meatball flag when the headlight died during his stint. The problem was quickly remedied with a flashlight and an entire roll of duct tape.
The team would like to thank the crew and riders (listed) who supported them though the eight hours along with the sponsors whose support helped them through the season. They would like to extend a special thank you to Ducati, who supplied their factory rider, Dario Marchetti, for the race.
*In 2007 Sutton also saved the race and championship in the last lap when he successfully changed the clutch on an unscheduled pitstop, earning him the name Hot Fingers. He’s now aptly named Miracle Mark.
Ducshop proudly builds and maintains the PS1000LE engine. The team is also sponsored by Touring Sport Ducati, gBehavior, EZ- Glide 350, Öhlins USA, Speedy Moto, Robby Byrd, USDESMO, Swatt Motorcycle, JVE Limited and Pilot Leathers and Operation Home Front.
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Race info
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Results
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Circuit
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State
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Date
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#77 Bike
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#38 Bike
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Daytona Int. Speedway
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Daytona Beach, FL
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March 6
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2nd
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DNR
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Road Atlanta
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Braselton, GA
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April 4
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1st
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5th
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Barber Motorsports Park
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Birmingham, AL
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May 2
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2nd
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DNF
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Road America
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Elkhart Lake, WI
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June 6
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1st
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DNR
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Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
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Lexington, OH
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July 18
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2nd
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1st
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Heartland Park Topeka
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Topeka, KS
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Aug 1
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1st
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DNR
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Virginia Int. Raceway
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Alton, VA
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Aug 15
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1st
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DNR
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New Jersey Motorsports Park
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Millville, NJ
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Sept. 5
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DNF
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4th
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Daytona Int. Speedway
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Daytona Beach, FL
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Oct. 17
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1st
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3rd
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- DNR = Did not race
- DNF = Did not finish
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