Forums > Motorcycle Discussion > Cooper/Parriott finished 5th & 6th in Daytona 200!!!

It was excellent racing.  I was glad to be there in person.  Great job guys!  Kevin

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SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES .. . . THEY ARE NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING, BUT THEY STILL BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN YOU PUSH THEM DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS.

Josh Hayes (the winner) was disqualified and now our boys are 5th and 6th.  We made top 5, now that's incredible.  Also another Euro brand, a Ducati made 3rd. 

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Good job guys!

That is so cool.  I heard the Honda guy got disqualified during the post-race bike inspection.  He had an illegal cam.  Heard it was much lighter, and more heat-resistant, resulting in quicker revs.  I feel a little bad for him though.  He ran a great race.  But it is much better for our BMW riders.  Kevin

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SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES .. . . THEY ARE NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING, BUT THEY STILL BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN YOU PUSH THEM DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS.

It was an illegally polished crankshaft. It sucks for him (Josh Hayes) as he is a great rider and deserved the win. The work that was done was illegal, but most likely had very little effect on ridability or horsepower, and is hard to perceive as a performance advantage. Some of the AMA rules are odd, this one especially as the class allows $10k forks and such, so if they are just trying to keep it cheaper for the privateers then there are better ways to do it.

Way ta go guys !!!  Man, it was a great time, from the great party ansd swag, to the 200; it was the best of times!!! 

A Note from Brian Parriott from the San Jose BMW site

This was the 67th running of the Daytona 200, but my first attempt. This was also the first attempt in nearly 30 years for a BMW, the all new BMW HP2 Sport ran by the official German factory in Munich. The team consisted of 30 German technicans and five Americans from last years San Jose BMW team. There were also three other BMW riders who took the green flag, Richard Cooper, Rico Penzkoffer and Nate Kern. I qualified 33rd amongst 69 participants putting me on the ninth row of the starting grid. The race was broadcast live on Speed channel March 8th at 10:30 am pst. At the start, I made a great hole-shot and quickly moved into the top thirty crossing the first timing loop on the first lap in 26th position. The pack entered turn three and German rider, Penzkoffer, made a mistake and crashed into another rider ending his race. I told myself not to do that. A few turns later I entered turn number seven and made my own mistake. As I was rolling through the 90 mph turn seven the rear tire just lost traction and threw me right over the bars flat on my back. I slid down the track trying to wave my arms to signal to the others not to run me over. As I came to a stop I quickly realized I was not hurt and ran as fast as I could to see if the bike too was OK. The engine was still running and everything looked sweet, so I picked it up and I was off, though dead last.

I took the next few turns easy to see if the engine and chassis were both good and by the time I saw the start/finish line I was back to full speed. With 69 laps to complete I knew there was still a chance to have a decent finish. I put my head down and just started rippin' off quick laps. My lap timer wasn't working so I had no idea how my times were, but I didn't even care. I found out after the race that most of my laps were under my qualifying time so that was cool. Brett was showing me my progress on the Pit Board and I was soon inside the top 40. At that moment the safety car was sent out to aid a fallen duo in the turn 4 area.

This was an opportunity for me to take back some very important distance to the lead riders. After the restart I was working at least 4 to 5 riders per lap and into the top 25 before the first of two pit stops. On lap 23 I came down pit road for a rear tire and a full fuel load. 12 seconds later, not even enough time to get a drink, I was back out on the track and charging through the field. Before the second stop on lap 46 I got it into the top 15. I couldn't believe my pit board signals. I thought that Brett was on something, there was no way I could have been doing this good after a crash like that. But it kept me motivated to not give up. With 10 laps to go I was into the top ten and each lap following that I made up three more positions and finished in seventh right behind Richard Cooper. For BMW to have 2 bikes inside the top ten when they were so behind with horsepower (128hp from as much as 150hp in the top teams) was utterly unbelievable.

Everyone on the German team was excited beyond their wildest dreams. Even Berthold Hauser, BMW's roadrace manager, told us that he would have been happy with a top 20 result. Nah, how 'bout top ten!!!!

With this strong finish BMW Germany has asked me to join the German team and come to Europe to race in the FIM World Championship Endurance series. I am so happy to be a part of this historical day for BMW and I will gladly take the invitation to contest the World Championships. I would like to thank my sponsors, BMW AG, Berti, Thomas, Rainer, Andy, Helmut & Toby and all the staff from Germany, Charlie Wagner at MERSOLEIL wines, Guy Parriott at Parriott Motors, Chris, Jeff, Willy, Brett & Tim at San Jose BMW, Arai helmets, WACO leathers & most of all my wife Rosa for fully supporting my racing and my son Alex. Thank you all for being behind me 100%, I couldn't do it without you. BP46 Brian

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Question, does anybody remember the best finish by Harley Davidson when they tried to compete in the series?  My memory tell me the best they could do in the 3 or 4 years they competed was a 10th place.  Also what happened to the Buell's did they finish this year?  It's unbelievable that BMW could get a 5th and 6th the first time out.  I made the point of telling all my harley buddies at work about the results.