HINES CAPTURES CHAMPIONSHIP FOR HARLEY-DAVIDSON
30 November 2004 - Harley-Davidson UK

Harley-Davidson has a new champion! Andrew Hines, in just his second full season as a professional drag racer, lifted the NHRA Pro Stock Bike title in Pomona (California) riding his factory-sponsored Harley-Davidson V-Rod.

At just 21 years of age, V-Rod racer Hines is the youngest winner in the championship’s history (this honour previously belonged to his brother Matt) and also became the first man to ride a V-twin powered motorcycle to the top of the podium.

Hines and his team held their nerve in California as the chasing pack made a final, determined effort to overhaul the V-Rod’s lead. And Hines did exactly that – finishing 12 overall and seizing enough points to see off a late challenge from Suzuki riders Angelle Savoie and Antron Brown.

The new champion, son of legendary race team boss Byron Hines, said he would be doing everything in his power to retain the championship in 2005 and cement Harley-Davidson’s position as the leading Pro Stock Bike outfit:

“Straight after the championship party we’ll start working like crazy to achieve the sort of gains we achieved in last year’s off-season. Harley-Davidson is extremely happy with what we’ve achieved and we’re aiming to start a new era of dominance for them. This was just the second season of Harley-Davidson’s racing programme and we know there’s a lot more performance and innovation in the pipeline.”

Fellow V-Rod flyer, GT Tonglet, joined the Harley-Davidson celebrations by putting in another rock-solid weekend’s racing and grabbing sixth place in the final championship standings.
After underlining the drag racing potential of the V-Rod last year with an impressive series of V-twin performance records, Hines and Tonglet blew the opposition away in the opening race of the 2004 season by setting-up an all V-Rod final in Florida. Hines won this opening encounter and grabbed two more wins and would prove to be the most consistent points-scorer throughout the season.

Launched in 2001, the road-going version of the Harley-Davidson V-Rod has won over 30 major awards from the design industry and international motorcycle press. The V-Rod’s combination of a powerful, liquid cooled V-twin engine and Willie G. Davidson’s head-turning custom cruiser styling has made it one of the most sought-after Harley-Davidson models of recent years.

2004 NHRA PRO STOCK BIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
TOP 10 FINAL STANDINGS

1. Andrew Hines - Champion – Harley-Davidson – 1184 points
2. Angelle Savoie – Runner-up – Suzuki – 1146 points
3. Antron Brown – Suzuki – 1131 points
4. Shawn Gann – Suzuki – 945 points
5. Craig Treble – Suzuki – 928 points
6. GT Tonglet – Harley-Davidson – 855 points
7. Geno Scali – Suzuki – 836 points
8. Steve Johnson – Suzuki – 731 points
9. Michael Phillips – Suzuki – 652 points
10. Karen Stoffer – Suzuki – 625 points

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