HINES CLINCHES SECOND CONSECUTIVE NHRA CHAMPIONSHIP FOR HARLEY-DAVIDSON
12 November 2005 - Harley-Davidson Inc.

Andrew Hines powered his way to his second NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Motorcycle championship at the 41st annual Auto Club NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway.

And completing a fantastic season, teammate GT Tonglet earned second place in the final standings – a career-best finish.

''This is a great day for Harley-Davidson,'' Hines said. ''We started the season looking to set records and win races and if you can do that, the championships will follow.''

Hines won his first and second round matches at the starting line in Pomona due to red-light fouls by his opponents. He also posted a win in the semifinal race against Buell rider Chip Ellis, going 7.119 seconds at 187.89 mph against Ellis'' 7.174 seconds at 183.02 mph.

In the final round, Hines saw red and so did his opponent, Buell rider Ryan Schnitz. Hines fouled at the starting line with a reaction time of -0.011 seconds before going 7.107 at 188.70 mph, giving the victory to Schnitz, whose -0.010 second reaction time was followed by a run of 8.126 at 121.69 mph. It was the second time the two riders have faced off in the final round and the second time Hines handed Schnitz the win at the starting line.

''It was a bittersweet ending to a perfect season,'' admitted Hines. ''The red light was disappointing but I''ve been around long enough to know that it happens. I think it''s going to be a great off-season with two championships under our belt.''

Hines earned two wins in five final rounds this season along with no fewer than 10 top qualifying awards. He also set the national record twice, earning an extra 20 bonus points for each record.

''Going 6.96 seconds in Sonoma (Calif.), being the top qualifier, winning the race and also earning the maximum amount of points possible for one event made it the outstanding performance of the season,'' Hines said.

And as if the championship and second place weren''t enough, the team also earned the first Full Throttle Award, given to the team with the most consistent qualifying performance over the course of the entire season.

Hines’s teammate, GT Tonglet not only posted two wins in the three final rounds, but he was also the points leader for the first time in his career. Tonglet held the top spot in the standings following seven races this season.

Tonglet said. ''At the beginning of the season my goal was a top five finish and we did that in style. The V-Rod ran superbly and it showed in our results.''

Launched in 2001, the road-going version of the Harley-Davidson V-Rod has won over 30 major awards from the design industry and motorcycle press. The V-Rod’s combination of a powerful, liquid cooled V-twin engine and head-turning custom cruiser styling has made it the most critically acclaimed motorcycle in the Harley-Davidson family.

And just launched in Europe is the new VRSXE Screamin’ Eagle Destroyer; the 165bhp drag racer from Harley-Davidson. Built by the Custom Vehicle Operations
(CVO) arm of the famous Motor Company, with its engineering and styling cues taken from the Screamin’ Eagle drag racer Hines and Tonglet race in the NHRA championships, it can blast sub-10-second quarter miles as standard in the hands of a pro-racer. A limited supply of these unique competition-only motorcycles will be available through Harley-Davidson’s authorised dealer network.

www.harley-davidson.com

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