AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series

A season's worth of bar-to-bar AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series racing and dramatic race finishes in no way prepared the fans for the unbelievable conclusion to the XR Showdown that was to unfold at NOLA Motorsports Park.

KLR Group/Spyke's/Vesrah's Michael Barnes and Bartel's Harley-Davidson's Tyler O'Hara entered the season finale separated by a meager two points, effectively making it a winner-take-all contest.

The two quickly broke free of the pack and fought furiously for the position until the race was stopped at mid-distance due to a red flag. The field was re-gridded for a five-lap fight to decide the XR Showdown and the $25,000 prize awarded to the champion.

Again, Barnes and O'Hara moved into the lead and tussled for first position as the laps wound down. O'Hara took the white flag with the advantage but Barnes overtook him entering Turn 1.

O'Hara attempted a counterattack, but ran wide, allowing the veteran ace to immediately reclaim the position.

To find a way through and with the championship on the line, O'Hara slotted up the inside as the two raced onto the start/finish straight for the final time this season, side-by-side with the checkered flag in sight. O'Hara shocked Barnes (and everybody else) by reaching over and tugging Barnes' right arm, pulling himself ahead as they powered to the stripe.

Barnes shook his head in vehement disagreement while O'Hara celebrated an apparent XR1200 Series championship victory. However, O'Hara's maneuver was quickly deemed illegal and Barnes was credited with both the victory and his first-career individual AMA Pro national championship following more than two decades of trying.

There was further drama in the pack as Teterboro Rams' Shane Narbonne and Rossiter's Harley-Davidson's Michael Corbino clashed multiple times on the final lap. Corbino came out the worse, crashing and bringing out the red flag.

The checkered red left Barnes the race winner and 2012 AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series champion, NJMP winner Narbonne second, and Suburban Harley-Davidson's Benny Carlson third. O'Hara meanwhile, was dropped to 11th -- the final man in his lap group -- meaning Carlson's podium was good enough to overtake O'Hara in the Showdown order and claim the $10,000 prize awarded the series' runner-up.

A reflective Barnes said, "There was a lot of pressure going into this last one, and I felt I had a little edge throughout all the sessions this weekend on Tyler. But you can never count that guy out, especially on the last lap, last turn. He made a little mistake and went into Turn 3 wide (on the last lap) and I had a good five or six bike-length gap that he slowly reeled in. He didn't get me in 13 so I pretty much thought I had it right there. But I saw him come up the inside and I matched him coming off the last corner. He grabbed my arm and did the old dirt track pass maneuver on me.

"I just started flipping out in my head because I knew it was wrong. I felt that with him coming on the inside, I had the drive on the outside with the higher line, carrying more speed. I'm sorry that he decided to do that because it affected him gravely in this race.

"But aside from that, I'm just so stoked that I won this championship and this race. I can't say enough for Kyle Wyman in giving me this opportunity and this bike -- something equal to his... I'm proud to be on this team and I'm glad to have the support from everybody. I can't say thanks enough to everybody that helped me get here. It's been a long, long fight to get a singles championship. I'm pretty proud of it."

Television and Social Media Channels

GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing's National Guard SuperBike and GoPro Daytona SportBike divisions will be featured on SPEED in back-to-back broadcasts, scheduled to begin at midnight ET/9:00 p.m. PT late Sunday night.

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.

For additional information contact:
AMA Pro Racing Communications, (386) 492-1014, communications@amaproracing.com