AMA Sports to Move Road Race Grand Championships to Weekend Date at Mid-Ohio

EVENT TO INCLUDE MOTOCROSS MANUFACTURERS CUP

Pickerington, Ohio -- The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Sports division today announced that it will stage two of its premier amateur events at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course beginning in 2006. 

As part of a 5-year agreement with the Lexington, Ohio, track, the AMA Sports 10th Annual Road Race Grand Championships will move to a weekend date and feature class championship races among a host of the country's best amateur road racers.  The weekend also will include the AMA Motocross Manufacturers Cup, a select event for top amateur motocrossers. 

The Sept. 22-24 event represents a unique collaboration among all of the country's major motorcycling associations, including the AMA, WERA, CMRA, CCS, AHRMA, FASTTRAX, SMRI, USGPRU, CRA, LRRS, MRA, WSMC and others.  Three-rider teams from each organization will be invited to take part in the fourth annual Road Race Club Challenge as part of the event.

"We are happy not only to bring these two great events to Mid-Ohio this year, but to be part of an unprecedented collaboration in our sport," said Douglas Neubauer, vice president of AMA Sports.  "This weekend is going to be an extraordinary showcase for our competitors and our sport, and, thanks to the considerable commitment they've made to motorcycling, there's no place we'd rather have it than Mid-Ohio."

The best Pro-Am and amateur motorcycle road racers from around the country will vie for national titles at the AMA Sports Road Race Grand Championships.  The two-day event will feature invited riders on 125cc to 1,000cc motorcycles, and has launched the careers road racing stars like Ben Spies and Jason DiSalvo. 

An invitational motocross event, the Manufacturers Cup will feature all of the sport's marquee manufacturers.  Riders of all ages will be invited based on results from major AMA events throughout the year.  In addition to the Manufactures Cup, they will have the opportunity to earn individual class titles and showcase their skills on a national stage.
 
"Amateur racing is the reason Mid-Ohio was founded," said TrueSports, Inc. President Michelle Trueman Gajoch.  "Having the privilege of hosting championship events like the Manufacturers Cup and AMA Sports Road Race Grand Championships allows us to stay true to our roots and be a part of cultivating motorcycling's next generation.  As always, we're pleased to partner with the AMA and look forward to a fun and exciting event."

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course already hosts the best-attended stand-alone AMA Superbike Championship weekend in the U.S. (the Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire, Aug. 4-6) and the country's largest vintage motorcycling event (AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, July 28-30). The track was recently awarded the Superbike season finale (the AMA Superbike Shootout, Sept. 29 - Oct. 1) as well.  All will be part of a record eight-event Mid-Ohio schedule in 2006.

Owned and operated by TrueSports, Inc., Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a 2.4-mile, 15-turn permanent road racing circuit in Lexington, Ohio. Located 60 miles north of Columbus and 75 miles south of Cleveland near Mansfield, the track has been called the most competitive in the U.S. and annually hosts a diversity of locally, regionally and nationally sanctioned racing events for amateur, club and professional riders and drivers. 

Founded in 1924, the AMA is a non-profit organization with more than 260,000 members. The Association's purpose is to pursue, protect and promote the interests of motorcyclists, while serving the needs of its members. AMA Sports, its amateur and pro-am competition division, is the world's largest motorsports-sanctioning body.

For more information, visit the AMA website at www.AMADirectlink.com, or call 1-800-AMA-JOIN.  For the latest AMA news, visit the AMA News Room at http://home.ama-cycle.org/newsroom.