Friday, November 25, 2011

AMA Road Racing: Mid Ohio Back on the Schedule Making for 8 Confirmed Rounds for 2012 Season














Jamie James on the #2 Vance & Hines/Yamaha/Dunlop/Bel-Ray-sponsored YZF-750 OW01 leads the riders off the grid for the sighting lap just before the start of the AMA Superbike Championship Series Wiseco Superbike 100 at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course in August '92.  James was judged to have jumped the start several minutes later in the main event of the Camel Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop, and was shown the meat ball flag by AMA Pro Road Racing officials, negating a roll-through penalty for the V&H teamster.

Unfortunately, several laps into the event, Larry Schwarzbach on the #64 like-sponsored V&H Yamaha (directly behind James) crashed hard coming out of the last turn onto the main straight and was critically injured, causing a red flag delay.  Schwarzbach had just earlier in the day won his very first AMA 600 Supersort Series event, and passed away just over two days laters.

As a result of the red flag delay and restart, James was able to work his way through the deep field and finished 4th on the day behind winner Doug Polen, runner-up Thomas Stevens and 3rd-placed rider Tom Kipp.

Others in this shot include Pascal Picotte on the #34 Fast By Ferracci/Ducati/Arai/Dunlop-sponsored Ducati 888 (in what I believe was his second year of racing in the U.S. in what would be a long career in AMA Superbike racing in the States, 7th-place finish), Scott Gray on the #18 self-sponsored (not listed) Kawasaki ZX-7R (6th-place finish), winner Polen on the #23 Ducati/Mechanica SPA/Dunlop/AGV-backed Ducati 888 (on a break from the WSBK schedule, in which he would win his 2nd World Superbike Championship at the end of the season), 2nd-place finisher Thomas Stevens on the #1 Kawasaki Motor Corp. USA/Muzzy/Bieffe/Nanki-sponsored ZX-7R (just behind Polen), Scott Russell on the #17 Kawasaki/Dunlop/SBS/Muzzy's-backed ZX-7R (DNF), and 3-Time World Champion Freddie Spencer on the #19 Two Brothers Racing/Honda Motor Co/Michelin/Arai-sponsored Honda RC30 (DNF).

Also seen in this shot: long-time AMA Superbike privateer (and '93 Mid Ohio winner) Dale Quarterley on the #32 Team Mirage/Valley Motorsports/Vanson/Bieffe-sponsored Kawasaki ZX-7R (partially obscured/just behind Gray's left elbow), who would round out the top-5 for the day, Canadian rider Jacques Quenette on the #39 D.L.G.L. Software/Action Accessories-sponsored Yamaha YZF750 (11th-place finish), and 3rd-place finisher Tom Kipp on the #16 American Honda/Camel/Commonwealth Racing/HRC-sponsored Honda RC30 (directly behind Russell in yellow leathers.)


Mid Ohio has been hosting a round of the AMA Pro Road Racing Series since the early '80s, and has historically been one of the best-attended events on the schedule, almost since their first year of hosting the event.  Located in Lexington, OH., the track is one of the most fan-friendly tracks on the schedule due to it's various viewing areas around the 2.5+ mile course. 

This is great news seeing the track return to the schedule for the 2012 season in what will be it's fourth decade in the series.
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AMA Pro Racing Confirms 2012 Date for Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as Part of 2012 AMA Pro Road Racing Schedule


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (November 23, 2011) - AMA Pro Racing officials announced Wednesday the addition of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to the list of renewals for the 2012 AMA Pro Road Racing calendar. The event is scheduled for the weekend of July 13 - 15, 2012 and will mark the 30th consecutive year that the series has raced at the 2.4-mile natural road course nestled in the scenic rolling hills of Lexington, Ohio.

In last year's contest, the Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki team dominated the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike weekend, Blake Young taking pole position and the Saturday race victory, followed by Tommy Hayden taking the checkers in Sunday's final. As in 2011, fans will experience the excitement of the full complement of AMA Pro Road Racing classes, which includes AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike, AMA Pro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series.
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AMA Pro Road Racing at the Mid Ohio round in July '11 shows AMA Superbike Championship Series bikes lined up in the pitlane.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson.
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With the addition of the event at Mid-Ohio, AMA Pro Racing has now announced eight contract renewals for the 2012 AMA Pro Road Racing season. AMA Pro Racing will be working in conjunction with M1 Powersports for promotion of three additional events. Details about those three new events, which will complete the 2012 schedule, will be released shortly. The partial schedule is as follows:


March 15 - 17, 2012

Daytona 200

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona Beach, Fla.


May 4 - 6, 2012

Infineon Raceway

Sonoma, Calif.


May 26 - 28, 2012

Miller Motorsports Park

Tooele, Utah


June 1 - 3, 2012

Road America

Elkhart Lake, Wis.


June 22 - 24, 2012

Barber Motorsports Park

Birmingham, Ala.


July 13 - 15, 2012

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Lexington, Ohio


July 27 - 29, 2012

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

Monterey, Calif.


September 7 - 9, 2012

New Jersey Motorsports Park

Millville, N.J.


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
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