AMA Road Racing: NJMP Hosts Season Finale Which Will See Four Champions Crowned

Kurtis Roberts on the #80 American Honda/Parts Unlimited/PJ1/Erion Racing-sponsored Honda RC51 leads Miguel Duhamel on the #17 American Honda/Shoei/Alpinestars/Dunlop-backed Honda RC51, along with Doug Chandler on the #10 Kawasaki/Lockhart-Phillips/Akrapovic USA/Dunlop-sponsored ZX7R during AMA Superbike Championship Series race action at Mid Ohio in July 2001.  The Wiseco Superbike 100 race 2 saw the three former champions battle in the top 6 throughout the course of the afternoon's premier event as part of the Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire at the 2.5 mile course in Lexington, OH. 


2010 AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes will try to make up a 5-point deficit in the standings and try to reel in current point leader Blake Young during this coming weekend's season ending rounds at the New Jersey Motorsports Park doubleheader event.  Championships will be decided in all four classes in the AMA Pro Road Racing Series this year at the final round for the first time in memory.  The season has produced some great racing, and the breakout success of the AMA Pro Road Racing Vance & Hines XR1200 Series alone has been worth the paid admission to all of the series' rounds this year.
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Four National Championships to Be Decided at AMA Pro New Jersey Season Finale 

New Jersey Motorsports Park hosts AMA Pro Road Racing Championship Weekend presented by Team Pro-Motion September 2-4

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (August 30, 2011) - The final round of the 2011 AMA Pro Road Racing Championship will play out in an action-packed Labor Day Weekend event at New Jersey Motorsports Park, where no fewer than four national championships will be decided. At stake are the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike, Daytona SportBike, and Vance & Hines XR1200 titles, while the young-gun AMA Pro Motorcycle-SuperStore.com SuperSport series will crown both an East Division Champion as well as an overall national champion.

In the premier National Guard SuperBike class, the championship battle has come down to three riders: Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammates Blake Young and Tommy Hayden, and Monster Energy Graves Yamaha's defending SuperBike champion, Josh Hayes. With six 2011 wins to his credit thus far, current points-leader Young is celebrating his most successful year of AMA Pro Racing to date, but Hayes -- known for his determination -- lurks just five points behind as the series enters its doubleheader finale. And while Hayden heads to NJMP a full race's-worth of points back in third, he's coming off of two consecutive race victories and is poised to strike should either of the top-two falter.

The Daytona SportBike Championship advantage, meanwhile, rests firmly with 2009 class champion Danny Eslick (GEICO Powersports RMR Suzuki), whose closest rival -- Monster Energy Graves Yamaha's Josh Herrin -- suffered the brutal disappointment of a mechanical DNF at the class' previous round. But in a class known for multiple winners, intense racing, and unpredictable outcomes, even Eslick's significant points lead can't promise protection against the hard-charging Herrin, who is himself being stalked by Latus Motors Racing's Jason DiSalvo, just two points behind in third.

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Josh Hayes on the #1 Graves Monster Energy Yamaha R1 hangs close with Tommy Hayden on the #22 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 during AMA Superbike Championship Series race action at the Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca round of the 2011 AMA Pro Road Racing Series in July 2011.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson.
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In the Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport class, local rider James Rispoli (ANT Racing Motorsports) has his New York-sights set on the East Division title as well as the overall Motocycle-Superstore.com SuperSport championship -- in addition to part of the $25,000 year-end prize money, provided by class sponsor Motorcycle-Superstore.com, that goes with it. Rispoli holds a commanding lead in the East Division series over LTD Racing Y.E.S. Yamaha rider Tomas Puerta, whose teammate, West Division Champion David Gaviria, is Rispoli's toughest competition for the overall title.

And finally, thanks to the incredible action of the past weekend's Red Bull Indianapolis GP -- where the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 presented by Harley-Davidson Insurance doubleheader brought Harley-Davidson machinery to the Speedway for the first time in 100 years -- AMA Pro's newest class championship has narrowed to just twelve points. Points-leader Chris Fillmore (Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing GEICO) came back from a demoralizing crash in Race 1 to take the Race 2 victory, burning up his previous surplus of points but preserving a narrow lead. With just one race to settle the score, he and runner-up Steve Rapp (Parts Unlimited) will have each other and a full field of equally hungry competitors to contend with at NJMP.

In addition to the exciting on-track action, New Jersey Motorsports Park and AMA Pro Road Racing will play host to a wide offering of fan activities, from autograph sessions to Fan Walks to a fan-appreciation barbeque and more. To purchase tickets or to view a full schedule of both on- and off-track events, visit www.njmp.com or call (856) 327-7217. Same-day television coverage of the weekend's racing begins at 10 p.m. ET both Saturday and Sunday on SPEED.

To learn more and to be a part of the AMA Pro Road Racing Championship, visit amaproracing.com and join us on facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing and twitter.com/AMAProSBK.

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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AMA Pro Road Racing Reviews Miller Motorsports Park Two-Day Test

The annual stop at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH. has been one of the premier events in the history of the AMA Superbike Championship since the early '80s, with the track hosting the Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire round.  Wiseco Superbike 100 race two action in July of 2001 shows Kurtis Roberts leading this group of riders on his #80 American Honda/Parts Unlimited/Erion Racing-sponsored Honda RC-51, followed closely by Miguel Duhamel on his #17 American Honda/Universal/Shoei-backed RC-51.  Jamie Hacking on the #92 American Suzuki/Yoshimura/Motorex-backed GSX-R750 keeps the two close at hand.
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Miller Motorsports Park Test: Hayes, DiSalvo, Gaviria, Wyman Top Sessions

TOOELE, UT (May 3, 2011) - Ringed by snow-capped mountains, Northern Utah's majestic Miller Motorsports Park played host to a two-day AMA Pro Road Racing test May 2-3 that brought in a total of 62 participating riders. All four classes were represented at the test, which served as preparation for AMA Pro Road Racing's Round 2 (May 13-15 at Infineon Raceway) as well as for the series' Round 3 return to Miller Motorsports Park, an event at which it will run concurrent with Round 5 of the World Superbike Championship.

Monster Energy Graves Yamaha's reigning National Guard SuperBike Champion, Josh Hayes, was dominant in both days' testing, topping seven of eight sessions on the 3.05-mile, 15-turn "natural road course" configuration. Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing's Larry Pegram headed the one session Hayes did not, but M4 Suzuki's Martin Cardenas and Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammates Blake Young and Tommy Hayden were an even more consistent presence at the top of the time sheets throughout. Cardenas' times were particularly notable, as the reigning AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Champion has just a single SuperBike race under his belt thus far.

Also showing strongly in SuperBike testing was Jordan Suzuki's Roger Hayden, who returns to the AMA Pro series this year after a difficult 2010 season in World Superbike. At the opposite end of the experience scale from those listed above, Cycle World/Attack Performance Kawasaki's JD Beach used the test to make his debut AMA Pro SuperBike appearance, dropping more than 7.726 seconds between his first and best session to finish with the 12th-quickest time overall.

In all, twenty-one SuperBike riders attended the MMP test; the top-five overall were as follows: Josh Hayes, 1:50.333; Blake Young, 1:50.840; Larry Pegram, 1:51.215; Tommy Hayden, 1:51.255; Martin Cardenas, 1:51.351.
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Miller Motorsports Park photo by Brian J. Nelson
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Twenty-two AMA Pro Daytona SportBike riders rolled out on track for the Monday-Tuesday sessions, Celtic Racing/Fast by Ferracci Ducati's PJ Jacobsen taking over the scoreboard early and topping five of eight sessions, with only Latus Motors Racing's Jason DiSalvo and M4 Suzuki rider Dane Westby able to wrest the top spot away. DiSalvo's seventh-session lap, however, was good for quickest overall, and with Monster Energy Graves Yamaha's Josh Herrin consistently hunting the front-runners, Herrin's third-quickest overall time came as no surprise.

GP Bike Parts Racing's Cameron Beaubier and Vesrah Suzuki's Cory West placed consistently among the top lap-runners; also strong were Y.E.S. Yamaha's Tommy Aquino and Triple Crown Industries' Paul Allison. But with riders like GEICO Powersports/RMR Suzuki's Danny Eslick, Vesrah Suzuki's Taylor Knapp, Tyler Odom, and more lurking just behind, Infineon can't come soon enough for the field.


In related news, following a productive meeting held late Tuesday at the Utah track between AMA Pro Racing officials, Josh Herrin, and Graves Motorsports Yamaha personnel, AMA Pro has determined that Herrin will serve a one-race suspension at Round 2 instead of the two-race penalty originally assessed post-Daytona. "The communication and shared understanding between parties was such that AMA Pro felt it was appropriate to move forward in this manner," said AMA Pro Racing COO David Atlas.


The top five Daytona SportBike riders at the MMP test were as follows: Jason DiSalvo, 1:55.254; PJ Jacobsen, 1:55.596; Josh Herrin, 1:56.543; Cameron Beaubier, 1:56.881; Cory West, 1:56.981.
Sixteen-year-old Benny Solis impressed in AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport testing, the Team Roadracingworld.com rider topping the majority of the two days' sessions, but he was narrowly edged out in the test's final hours by LTD Racing/Y.E.S. Yamaha's David Gaviria, who posted the quickest SuperSport lap of the test in the seventh session.

Sixteen-year-old Benny Solis impressed in AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport testing, the Team Roadracingworld.com rider topping the majority of the two days' sessions, but he was narrowly edged out in the test's final hours by LTD Racing/Y.E.S. Yamaha's David Gaviria, who posted the quickest SuperSport lap of the test in the seventh session.

Gaviria's teammate, Tomas Puerta, also showed well, topping one session and turning in the fourth-quickest lap overall, but it was Vesrah Suzuki's Corey Alexander (currently in his first full season of AMA Pro competition) who really came into his own at MMP. Alexander turned in the third-quickest SuperSport lap at the circuit, just a few tenths behind Solis.

The class' top-five overall were as follows: David Gaviria, 1:57.988; Benny Solis, 1:58.348; Corey Alexander, 1:58.615; Tomas Puerta, 1:58.615; Quentin Wilson, 2:00.655.

Many of the series' most competitive AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 riders also rolled in the MMP gates Monday morning, Latus Motors Racing teammates Joe Kopp and Chase McFarland getting started early and taking turns at the top of the timesheets twice and three times, respectively. RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing's Chris Fillmore was the first to break the cycle, but teammate Kyle Wyman soon followed, turning in laps quick enough to see him ranked first overall by Tuesday evening. Top-five rankings at test's end were as follows: Kyle Wyman, 2:08.637; Chase McFarland, 2:08.964; Joe Kopp, 2:09.085; Gerry Signorelli, 2:09.837.

For complete results from the test at Miller for all four classes, click here:

http://results.amaproracing.com/live/results/pdfresults/rr/2011/R1107/default.aspx

With AMA Pro Road Racing's Round 2 at Infineon Raceway now just ten days away, series participants return home for a short break before heading to Sonoma, California's pastoral wine-country, soon to get loud with the sounds of Infineon Raceway's West Coast Moto Jam. For information about and tickets to the California circuit's May 13-15 AMA Pro Road Racing weekend and surrounding events, visit http://www.infineonraceway.com/.

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 http://www.amaproracing.com/.

For additional information contact:

AMA Pro Racing Communications, (386) 492-1014, communications@amaproracing.com
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Merry Christmas from Stu's Shots, Kenny Roberts & IMS!

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After winning three 500CC World Championships in '78-'80 and then retiring from the world scene after the '84 season as a rider, Kenny Roberts also proved to be one of the most successful team owners in World Championship Grand Prix Racing. Fielding 500CC and 250CC Yamahas with sponsorship from a variety of companies including Lucky Strike and Marlboro, and then signing top-notch talent in the form of Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson, and John Kocinski (among a long list of other greats), The King managed to win a handful of championships as an owner from '90-'92 to add to his legend as a rider.
In the mid-to-late 90s, Roberts started to lose faith in the Japanese factories, and decided to give it a go himself as a 500CC World Championship
manufacturer. Originally partnering with Tom Walkinshaw Racing in England, who had deep roots in F1 car racing technology, TWR provided the engineering skills needed to build and campaign a competitive 500CC two-stroke Grand Prix machine. One of the Proton Team KR 500CC 3-cylinders can be seen in the background with Jeremy McWilliams #99 on it.
When 500CC Grand Prix racing switched to the four-stroke era in the '02 season, Roberts campaigned the 3-cylinder while developing the KR V5 four-stroke. By then, son Kurtis had left the AMA Superbike Championship Series in the States, and was drafted to ride the #80 machine, which can be seen in the foreground. The team never seemed to gain ground against The Majors, and after several breakdowns in trying to attain sponsorship, Roberts pulled the plug after the '07 season after investing millions in it himself.
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The second son of King Kenny Roberts is Kurtis Roberts, who spent several years racing in the AMA Superbike Championship as well as the AMA 600 Supersport Championship (and winning a title along the way) in the States before embarking to Europe to race his father's V5 version of the #80 Team KRV5 Proton. The King stuck with trying to fight the factories with his machines until the bitter end through the 2007 season, but always seemed to be a step behind the other major European and Japanese manufacturers.
Take the time to look over this magnificent piece of art, what with all of the carbon fiber and other light-weight components adorning this beauty. Roberts' final years as a team owner in World Championship Racing may not have garnered alot of great results, but the beauty of what he tried to do reachs out and grabs you with the detail and technology that was put into his efforts.
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The Team KR Proton 2-stroke 500CC World Championship machine of Jeremy McWilliams sits on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. McWilliams did manage to put one of these machines on the pole at the Australian Grand Prix in 2002 in the last race of the season. With the evolution of 500CC World Championship Motorcycle Racing morphing into the MotoGP World Championship, and the two-stroke era being whisked away into the dark ages with the introduction of four-stroke technology into the premier road racing series in the world, the 3-cylinder was soon retired for a four-stroke V5. Since Roberts departure as a team owner in the World Championships after the 2007 season, no other person, team or factory has dared to take on The Majors, and quite possibly it may never be seen again especially with the costs of racing being what they are in these times.
Side note: I believe this model was originally called the Modenas KR3 when Roberts first got into designing and manufacturing his own 500CC machines in '96.
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Stu's Shots wants to wish all of it's readers a VERY Merry Christmas and a SAFE and Happy New Year on this wonderful Christmas Eve of December of 2010. Thanks for taking your time to drop in and check us out, as we're extremely grateful to all of you for coming by to hang out and see what we have to offer in the way of high speed motorcycle racing news from today that is coupled with the shots from today and yesterday. We're looking forward to closing out the 2010 season and firing up the 2011 racing season and being able to continue to keep you interested, informed and amazed at the world of AMA Flat Track, AMA Road Racing, MotoGP and all of the high speed motorcycle racing from around the world.

Thanks for helping to make 2010 a SUPER racing season here at Stu's Shots and we hope you consider us your one-stop shop again in the upcoming 2011 year. God Bless and safe travels!
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Kurtis Roberts Coming Home to AMA Superbike This Weekend at Infineon Raceway

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Kurtis Roberts on the #80 American Honda RC51 whips it out of turn 8 at Road America while practicing for the AMA Superbike round in June of 2000. Kurtis, the youngest son of King Kenny Roberts and the younger brother of 2000 World 500cc Champion Kenny, Jr., will be returning to U.S. soil to race this upcoming weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA. This will be his first appearance racing in the U.S. since last seen at Barber in the AMA Superbike series in April of '07 when racing for the ill-fated No Factory Support Racing.
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The Erion Racing Honda RC51 of #80 Kurtis Roberts gets some attention in the paddock area at Road America in June of 2000. Kurtis rode the RC's for both American Honda and Erion Racing in 2000-2003, and finally broke his premier-class cherry at VIR in September of '03 as well as placing 3rd in the championship that year behind Mat Mladin and Aaron Yates. Roberts won the '99 and '00 AMA Formula Xtreme Championship as well as the '00 AMA 600 Supersport Championship while riding for the juggernaut Honda-satellite team of Erion Racing. In those two years he won 12 races in both classes, including a win at Daytona.
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Miguel Duhamel on the #17 American Honda RC51 leads Erion Racing's Kurtis Roberts on the #80 Honda RC51 and Jamie Hacking on the Team Yoshimura GSX-R750 while battling for third place in the race 2 running of the AMA Superbike series weekend at Mid Ohio in July of 2001. Duhamel and Roberts fought tooth and nail for the majority of the race for the final podium spot that weekend with the old master out-dueling the younger pro that day.
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Kurtis Roberts on the #80 Erion Racing Honda RC51 appears to have lost his balance on this shot as he chases the old master, Miguel Duhamel, on the American Honda #17 RC51. Their battle during race 2 of the AMA Superbike weekend at Mid Ohio in '01 was a great match-up of track, rider ability, and the massive grunt that the bullet-proof RC51 put to the ground.
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Unless you've been living in a cave the last four or so decades, then chances are you have heard the name Roberts at least once or twice while following motorcycle racing of some sort or another. And if that's the case, one of 'those' Roberts just happens to be The King's youngest son, Kurtis, who is coming back to race in the AMA Superbike series this weekend at Infineon Raceway on an Ace Racing Yamaha R1.
This is super news for not only fans of the Roberts lineage, but for fans of Kurtis himself, who while racing in the States garnered the AMA Formula Xtreme Championships in '99 and '00, as well as an AMA 600 Supersport Championship in 2000 while riding for the Erion Honda Racing team. Kurtis last appearance in the U.S. racing scene was, to the best of my knowledge and memory, an appearance at Barber Motorsports Park in April of 2007 riding for the ill-fated NFS (No Factory Support) Honda Racing team that he tried to help establish with former 3-Time AMA Superbike Champion Doug Chandler. Unfortunately both showed up at Barber with less-than-adequate Honda CBR1000RR's at their disposal, but both bikes were more then 4 seconds/lap off of the top times for the weekend and quickly fell by the wayside once the racing action kicked in. I never really heard the official reason for the team's demise, but I could easily surmise it was the lack of results (and confidence in the machinery) that led to the effort's fall-out.
It's going to be great to see Kurtis 'The Red One' back on the track. Always one of my favorites over the years, Kurtis put on a great show in all classes, but once graduating to the premier superbike class, took a few years to come into his own, and also being over shadowed-as everyone was in those years for the most part-by multi-time champ Mat Mladin. Roberts finally got his first AMA Superbike win at VIR in the fall of '03, and managed a 3rd place result in the final year's standings as well. His battle with Mat Mladin at Mid Ohio in both races in '03 were classic examples of learning and learning again. Crashing out of one race, to finish second to the master in the other. And superb on-the-edge riding every lap to boot!
Congrats and welcome back to Kurtis and we look forward to seeing more of you back here on U.S. soil racing again. It's gonna be a good time and we wish you and Ace Racing the VERY best of luck. Go get 'em and have some fun, man!

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You can read the official press release here on Kurtis' return to the track from the Ace Racing Yamaha team as supplied to the always bitchin' Larry Lawrence over at TheRiderFiles.com:

http://www.theriderfiles.com/?p=4347

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Jamie Hacking's Name Mentioned in Rumor Mill to Fill the #23 Michael Jordan Motorsports Superbike in Aaron Yates' Absence--UPDATED

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Kurtis Roberts on the #80 Erion Honda Racing RC-51 leads '95 AMA Superbike Champion Miguel Duhamel on the #17 Team Honda RC-51 through the carousel section at Mid Ohio during superbike race 2 in July of 2001. Jamie Hacking on the #92 Team Yoshimura GSX-R750 holds off the challenges of 3-Time AMA Superbike Champ Doug Chandler on the #10 Team Kawasaki ZX750 while Pascal Picotte on the #21 Team Harley VR1000 makes way behind them. With the injury to Aaron Yates leg from his practice crash at Fontana most likely to keep him out of action for at least the Road Atlanta round beginning on April 16th, Hacking's name came up in the rumor mill as being the most likely to be given some seat time to fill Aaron's ride while he recuperates. Just as with all bad news, sometimes good news comes with it and being a Hacker fan this could be a great chance for him to show more of his stuff. Let's hope the rumors are true!
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While congratulations are in order to The Hacking Family on their new edition, the rumor mill churned out Jamie Hacking's name this week to fill-in for Aaron Yates on the #23 Michael Jordan Motorsports superbike while Aaron recuperates from his practice crash at Fontana from Sunday morning. With the Road Atlanta round ready to rumble on April 16th, Team Jordan knows it is in a position to have to fill the seat while Aaron gets well. And with The Hacker being out of work due to the downturn in the economy and the racing cutbacks, what better man to fill the seat of those that would and could be available. Even though Jamie last rode a Suzuki back in '01 for Team Yoshimura, the demographics of the class have changed some, and he is more then capable of jumping on an open ride and performing well. Being a multi-time AMA Champ, Jamie would be more than up to the task and would give it all it's worth and then some!
We wish The Hacking Family safe and healthy journey, congratulations on the new edition to the family, and we hope as well that the rumor mill has churned out a good one and The Hacker gets to ride the #23 Michael Jordan GSX-R1000 superbike in Aaron's place while he recovers from his injuries.
Here's the article thanks to the great people over at CycleNews.com that announced the birth of Chloe Annabell Hacking and mentions Jamie's name being up for the fill-in ride:
http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2010/03/30/jamie-and-rachel-and-chloe
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Updated Wed 3/31/10 2130 EDT---

Just found this update over at CycleNews.com.

Aaron Yates' surgery went well and he has hard bones.

And now Brett McCormick's name is in the mix for a try-out with Team Jordan at the Infineon Raceway test at the end of the week. He is the rider that Pascal Picotte has been helping out in the Canadian Superbike Series as well as at Daytona a few weeks ago. Read it here:

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2010/03/31/yates-surgery-a-success
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