AMA Pro Road Racing & SpeedTV Announce Television Schedule for 2012 Season Opening Daytona 200 Week

A hot and sultry weekend greeted the riders at Gateway International Raceway in August 1995 as the ranks of the AMA Pro Road Racing series headed to the track located just east of  the St. Louis Arch and across the Mississippi River for the Gateway Superbike Nationals.  In what would be horrendously humid conditions throughout the weekend, the stars of the premier road racing series in the United States would put on a show for the fans in what would be the series' first and only appearance at the track, located just across the street from one of the local landfills.

For what was at that time one of the top support classes in the series, the AMA HP4 600 SuperSport Series gets ready to do battle in one of the five finals for the final day of racing in Madison, IL. in what would be the 22 lap final for the DOT tire-shod event. 

Lining up on the front row shows Miguel Duhamel's #117 American Honda Motor Co/Smokin Joe's Racing/Dunlop/DID-sponsored Honda with crew chief Al Ludington chatting with another team member.  Partially obstructed by the television crew is Steve Crevier standing by his #4 Kawasaki/Muzzy's/Bel-Ray//Dunlop-backed mount, followed by Toronto, Ontario's Owen Weichel standing next to his #8 HYD-MECH Saws/4&6 Cycles/Teknic Leathers/Shoei Helmets-sponsored Kawasaki.  Thomas Wilson's #2 Kinko's Kawasaki/Dunlop/EBC/Muzzy's-backed machine and team fill out the front row.

On the second row just behind Ludington you can catch a glimpse of Pascal Picotte's #112 Muzzy Kawasaki, while Michael Barnes zips up and holds his umbrella next to the #34 Erion Racing/American Honda/Bridgestone/Honda Parts & Accessories-backed mount.  Duhamel went on to win the lone race at Gateway to add to his legend as the all-time 600 SuperSport Series champion and race winner.


With the 600 SuperSport series morphing into SuperSport, and since the 2009 season the Daytona SportBike Championship Series, the middleweight bikes now hold the distinction of being the 'premier' show at the season-opening round at Daytona Beach.  Comprised of a good mix of twins, triple and four cylinder machines, the series has produced a good mix of manufacturers and riders over the last few seasons.

With the Daytona 200 scheduled for Saturday, March 17, AMA Pro Road Racing and SpeedTV today announced the television viewing schedule for the upcoming season-opening round for next week.  Besides the Daytona 200, the Daytona event will include two rounds of the AMA Superbike Championship and AMA SuperSport Championship, as well as one round of the Vance & Hines XR1200 Series.

You can read the full press release below to see what time you will need to set your DVRs for!
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AMA Pro Racing and SPEED Release Broadcast Schedule for AMA Pro Road Racing's 2012 Season-Opening DAYTONA® 200

DAYTONA 200® Week Races to be aired on SPEED in a 4.5 Hour Programming Block on Saturday, March 17, 2012

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 6, 2012) - SPEED™, the nation's first and only cable television network dedicated to automotive and motorcycle racing, performance and lifestyle, will once again serve as AMA Pro Road Racing's broadcast partner in 2012. Fans of AMA Pro can tune in to SPEED on Saturday, March 17, 2012 beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT to catch all of the AMA Pro Road Racing action from the season-opening DAYTONA® 200 Week at Daytona International Speedway in a set of back-to-back broadcasts.

 

SPEED's coverage of AMA Pro Road Racing at Daytona International Speedway will begin with AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Race 1, scheduled to air in a one-hour program on Saturday, March 17 at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT. At 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT, viewers can catch the stars of the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike division as they compete in the 71st running of America's most historic motorcycle endurance race, the 2012 DAYTONA® 200.

Following the two-and-a-half hour DAYTONA 200® broadcast, coverage of Saturday's National Guard SuperBike Race 2 is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT.

Highlights of the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series races from Daytona will be included in the SPEED broadcasts and also available live on SPEED2, an online-only racing network located at http://www.speed2.com featuring exclusive and same-day delay racing events, on-demand international motor sports content, as well as automotive and motorcycle enthusiast programming.

 

Friday's Vance & Hines XR1200 Series race and Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport Race 1 can be viewed live on SPEED2 starting at 2:10 p.m. ET/11:10 a.m. PT, and before tuning to SPEED on Saturday, fans can log back into SPEED2 for a live online broadcast of the final SuperSport race, scheduled for 9:55 a.m. ET/ 6:55 a.m. PT.

 

The SPEED on-air team for AMA Pro Road Racing will include veteran motorcycle broadcaster Leigh Diffey providing play-by-play, with AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame rider and five-time DAYTONA® 200 winner Scott Russell joining him in the booth for analysis. Longtime SPEED reporter and host Greg White will provide reports from the pits.

The 2012 AMA Pro Road Racing season will kick off with the historic DAYTONA® 200 Week, scheduled for March 15 - 17, 2012 at Daytona International Speedway. For tickets, please visit http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com.

About SPEED™

SPEED, anchored by its popular and wide-ranging coverage of NASCAR, is the nation's first and only cable television network dedicated to automotive and motorcycle racing, performance and lifestyle. Now available in nearly 84 million homes in North America, SPEED, a member of the FOX Sports Media Group, is among the industry leaders in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services, including SPEED2, a groundbreaking new broadband network featuring live, streaming and on-demand events complementing offerings of the linear network. For more information, please visit SPEED.com, the online motor sports authority.

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 Road Racing: SpeedTV.com's Chris Martin Compares AMA Superbike Rookie Wins Over the Years



Mike Hale on the #23 Amer. Honda Motor Co./Smokin' Joe's Racing/Dunlop/DID-sponsored Honda RC-45 navigates the track during the St. Louis Superbike Challenge main event at Gateway International Raceway in August of '95.  Hale, the '90 AMA Pro Flat Track/Camel Pro Rookie of the Year, came into the AMA Superbike Championship Series after having a very successful career in the AMA Flat Track Series and 883 Flat Track Series in the early '90s.  Paired with Canadian Miguel Duhamel on the Smokin' Joe's Honda RC-45s, Hale came in second on the year in the Superbike Series (and the HP4 600 Supersport Series) behind Duhamel, who scored the '95 AMA Superbike Championship and the 600 Supersport Championship.  Hale won two Superbike main events in '95 including his break out win at Pomona early in the season as a rookie in the 'fire breather' class, and he also doubled-up with a win in the 600 Series over the weekend.

Moving to the World Superbike Championship Series in '96-'97, Hale struggled while running the European series, in spite of having podiumed at the Laguna Seca WSBK round the previous year and never found his true footing for someone with his obvious abilities on a premier-class machine.  The personable Texan went on to run a season on Kenny Roberts' Proton 500CC GP team before returning to the States to ride for the Fast By Ferracci Ducati team, Rockwall and Erion Honda teams in the Superbike, Formula Xtreme and 600 Supersport Series, but never regained that top-form that saw him atop the box in AMA Road Racing.  For someone that was such a great representative of the sport and easily approachable, it was a sad loss for the series, sponsors and fans when Mike Hale hung up his leathers.
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With Martin Cardenas winning his first AMA Superbike Championship Series win at the Barber Motorsports Park round back in June, the M4 Suzuki pilot added his name to a short list of talent over the years to win an AMA Superbike Championship Series race in their rookie season.  The names of Aaron Yates, Ben Spies and Neil Hodgson (among several others) are but a few who actually have won races during their 'rookie' seasons in the premier class of AMA Road Racing since the series was created in the mid '70s.

Chris Martin, who does a super job of keeping the fans up to date on the racing action in AMA Pro Road Racing at SpeedTV.com, penned the following story that compares the men who have tried to win in their first-full seasons in the AMA Superbike Championship Series, and those that have failed along the way. 

Read on:

http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ama-sbk-cardenas-joins-exclusive-company
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Have a great and safe Independence Day Holiday today.  Drive (and ride) safe and sober and remember those who made these great United States over the years, decades and centuries the great nation that it is. 

God Bless America!
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AMA Pro Road Racing Set for 2-Day Test at Miller Motorsports Park on May 2-3

Mike Smith's #68 Fast By Ferracci/SBS/Pro Grip/Michelin-sponsored Ducati 916/955 sits in the Ferracci pit area during the St. Louis Superbike Challenge Weekend at the Gateway International Raceway stop on the AMA Superbike Championship Series tour in August of 1995.  Eraldo Ferracci can just be seen behind the bike trying to cool off in what was to this day undoubtedly the hottest weekend ever attended by the AMA Road Racing Series ever.  The poorly-attended race was a blip on the radar to the series after showing up at a track that was at the very least 'sketchy' in terms of safety concerns, not to mention the landfill that sat across the street whose aromas permeated the air throughout the weekend.  Needless to say, the series never returned to the track dubbed 'The Dump' by several fans and insiders.
The weekend was so hot, humid and hazy that the view of the St. Louis Arch, which is normally very clear from the track just across the Mighty Mississippi River, was all but obscured due to the haze (and aromas) that hung in the air, with the triple-digit temperatures making for a very long and unpleasant weekend for sponsors, racers, team owners and fans alike.  We spent over half the weekend in the air-conditioned comfort of our car it was so bad!
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          AMA Pro Road Racing Back in Action at MMP Test

 

                         Two-Day Test at Miller Motorsports Park, May 2-3, Fans Welcome!

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (April 27, 2011) - The AMA Pro Road Racing Championship returns to asphalt May 2-3 at next week's official, two-day test at Miller Motorsports Park in Toole, Utah. Located just outside Salt Lake City, the beautiful MMP circuit will play host to the majority of AMA Pro's top competitors as they prep for both Round 2 at Infineon Raceway (May 13-15) and for MMP's BigM Weekend presented by Lucas Oil, which will see AMA Pro Road Racing's Round 3 run alongside Round 5 of the World Superbike Championship, May 28-30.

Heading up the field in AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike testing will be reigning SuperBike champion Josh Hayes (Monster Energy Graves Yamaha) and current points leader Blake Young (Rockstar Makita Suzuki). Hayes will be joined by fellow Yamaha SuperBiker Chris Clark (Y.E.S./Pat Clark/Graves Motorsports), while Blake will have teammate Tommy Hayden and Suzuki's Australian Superbike star, Josh Waters, for brand-centric company.

Team M4 Suzuki's Round 1 standout (and reigning Daytona SportBike champ) Martin Cardenas will likewise be honing his skills at MMP in the new-to-him class, joined by veteran teammate Chris Ulrich. The Michael Jordan Motorsports effort will be out in force with riders Ben Bostrom (Jordan Suzuki) and National Guard-sponsored Roger Hayden.

Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing's Larry Pegram will represent just one of a trio of BMW S1000Rs testing at the MMP facility, with Iron Horse BMW fielding both Chris Peris and Tony Kasper. In all, a total of fourteen AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike riders are currently registered for the test.

The AMA Pro Daytona SportBike class will see at least twenty-two of its riders take to the track at Miller, a field that includes Ducati riders Jason DiSalvo on his Daytona 200-winning Team Latus Motors Racing machine, P.J. Jacobson (Celtic Racing), and Jake Holden (DNA Roberson Motorsports), plus a slew of ferocious Yamaha and Suzuki riders.
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Image courtesy Miller Motorsports Park
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No fewer than eight Yamaha R6's, in fact, will be running at Miller, led by Monster Energy Graves Yamaha's Josh Herrin. He'll be joined by Tommy Aquino (Y.E.S./Pat Clark/Graves Motorsports), Melissa Paris (HT Moto Yamaha), and a trio of AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport graduates: LTD Racing/Y.E.S. Yamaha's Huntley Nash, Cameron Beaubier, and 2010 Top Gun Champion Tyler O'Hara.

On the Suzuki side, 2009 Daytona SportBike Champion Danny Eslick (Richie Morris Racing/GEICO Powersports) will lead the Suzuki delegation to Utah, joined by M4 Suzuki's talented Dane Westby; Westby's teammate, Santiago Villa; and Vesrah Suzuki's highly capable Taylor Knapp and Cory West, among others. A trio of SuperSport Kawasakis will be headed up by Fernando Amantini, while Honda pilot Tyler Odom will likewise put his machinery through its paces.

Thirteen AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport riders are slated to begin testing on Monday, the sessions serving as a preview of the highly anticipated Larry H. Miller SuperSport Challenge event, which will take place during the BigM Weekend and be broadcast live on SPEED2 Sunday, May 29, at 3:05 p.m. PST. Along with the BigM Weekend's AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 race, the Larry H. Miller SuperSport Challenge will also be included in an AMA Pro Road Racing Special that will air Monday, May 30, at 9 p.m. PST.

The Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport group will be led by Daytona winners Tomas Puerta and Daniel Gaviria on their Team LTD/Y.E.S. Yamahas. SuzukiScoopFans Racing's Elena Myers was also scheduled to attend the test, but having broken her arm in a Supermoto accident last Monday, she'll be forced to sit out the test and focus instead on healing in time for a possible return at Round 2. Corey Alexander, however, will be present to represent for Suzuki, while standout young-gun Benny Solis (Team Roadracingworld.com) will lay down laps on his Honda.

The above riders will be joined by Ducati pilots Brad Graham, Jose Flores, and Nicholas Hayman; newcomer Shelina Moreda (Triple Crown Industries Yamaha); and many more.

AMA Pro's Vance & Hines XR1200 riders are prepping for their first-ever appearance at MMP, and a minimum of eight of the big-twin pilots will be testing May 2-3. They'll also be preparing for the aforementioned expanded television coverage on SPEED and SPEED2 during the Memorial Day weekend, comprising a live broadcast on SPEED2 (Monday, May 30, at 12:20 p.m. PST) and inclusion in SPEED's AMA Pro Road Racing Special (Monday, May 30, at 9 p.m. PST).

Daytona winner Kyle Wyman will lead the XR1200 testing group on his RMR Bruce Rossmeyer/Daytona Racing machine, joined by teammates Chris Fillmore and Michael Corbino. AMA Pro Flat Track multi-time champion Joe Kopp (Team Latus Motors) will also be on track, as will SuperSport Top Gun champ Tyler O'Hara and a handful of other Harley-Davidson XR1200 pilots.

The two-day test will begin with team move-in Sunday night, and on-track activities will run 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days, the schedule comprising five morning sessions and seven afternoon sessions. AMA Pro National Guard SuperBikes will share the track with AMA Pro Daytona SportBikes, while Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport riders will run jointly with AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 pilots.

Fans are welcome to attend the test, free of charge, and are encouraged to come out and cheer for their favorites. For directions and information, visit http://www.millermotorsportspark.com/ or call 435-277-RACE (7223). For additional information about the BigM Weekend presented by Lucas Oil, visit www.BigMweekend.com. For information or tickets to AMA Pro Road Racing's upcoming Round 2, May 13-15 at Infineon Raceway, 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 www.amaproracing.com

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