AMA Flat Track: 2010 GN Champ Jake Johnson Reflects on His Championship Season with Zanotti Racing

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Jake Johnson's #5 Zanotti Racing/Leo Vince/Arai/Tucker Rocky-sponsored Harley-Davidson XR750 sits inside the AMA tech area after a fine run home into fourth place at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile on August 28. Jersey Jake finished just off the podium at Indy, 3.057 seconds back from winner Bryan Smith on the #42 Werner Springsteen Monster Energy Kawasaki, in what was also Kawasaki's first win in AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship Twins Series Racing.
Johnson's stellar year in the series saw him come out of the box at Daytona in the second of two races for the season opening rounds, to win at the new stadium. Johnson and the team won again at Springfield at the Memorial Day Weekend mile event, and wrapped up the season by winning the season-ender in Prescott Valley, AZ. Throughout the year, Johnson showed his ability to bring it home in every race, and the team never suffered a DNF throughout the year, laying claim to a program that saw consistency and bike-prep as the groundwork for a very worthy championship season. Johnson's only finish outside the top ten in 2010 was a 13th place finish at the Gas City short track round in June. He won the title outright by a margin of 20 points, 289-269, to runner-up Joe Kopp and the Latus H-D/Lloyd Brother Ducati team.
Team owner Dave Zanotti adds to the legacy his father started in the '70s, when Mario Zanotti teamed with a young up-and-comer by the name of Steve Eklund, and won the '79 AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship. With Dave and Jake adding to that great feat from 31 years ago, Zanotti Racing is the only father/son duo to have won the coveted #1 plate in AMA Flat Track competition after over 50 years of racing in the series. Johnson, the 2002 AMA Flat Track Rookie of the Year, also won the '06 and '08 AMA Flat Track Singles Championships while riding for the American Suzuki effort.
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In what was a stellar year for fans and competitors alike, the 2010 AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship season saw new winners, new competition and new faces in the series to add to the great turn around that the series is seeing. But when the year was done and said, long-time competitor Jake Johnson and the Zanotti Racing team took home all of the honors while doing so with one of the legends of the sport, the Harley-Davidson XR750. With all of the 'new' in the series for this season, the final say-so went to a machine that has been competing in the series since the early '70s, showing everyone that the 'iron-clad' alloy XR isn't quite ready for the museum as of yet, restrictors or not!

Teaming together in the off-season last year, Jake Johnson and Zanotti Racing formed the perfect match to win the big marbles in AMA Flat Track Racing, and in doing so also showed how strong their team and rider were throughout the season by taking home 3 wins, only one finish on the year outside the top ten, and zero DNF's due to rider or mechanical failure. Talk about a near-dream season.

The great folks at Motorcycle-USA.com and The Fast and Dirty.com have teamed up to bring us this great season ending video from the Yavapai Downs Mile in Prescott Valley, AZ., and we get a chance to see and hear from some of the racers during round 16 of the 2010 season. Jake Johnson takes some time to reflect on the season, and ultimately the #1 plate as he wins the race over Jared Mees, the defending AMA Flat Track Grand National Twins Champion, by a scant .004 seconds to go out on top and collect the 2010 AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship for himself and Zanotti Racing.

You can check out the season-ending highlights right here and hear Jersey Jake reflect on the run-up to the season ender, and the result of winning it all. Congrats again to Jake Johnson and Zanotti Racing for a great championship season. I can't wait for 2011!

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/963/Motorcycle-Video/2010-AMA-Flat-Track-Arizona-Mile-II-Video.aspx
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Moto2 Tests in Valencia End with Encouraging Results for Kenny Noyes

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The Moto2 entries of #25 Alex Baldolini of the Caretta Technology Race Dept/I.C.R. chassis, the #5 of Joan Olive of the Jack & Jones by Antonio Banderas/Promoharris chassis and the #9 of Kenny Noyes of the Jack & Jones by Antonio Banderas/Promoharris chassis sit outside their respective garages during the Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP round in August of 2010. When the season was done and said, the Suter, FTR, Speed Up and Moriwaki chassis proved to have what it takes to run up front on a regular basis in the class, which is comprised of various chassis manufacturers running Honda 600 Supersport-spec control motors, and on Dunlop-spec tires. The teams were allowed to run their own combinations of fuel management mapping software as well as their own exhaust systems in the class.

The Banderas owned Jack & Jones team will be switching from the Promoharris to the Suter chassis for the 2011 season after struggling with the Promoharris chassis almost all year. Olive finished out of the points in the initial season of the new class, while Noyes finished 24th in what was a very rough season for the team. Highlight of the year for the team was Noyes taking the pole at the 3rd round of the season in France. Noyes finished the season ending test session in 15th out of the 31 riders that tested on Monday in Spain, while testing on a borrowed chassis with a strictly stock Honda 600 motor, leaving the test with a positive feeling for the upcoming year.

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Kenny Noyes had a stressful year in the inaugural season of the Moto2 World Championship, finishing in the 24th position for his Antonio Banderas owned Jack and Jones/Promoharris-equipped team. Several rounds into the season, the team found out that the Promoharris chassis lacked the set-up and development standards of the top-running Suter, Moriwaki, FTR or Speed Up chassis as employed by the front-running teams, and were quickly in a hole just trying to stay in the middle of the huge pack on race day.

The team will be switching to the Suter chassis for the 2011 season, and Noyes had the chance to test a 'borrowed' chassis with a stock Honda 600 engine on Monday, in Valencia, and was able to see after 42 laps that things should be much better for the team next year. Noyes is confirmed back with the team for next season, while this season's team mate Joan Olive is still unconfirmed. Olive finished out of the points entirely for the season, and did not test on Monday with any team.

You can check out the official reports and releases on the Moto2 season ending tests in Valencia, Spain below.

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Ultimate Motorcycling.com has this press release from the Antonio Banderas owned Jack and Jones Moto2 team and rider Kenny Noyes about their outing in the official season ending Moto2 tests at Valencia from Monday:

http://www.ultimatemotorcycling.com/2010/valencia-moto2-test-banderas-j-and-j-report

The folks at Crash.net have this release about Kenny Noyes re-signing with the Antonio Banderas owned Moto2 team for the 2011 season:

http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/164802/1/moto2_kenny_noyes_staying_at_banderas.html

MotoGP.com has this list of the times for the Moto2 test on Monday:

http://www.motogp.com/es/TestResults/Moto2+Valencia+Test+2011

....and they also filed this short story on the season ending tests in Valencia for the Moto2 class as well:

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/Moto2+Valencia+test+final+report

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Moto2 Testing in Valencia Sees Colin Edwards Helping Out Tech 3

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Tech 3 Racing's Moto2 entry of Yuki Takahashi sits outside the team's garages during the Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP round in August a little over two months ago. Takahashi finished the season ranked in the 12th position in the inaugural year of the Moto2 class on the #72 Tech 3/Packard Bell/Leo Vince sponsored machine, while team mate Raffaele de Rosa on the team's #35 like-sponsored entry finished in 27th place in the season ending standings. Takahashi will be racing for the 2010 Moto2 World Championship-winning team of Gresini Racing in the 2011 season, and de Rosa's whereabouts for the upcoming season had not been officially announced as of this writing for the upcoming season. He was, however one of 31 riders to test today in the Moto2 class in Spain. Takahashi did win the Barcelona round on the team's bike back in July and was runner-up in Brno in August for his best results of the year.
Colin Edwards, who is well known to U.S. fans, as well as his great following of fans across the pond, tested the team's entry today at the Valencia circuit, putting in 54 laps on the day. The Texas Tornado, who recently re-signed with Tech 3 to ride the Monster Energy YZF-M1 again in the MotoGP World Championship in 2011, is widely known as one of the better motorcycle racing test and set-up gurus around the paddock. He ended up 20th out of the 31 riders to take to the track while helping the team to test suspension settings to try and help improve on their somewhat dismal results for the team this year. Edwards will be on-board the #5 Monster Energy M1 tomorrow in Valencia as the two-day MotoGP tests kick off before the long season-ending break.
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Moto2 testing today in Valencia saw Colin Edwards aboard a 600-based machine for the first time since Daytona of 1994. Edwards, the '00 and '02 World Superbike Champion, offered to help Tech 3 Racing out with their Moto2 efforts in today's test session in order to help them gain a perspective on their dismal results for the inaugural Moto2 season. Turning 54 laps on the day, The Texas Tornado tried to help the team concentrate on suspension settings in order to turn the handling around on the team's entries in the class, which builds it's own chassis for the new class. Edwards told Cycle News.com's Henny Ray Abrams that the last time he was on a 600-based race bike was at Daytona in '94, when he was contesting the AMA Superbike Series as well as the Daytona round of the AMA 600 Supersport Series for the Vance and Hines Yamaha team.
Moriwaki, Suter and FTR seemed to be the more dominate chassis this year that were used in the all-Honda powered class, and the class also runs on spec Dunlop tires. One of Edwards complaints seemed to derive from the 'lack of power' in the machines, compared to a modern Superbike or especially a MotoGP bike (not that that is a big suprise!) The new class, that took over for the old 250CC World Championship for this year, made for some very close and exciting racing this year, with as many as 42 riders on the grid at each of the 17 rounds. Toni Elias won the inaugural championship while running for Team Gresini and had clinched the championship
in Malaysia back in October. Yesterday's season-ender at Valencia was won by Karel Abraham, the ninth different winner on the year. Elias will be moving back to the MotoGP class for 2011 with rhe LCR Honda team, replacing departing Randy de Puniet. Abraham will be moving along with his Cardion AB team to the MotoGP class for 2011 as a satellite entry for Ducati.

You can read all of the official releases below about the season-ending Moto2 tests in Spain.
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Colin Edwards talked with Henny Ray Abrams today at Cycle News.com about testing the team's Moto2 bike after not having ridden a 600-based machine since Daytona in 1994:

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2010/11/08/colin-edwards-goes-moto2

Here are the overall times in today's Valencia Moto2 tests thanks to the folks at RoadRacingWorld.com. Edwards and Tech 3's new Moto2 team mates talked about today's efforts:

http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=42594

And here is Tech 3's official Moto2 site:

http://www.teamtech3.fr/moto2/

Thanks to Ultimate Motorcycling.com for this link to the press release from Tech 3 announcing the new team mates on November 2, Bradley Smith and Mike di Meglio for the 2011 season in the Moto2 class:

http://www.ultimatemotorcycling.com/2011-moto2-tech-3-team-announced
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MotoGP: Valencia Season Finale Sees Loris Capirossi's Last Ride With Rizla Suzuki and Other Post Season Notes

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Loris Capirossi's #65 Rizla Suzuki GSV-R V4 sits just outside the team's garages during the Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP round at the end of August of this year. In what was the end of a three year run with the team, Capirossi's last ride on the fledgling MotoGP team came to an end with a wimper, as he finished out of the classification in the results some 17 laps down. A long-time competitor in the top levels of racing, the Italian and fan favorite will be moving to the Pramac Ducati team alongside also-new team member Randy DePuniet come Tuesday morning at Valencia.
MotoGP season-ending testing kicks off for the teams in what will be the last test of the year before the long off-season and testing ban until after the first of the year. Moto2 teams take to the track in Spain first thing in the morning.
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Loris Capirossi's last ride with the long-suffering and under achieving Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team came to a close with nary a whisper, as he finished out of the overall classification some 17 laps arrears at the season-ender in Valencia. The 3-Time World Champion (125CC World Champion '90-'91, 250CC World Champion '98) ended up finishing in the 16th spot in the 2010 MotoGP World Championship standings, and will be moving to the Pramac Ducati team, hopefully with much better results down the road. Before this year, and since he had joined the premier class in 2000, 'Capirex' had never finished outside the top 10 in the overall point standings. He finished the '08 season in 10th and last year in 9th while riding for the rolling papers team. Capirossi started the year at Qatar with his 300th appearance on the premier class grid.

Rizla Suzuki has struggled mightily in the premier road racing class in the world, and for the most part haven't been but a blip on the radar since Kenny Roberts, Jr. won the 2000 500CC World Championship. The England-based team will trim down to one bike/one rider for the 2011 season after it was initially thought they would be leaving the series completely earlier in the year. Dorna, the governing body for the MotoGP/Moto2/125CC World Championship Series, will be helping out to kick in some needed support in hopes of plugging the dike of leaking/thinning grids in the high-dollar MotoGP series to keep Suzuki from leaving the sport altogether. And in support of the team from this fan's standpoint, they HAVE at least stuck around all these years in terms of bikes on the grid. Their results have been far less than stellar, but they have filled a major need in what has been a big drop off in teams competing in the series the last few years. And with 16-17 bike grids, that's saying a bunch right now.

Tomorrow kicks off post-season testing in Valencia with all the major movers getting acquainted with their new surroundings. Moto2 teams hit the track on Monday, with Colin Edwards reported to be testing the Tech 3 team's entry to further help develop that machine after the intitial season for the first-year class. Kenny Noyes' Jack and Jones Antonio Banderas' owned team will be leaving the Promoharris chassis in the garage and moving to a Suter chassis for the 2011 season, which should better align him and the team with the more popular chassis option after the first year of the series.

Tuesday morning will see the changes everyone has been hearing about, speculating about and known about almost the entire 18 race season in the premier MotoGP class. '07 MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner will be aboard a Repsol Honda after his four year stint with the Marlboro Ducati team, 2010 MotoGP Rookie of the Year Ben Spies will be straddling the Factory Fiat Yamaha, and Capirossi and DePuniet will be on board with the Pramac Ducati team.
Oh yes, some guy by the name of Valentino Rossi will be riding for some team out of Italy on a big red Ducati.

Just the team changes alone make me wish the 2011 season was ready to go already, instead of some four months off. It's going to be a LONG off-season in Indianapolis.
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Here is the official press release from the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team bidding adieu to three year team member Loris Capirossi:

http://www.rizla-suzuki-motogp.co.uk/news/story.asp?story=20101107175924_SUZUKI
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AMA Flat Track: Joe Kopp Retirement Release from AMA Pro Flat Track

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Joe Kopp, the '00 AMA Flat Track Grand National Champion, sits in his pit area at the Lima Half Mile round of the AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship Series in late June of this year. Kopp was riding his Lloyd Brothers/American Agip-sponsored Ducati 1098, thusly his long-trusted Latus H-D XR sits beside him while he talks with the fans.
Kopp went back to the trusty XR for the half mile events in Lake Odessa and Hagerstown (where he won both!) and also at the West Coast round at Calistoga, where he ultimately ended up finishing in the seventh spot after having to win his semi to qualify for the main event. Smokin Joe's crash in turn one in his heat race is still clear in fan's minds when the swingarm pivot bolt broke, causing him to lowside into the airfence. Thankfully he wasn't hurt badly and Joe went on to finish second in the final year-end standings to 2010 AMA Flat Track Grand National Champion Jake Johnson and the Zanotti Racing team.
The 2010 season in AMA Flat Track was really all about change, and overall it was accepted AND displayed at a very high level. Not only did the series see added venues, but new promoters that came on board and knew how to sell the sport, new blood in the series in terms of the equipment and rules packages, and a much-tighter and entertaining show that helped to keep the fans interested throughout the season. And in terms of attendance, the people are starting to come back to see the show. Many venues, and not just the usually well-attended one's run by the IMDA, showed signs of good attendance, if not sell-outs (both new Arizona events.) And safety has also been stepped up for the series, as well. AMA Flat Track Manager Mike Kidd is the man behind the turnaround, and the series is more healthy then it's ever been as a result of his vision for the sport.
Look for more and even BETTER things in the upcoming season(s) as AMA Pro Flat Track goes further into the new decade with the best show on wheels. With new winners Ducati and Kawasaki, the return of Triumph to the series, and new and updated entries in the form of KTM, BMW and Suzuki, the series is breathing life into a sport that has captivated fans for over five decades, but who had as well felt the downturn in the sport, let alone the downturn in the economy. With entertainment at a premium now and a slicker, more polished show to be seen, the fans are returning and the action has also taken a BIG step forward.
Like I have been saying for the better part of the year now, this ISN'T your father's AMA Flat Track anymore. And I, among many others, are thrilled at the new look and feel of The Rolling Thunder Show!
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I just wanted to take the time to post this press release from AMA Pro Flat Track, and thank them for taking the time to display one of my shots. Originally posted back in early July, the shot above is one I took in the pit area during the Lima Half Mile event at the end of June, with Joe Kopp talking to the fans during the pitwalk that afternoon.

It also really made me feel like some of this stuff I have been putting out here on Stu's Shots has been helping and maybe even making a difference in the sport, especially after I received an e-mail from AMA Flat Track Manager and '81 AMA Flat Track Grand National Champion Mike Kidd. I can say without a doubt that he has always been one of my all-time heroes of the sport, and seeing him win the Terre Haute Half Mile in August of '75 solidified that feeling even more for a 'then' kid of 18 years old. MK mentioned how he thought this 'was a great shot' and how he felt that I had been doing a great job in 'catching all the elements of the GNC series' this year.

WOW--thanks Mike, and thanks for taking the time to check out Stu's Shots. And thanks for getting this thing turned around in the great sport of AMA Flat Track!

To note, the shot I posted above is one of Stu's Shots, but just to be clear the other shots that are attached to this press release from AMA Flat Track are NOT. I just want to make sure no one thinks that I would try to take credit for something I wasn't a part of. That's not my way of operating and I try to make sure that that is always clear with everyone who takes the time to come by and check us out.

Thanks as well to everyone who takes time out of their busy day to come by and check us out here at Stu's Shots. We always appreciate it!
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Joe Kopp The Man! The Machine! The Family Man! His Retirement! What a career you had! Is it hard for you to believe the days of chasing a championship title is over? Yea it really is, but I think I'm ready. I have known all year long, but my biggest question was am I going to go out with the # 1 plate. Having that # 1 plate to take home would have even made it easier for me to retire. But yea, I am sure I will still be chasing some racing title doing something, just not full time GNC racing. Most riders turn expert at around 17-18 years old, you first turned expert in 1991 at the age of 22. Why the late start? I was always into the off-road scene, such as local hare scrambles and x-country races, but I would ocassional throw a leg over a bike at the local flattrack races. I remember when I was about 12 one of my first dirt track bikes was an old Yamaha RD250 twin two-stroke and that dang thing about killed me. Then I went to a Maico 490 then a KX500, which both had stock frames. I guess I learned some serious throttle control on those bikes. But I just really enjoyed racing off-road in my younger years, plus my cousins and I grew up here in Mica (WA) at the base of the mountains and trails were everywhere, so thats what we learned to ride. I always said, if they ever throw a log or some sort of obstacle in the straight at the Springfield mile, those boys are gonna get a good whoopin' . Then a few years after highschool a couple of local guys let me ride a Champion framed 250 liquid cooled Cr250 Honda at a local race and that was probably the first real flattrack framed bike I ever rode. I was like, damn, these things actually handle when you put a good chassis where they can hooke up. That year I also got my pro-am license and off we went. So yea I got a late start in flattrack, but at the same time it probably helped me out by not getting burned out at an early age. At what time in your career did you realize you were good enough to win the Grand National Championship series? I don't know that I ever thought I was good enough to win the title before I actually won it. I've never been a real confident person, like when some people get beat on ten times in row at the races and they still think they are still better than you. I was never like that, however I knew that if I ever got a bunch of confidence from winning a few races or just running up front, then these boys were gonna be in trouble. I have always been pretty confident with my racing, but to have confidence to win at the GNC level versus confidence to just qualify for a main is a whole different thing. It takes forever to build confidence but only an instant to loose it all! But over the last several years I have learned a few tricks.... but I ain't gonna tell! ha-ha Ducati Suzuki KTM Harley-Davidson Throughout your career you have probably raced more different brands of motorcycles than anyone on the series. What did winning the Mile at Prescott, AZ on the Ducati mean to you personally? You know winning the Arizona Mile on the Ducati didn't really mean that much to me at the moment. I don't think I realized the importance of it until the weeks following, then I was amazed at what it stirred up. It was truely awesome and I am very proud to be a part of it. I just have always liked to take on new challenges in my career. You achieved the flat track Grand Slam by winning short track, TT, Half Mile and Mile. Which discipline did you feel you were the most competitive and why? I would say TT's are my favorite to ride, but I think I am the most competetive on the 1/2 miles. I really don't care if the track is a cushion or clay, I just feel I can adapt to most different conditions faster than the other riders. I think that the slicker or more technical a track gets plays into my cards. I really feel comfortable in situations when you are trying to find every last bit of traction and not just wacking the throttle wide open and going for it. At the same time I have always liked to prove myself on different types of race tracks. The commitment and challenges to race at your level had to have been overwhelming at times. Was there any other time before now you thought about hanging up the steel shoe? For the last few years it was just getting harder and harder to make a full comittment each week. But even when I was down on my results, I always had GREAT people around me that kept me going. My family, sponsors and friends I had around me is what allowed me to stay competitive. You became a crowd favorite at more than your fair share of races with the longest autograph lines. Why do you think the fans picked you as their favorite rider? I have always made it a point to really try and be fan friendly with the fans but more importantly with the kids at the races and I think that really started to show in the last couple of years. I have young kids at home and I know how much they look up to a racer such as myself, so if you take the time and chat with them while signing an autograph, you would be amazed with what kind of memory it leaves with that yound child. I've always believed, you should treat someone the way you would like to be treated. Pretty simple really. I just always wanted to be known as a good guy on and off the track and I feel like I have accomplished that. Although you announced your retirement, you also stated there will be a couple times you may get the bikes dusted off to hit some races next year. Any idea which events you may plan to attend? I'm thinking somewhere like Daytona and maybe the Springfield TT since those were always two of my favorites. Plus I would like to do something like Pikes Peak ,maybe a few Endurocrosses, or what ever else comes along that would be fun to do. It appeared during your announcement speech at the awards ceremony it all was becoming a reality. That must have been tough. I knew it was going to be tough! I really could not even think too much about it in the days leading up to the awards ceremony without getting choked up. There were so many more things I wanted to say but I couldn't because I just was not able to talk. I wanted to congratulate Jake and his crew because I saw how hard they worked all year. I also wanted to thank all of my fans, friends and sponsors over the years. It was an emotional moment, but I guess people understood just what flattrack has meant to me over the years. It is and has been my life and my family's life! The saying goes...behind every great man, is a great woman. How has Deedee played a role in your racing? Where do I start? DeeDee has always played a major role in my career. Non stop, week in and week out she has helped me through the good and bad times. Now it's time for me to join her in doing things she loves to do like horse back riding or what ever she has planned. For years we have talked about maybe getting into team roping together. All I can say, if that is the direction we want to go.... those cowboys better watch out. DeeDee gets as serious as I do when it comes to being competitve. I really look forward to all the new things we will do together. Are the kids and Deedee ready to have you home? This is something we have all discussed over time, so I think everyone is ready. With all the traveling we have done over the years we will probably get ants in our pants to get back on the road and go somewhere. I don't see us just sitting home. Many sports figures have a hard time adjusting after retiring. How is Joe Kopp going to handle the slower pace and less stress? I'm not sure if I will slow down that much as I have lots of ideas. I can't financially retire, so I will need to find something fun and rewarding to do. But yea, I am not sure about less stress or slower pace, but I would say that safer is more like the word for the job I am looking for. ha-ha Any regrets along the way that stands out? I have no regrets along the way. Sure there are the things here or there that you think about, but really I have had such a GREAT time out there racing full time on the AMA GNC circuit, I would not trade it for anything! There were some battles on the track that were maybe left unfinished, but ya know what comes around goes around in my book. I love good carma and bad carma! ha-ha Congratulations on your successful racing career and we look forward to seeing you with your induction into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. WOW! The Hall of Fame would be amazing! I'm not sure if I will fall into that group, but if I do, I guess that would be like winning another championship. Thank you! TEAM LATUS VIDEO As a subscriber to this newsletter you will receive information on a regular basis. As the 2010 AMA Pro Flat Track Season draws near we may send you exciting news and announcements regarding that season on a more frequent basis.

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Here's the kink to the same press release over at Larry Lawrence's great site, The Rider Files.com. Great stuff as always coming from one of the long-time contributors and gurus of the great sport of motorcycle racing!

http://www.theriderfiles.com/?p=6806

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MotoGP: Valencia Season Finale & A Peek Inside the Repsol Honda Garages

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The Repsol Honda team displays the RC212Vs of team mates Andrea Dovizioso #4 and Dani Pedrosa #26 at the Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP in August of 2010, round 11 of the 18 round 2010 MotoGP World Championship Series season. Pedrosa went on to win the round by just over 3.5 seconds over Tech 3 Monster Energy Yamaha's Ben Spies, with eventual 2010 MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo rounding out the podium on his factory Fiat Yamaha YZF-M1. The San Carlo Gresini satellite Honda of Marco Simoncelli just sits out of the shot to the right. The Gresini team is the top-dog of the Honda satellite teams on the circuit and were garaged next to the official factory team at this round.
Pedrosa goes into the season-ending round 18 at Valencia this weekend 2nd in the standings to 2010 Champ Lorenzo, 358-236 points, and sits 19 points up on 3rd place, 7-Time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi. For the most part, if Pedrosa at least finishes the race in the top 10 he should clinch second spot in the season-ending standings. '07 MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner sits 4th, with 205 points, and Dovizioso rounds out the top 5 with 195 points. Dovi has the best chance of moving up in the standings should Stoner have any major problems in the race on Sunday. 6th in the championship is Spies with 163 points, and '06 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden sits 7th, also with 163 points, but losing out on the tie-breaker to 2-time podium finisher on the year Spies.
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With the last of the major motorcycle racing series winding down for the season this weekend in Valencia, Spain, the 2010 MotoGP World Championship has already been clinched by Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo. But with 'pecking order' status still up for grabs throughout the rest of the grid, anything can happen, as what we saw last weekend with the horrid weather conditions in Portugal. The good news is the weather is predicted to be clear and partly cloudy locally for the next two days and temperatures to be in the upper 60sF.

Ben Spies, who clinched the 2010 MotoGP Rookie of the Year Award two races ago, suffered what has been 'termed' a severe sprain during the warm-up for the final event in Portugal last Sunday. The Tech 3 Monster Energy Yamaha pilot's availability was in question for the season-ender as to how severe this sprain was. However, after talking to SuperBikePlanet.com's own Dean Adams the first of the week, he was assured that he would be riding this weekend. Elbowz was 9th in free practice 1 this morning just over a second back from Stoner, and in free practice 2 had moved up to 6th just .838 seconds in arrears of fast-man Lorenzo. '06 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden, who sits in the 7th spot in the championship standings on the Marlboro Ducati, was 6th and 10th in the two sessions today and hovering just under a second behind the front.

You can follow the race action via MotoGP.com from below, and take a 'look' inside the Repsol Honda team garages as well.
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Ultimate Motorcycling.com had this great press release from Repsol Honda that looks into the garages at a MotoGP event. You can expand each of the pictures up towards the top to get a wallpaper-sized version. The first pic is the actual lay-out inside the garage at a typical MotoGP event. Way Cool!

http://www.ultimatemotorcycling.com/motogp-inside-the-repsol-honda-garage

You can follow the season-ending round at Valencia here thanks to the Repsol Honda official site:

http://world.honda.com/MotoGP/2010/18valencia/

Cool World Clock gadget thanks to Honda:

http://world.honda.com/worldclock/index.html

Very nice photo slideshow of the RC212V Repsol machine:

http://world.honda.com/HRC/repsolhondateam/machine/
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You can follow all of the season-ending action at the Valencia circuit via MotoGP's official site below. Free practice session 3 begins at 0505 EDT tomorrow, with qualifying practice at 0905 EDT for the MotoGP class.

The MotoGP race is at 0800 EST (most U.S. States fall back on Standard Time at 0200 Sunday local time) on Sunday morning. The race is also being shown 'live' on SpeedTV in the U.S. at 0800 EST:

http://www.motogp.com/
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AMA Flat Track: Mike Kidd Talks About Turning it Around in the 2010 Season

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AMA Flat Track Manager Mike Kidd, the '81 AMA Flat Track Grand National Champion, can be seen talking with members of Jared Mees' Rogers Lake/Blue Springs H-D team just prior to rider intros for the Springfield Mile Grand National on September 5. Mees can be seen kneeling alongside and behind his bike and crew. Behind him standing to the side is Willie McCoy, rider of the #59 H-D of Wausau/Independence H-D XR.
Further back, Tuner to the Stars Bill Werner holds Bryan Smith's #42 Werner Springsteen Monster Energy Kawasaki (the eventual winner of this event), and then (partially hidden) Kenny Tolbert holds Chris Carr's #4 Lancaster H-D/DFW Honda-sponsored XR.
With what he calls his '5-Year plan' to resurrect AMA Flat Track, Kidd and Company (including AMA Flat Track Operations Manager and former National #42 Steve Morehead) are ahead of the game plan in terms of turning the sport around. With new venues on board that also have promoters that have been capable of selling the show and putting paying butts in the seats, and with several long-time returning venues that have been capable of promoting AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship competition, the series is well on it's way to breathing new life into not only the sport, but the motorcycle industry as well.
Kidd made his mark on the series originally back in the early-mid '70s, riding for several factory efforts including Triumph and Harley-Davidson, among others. After finally grabbing hold of the coveted AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship #1 plate in the '81 season, Kidd signed on with Team Honda to help further develop what would end up being a very lethal RS750 that all but re-wrote the record books in AMA GNC competition, until they pulled their factory representation out of the sport in the late '80s. The Honda RS750 went on to live strong and stay at the top for several years, including Ricky Graham's miracle season in winning it all in '93. The RS750 won it's last AMA National event at Joliet in August of 1998 at the hands of former National #80 Rich King, but forever lives on in many (and this!) fans eyes and memories as a result of efforts put forth in the early development years by one of the flat track masters of all time, Mike Kidd, who retired from active competition at the end of the '83 season.
Taking the time to speak with me briefly at Springfield over the Labor Day Weekend, one of the main things he mentioned about the 'old' AMA was that they 'didn't understand the entertainment value' of the sport, thusly the programs would drag along and sometimes take hours to run due to the disorganization. And if there is one thing (among MANY others when it comes to racing!) that MK knows is entertainment, as his record and prowess of running the Arenacross Series is for one a showcase of HOW to promote a sport and it's many venues. Mike's brother Gary has also worked with him over the years, and currently takes care of all credentials (among other duties) at all AMA Flat Track events.
The two of them, along with the VERY long list of people (besides Morehead) who they have surrounded themselves with to run the show, have done a VERY remarkable job of turning it around. And I am saying that having followed this sport for over three-and-a-half decades. Never has the program been tighter, well choreographed and safety-minded since Team Kidd and Company started
to oversee The Rolling Thunder Show in the 2009 season. And in terms of the '5-Year plan,' they still have three years to hone the program to what is already looking like a VERY finely-tuned machine to a series that was struggling, except for a few long-time venues (anything run by the IMDA would fit here.)
With new tracks and a new rules package introduced to open up the level of competition against the series-standard H-D XR750, this year saw some of the best and most exciting racing in some time. I've been saying almost all year now, that if you haven't been to an AMA Flat Track event in some time, 2011 would be the time to do so again. This isn't your father's AMA Flat Track anymore, and the future could never look better for the best and most exciting form of racing in the world.
Make your plans now, because 2011 should be EVEN BETTER then what we have seen this year!
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Road Racer X's own Backmarker himself, Mark Gardiner, was on-hand at the season-ending AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship round in Prescott Valley, AZ., to take in all of the action at the Budweiser Racing Arizona Mile on the Yavapai Downs mile oval. Mark is one of the good guys in the business, and does a super job of helping to cover AMA Flat Track Series racing, especially considering he writes for a road racing magazine.

While on-hand to check out all the great action at round 16 of the series, he also got a chance to talk with former '81 AMA Flat Track Grand National Champion Mike Kidd, who has overseen the series since coming on board for the 2009 season. Kidd, his brother Gary, former National #42 Steve Morehead and a VERY long list of fine and hard working people have been running the new show since the beginning of the '09 season, and are responsible for turning around a series that was in desperate need of help. Since that time, with new venues, new rules and new blood being introduced to The Rolling Thunder Show, the series is breathing on it's own and starting to look better then it has in decades. And the competition level has stepped up a notch to add to what has always been the most exciting form of racing in the world.

You can check out Mark's great interview with one of the long-time stars of the sport, and also one of the saviours of AMA Flat Track, right here. Part one is this week, and we will add part two next week when Mark files his follow-up interview and review.

Great job Mark! And Mike Kidd and Company, we bow to you for saving the best sport on wheels and breathing life into the great sport of AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship Racing!

Backmarker Column by Mark Gardiner, with AMA Flat Track Manager Mike Kidd, part one:

http://www.roadracerx.com/features/backmarker/backmarker-ama-pro-flat-track-boss-mike-kidd-looks-back-over-a-positive-season-and-forward-to-what%e2%80%99s-ahead/
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2011 Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP Tickets On Sale Starting 11/4

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The garage doors come up in the MotoGP pit area just before the final practice session of the Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP round on August 28. Moto2 riders can just be seen winding down their final practice session for the upcoming afternoon's qualifying session for the 3rd Annual Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP event at the World Capital of Racing.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 4th Annual round at Indy scheduled for late August of 2011. And if you are a Nascar fan, the Brickyard 400 tickets go on sale tomorrow as well.
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The Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced today that tickets will go on sale starting tomorrow for the 4th Annual Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP round at IMS for the weekend of August 26-28, 2011. Special ticket pricing remains in effect for the 2011 event, similar to the special pricing that was introduced for the 2010 event at the World Capital of Racing. As was the case this year, three Americans will represent the United States for the MotoGP elite series again in the 2011 season.

Nicky Hayden returns to the Marlboro Ducati team in hopes of getting the team and the '06 MotoGP World Champion closer to the top of the box again. Hayden's best finish with the team came at Indy in his first year on the Italian squad in August of 2009 when he finished third behind winner Jorge Lorenzo and runner-up Alex DeAngelis. He finished his first year on the big-bang Ducati in 13th in the World Championship, and with one round remaining for the 2010 season at Valencia this weekend, he is currently tied for 7th in the championship, with fellow American Ben Spies holding the tie breaker via his podium finishes this year.

2010 MotoGP Rookie of the Year Ben Spies will be moving up to the factory Fiat Yamaha team alongside new 2010 MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo. Whether Fiat returns to the team is yet to be determined for the 2011 season, as talk has been heard for months that with 7-Time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi moving to the Ducati team, that the Italian Fiat brand may just move along with him, making for a 3-tiered Italian strike on the MotoGP World Championship for the 2011-2012 seasons. This could make for an interesting trifecta for all fans of racing, let alone the extremely passionate fans in Italy, and may be the most interesting off-season story concerning sponsors in the elite championship should it come to fruition.

Colin Edwards, the former 2-Time World Superbike Champion, will also be on the grid for the 2011 season, again astride the Tech 3 Monster Energy Yamaha YZR-M1. It was suspected several weeks before the Indy round in 2010 that Edwards may have been moving back to World Superbike, but with Ducati pulling out of the premier production series to concentrate their efforts in the MotoGP series, those plans pretty much went up in smoke for the Texas Tornado. That left Edwards and Tech 3, without any other viable options for the 2011 season, and the France-based satellite team re-signed him for another year to team alongside new-signee and '09 World Supersport Champion, Cal Crutchlow.

You can read the official press release here from the offices of IMS:

http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/redbullindianapolisgp/news/show/40367-2011-brickyard-400-red-bull-indianapolis-gp-tickets-on-sale-nov-4/
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Interwetten Honda Out of MotoGP for 2011

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The RC212V Honda of '09 250CC World Champion Hiroshi Aoyama is warmed up in the pitlane in front of the Interwetten Honda garages at the Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP round in August of 2010. The satellite Honda team made the official announcement during last weekend's round in Portugal that they would be discontinuing their efforts in the premier MotoGP class for the 2011 season and concentrating solely on the Moto2 class. Aoyama finished in the 12th position in Estoril on Sunday in the MotoGP race.

Aoyama is expected to make an announcement at the season ending round in Valencia this weekend as to what his future will hold, and with which team. He currently sits in 15th place in the MotoGP World Championship point standings with 51 points.

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The Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team, one of the satellite Honda teams in the premier MotoGP World Championship, made it official over the weekend that they would be pulling out of the MotoGP class for the 2011 season, and concentrating on the Moto2 class with rider Thomas Luthi. As mentioned, they hope to be able to return to the elite class by 2012, when the new rules packages will take effect with the return to 1000CC in the world championship series.

With Interwetten out, the already EXTREMELY thin grid in the top-dog series would look to be trimmed to 16 riders, however Ducati had announced earlier in the season that they would be adding rider Karel Abraham with the Cardion AB Ducati satellite team for the 2011 season. That still only makes for 17 riders on the grid for the 2011 season, the same number as we have seen this year.

Maybe with any luck with the new-for-2012 rules packages and the return to the 1000CC era

in MotoGP will we see some grids in the premier class that don't look enemic. The series has been getting slimmer in terms of less-full grids the last few years, and much less exciting in terms of overall racing action due to the electronics as well as the established 800CC platform in use since the 2007 season. Mid-pack action has been decent at times, but the thrilling battles one would expect in the top-flight series for the most part have been few and far between.

At this point, we can only hold on and hope.

Here is the official news on Interwetten's pulling out thanks to the always great David Emmett

at MotoMatters.com:

http://motomatters.com/news/2010/11/02/interwetten_honda_motogp_withdrawal_conf.html

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AMA Flat Track: 1st Time Milestones in 2010 Season

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The 2010 AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship Series season saw only one first-time winner on the year, but that didn't make the monumental effort any less important than what it was for not only this rider, but for the series itself as well. Steve Bonsey took the #80 Johnny Goad/Alpinestars/Arai/Dodge Brothers-sponsored H-D XR750 to his first win in the series' first race in Northern California in over 12 years.
At the Calistoga Half Mile event at the end of July, Bonsey started the day off strong timing in second in practice, qualifying in third overall (in a field of 32 riders), and taking 2nd place in the 3rd heat race of the day to punch his ticket to the main event. Heat 3 winner Sammy Halbert, 3rd place Jared Mees, and 4th place Henry Wiles made things pretty honest for Bonsey in the heat. He also managed to score one point bringing it home 5th in the Dash for Cash. In the main, Stevie worked his way through the field to beat the likes of Halbert, Jake Johnson, Chris Carr and Jared Mees to win by 1.176 seconds and put his name in the record books as a first-timer on the top of the podium in AMA Flat Track GNC Racing.
After having been road racing in Europe until the end of the 2009 season, Bonsey was expected to get a ride in the new Moto2 World Championship Series with Kenny Roberts for the 2010 season. The one-time prodigy of The King, who hails from Salinas, CA. (home to other notables such as Wayne Rainey, Doug Chandler and the late Ricky Graham) lost that ride when sponsorship dollars failed to appear for Kenny and the team. But as a result, the AMA Flat Track Series and it's fans were elated to see the youngster campaigning one of the legendary Harley XRs for one of the tuning legends in the sport, Johnny Goad.
Bonsey earned his National number at the Springfield TT in May of '09, and rode his first mile event the next day at the legendary Illinois State Fairgrounds mile oval. For 2010 he would wear the #80, ditching the 'Y' from his rookie campaign season.
Although he wasn't able to duplicate his great run at Calistoga with another podium on the year, Bonsey still finished 12th in the points in the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Series with 81 points. He also qualified for eight other events on the year including his 6th place finish at the Springfield Short Track over the Labor Day weekend, and his 7th place finish on the Yavapai Downs Mile at the end of the season. And although we wish him the very best in the coming future, we sure hope that 'best' is in the AMA Flat Track Series!
The attached shot shows Steve Bonsey in the Dodge Brothers pit area at the Springfield Mile on September 5, where Stevie brought the #80 machine home in the 10th spot in the main event.
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With the rules for AMA Pro Flat Track in the 2010 season having been set to allow several other manufacturers to run in the Expert Twins Series alongside the long-standing H-D XR750 prototype, the season saw several new entries in GN Twins main events that were either first-timers to the show, or first-time winners. The Lloyd Brothers team with rider Joe Kopp managed to put the icing on the cake for their efforts in May with the big Ducati 1098, and at the Lucas Oil Indy Mile at the end of August we saw the breakout win with Bryan Smith at the controls of the Werner Springsteen Monster Energy Kawasaki.
Somewhat overshadowed by these events were the efforts of Rookie-Expert Jeremy Higgins on the #82B Waters Auto Body/Power Sports Institute/Arlen Ness/Bell-sponsored 'Project K' KTM 950-based team. Jeremy set a major milestone in the series (and for his team!) by putting the big KTM in the main events at both the Canterbury Park and Yavapai Downs races at the end of the season, giving Jeremy and the KTM their very first points in an AMA Flat Track Grand National Championship Twins Series event. Higgins earned his first-ever ticket to a Twins main event with a fine ride into 3rd place in heat 2 at the Canterbury Park Mile, and came home 12th in the final to earn his National number for the 2011 season. He also finished 10th in Prescott Valley, where he had to come off the back row in the 25 lap final event, after having qualified for the main via a 5th place finish in the only semi for the day. Team mate Chad Cose on the #49 KTM 950 also put the team's other machine in the main at the season-ender on the Yavapai Downs Mile, where he finished 13th on the day, and also making history for KTM and AMA Flat Track for having two representatives in a Twins event. Higgins finished the year in the 29th spot in the overall point standings with 16 points, based on his year-end results.
A very fine effort by Jeremy and his family-run and operated team for the year! It is a major undertaking to take on anyone in any major racing series, but to do so with a manufacturer that is new to the series is great for the sport. And from the shot attached of the team at Lima in June (you can also see Cose's #49 Waters Auto Body Suzuki sitting in the rear of the shot) you have to appreciate the looks and layout of these fine machines, as they are visually stunning. The picture really doesn't do the looks of these well-prepared bikes any justice. Great job Jeremy and Company, and we're looking forward to seeing more in the 2011 season! Once this young rider and team completely come together in the Twins Series, look to see more of them in more mains in the coming season.
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J.D. Beach had an extremely busy year in motorcycle racing during the 2010 season. Competing full-time in the AMA Pro SuperSport East Road Racing Series, he won eight events while competing on the Rockwall Performance YZF-R6, and had wrapped up the overall East Series title after the VIR round in early August. In the AMA Pro Motorcycle Superstore.com Pro Singles events, he qualified for six events, winning four rounds including the Peoria TT and the Lucas Oil Indy Mile while competing on his #95C Red Bull/Top 1 Oil/Rockwall Performance/

Alpinestars-backed Honda 450. And to wrap it up, Beach jumped to the Expert Class for the Springfield Short Track round the weekend after Indy, and in his very first appearance in the premier AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship Series, managed to put his #95C Craig Rogers-backed Honda 450 on the podium with a great run into 3rd place behind winner Henry Wiles and runner-up Jake Johnson.

Beach's past accomplishments include running the Red Bull Rookies Cup alongside the MotoGP World Championship Series in 2008, where he finished the season ranked 16th in the overall standings. Learning the high-speed tracks along the way surely helped J.D. as he also jumped on a Rogers Lake Racing-backed XR during the Springfield Mile the day after his first Expert Class podium, and managed to bring it home in the 12th spot in the veteran-filled main event.

In the shot shown, Beach is sitting in his pit area at Springfield several hours before putting it on the podium in the Expert Singles final. He was being interviewed at the time by the tv crew on hand to film for Mav TV. Next to his pit area was his team mate for the weekend, #21 Jared Mees.

With the lure of road racing looming on his future, getting to see J.D. at least run a few events in 2010 was wonderful, and the personable young man has a very bright future ahead of him no matter where he goes and what he races. Obviously, we hope he stays in the AMA Flat Track Series for at least part of the time to shine that big smile around the circuit, let alone showcase his talents on the dirt tracks. Great year J.D.!

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With the 2010 AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship Series celebrating a magnificent year in terms of attendance, competition and turn-around in the sport, there were many stories to be told for the year. Obviously Ducati's big win in May on the Yavapai Downs Mile leading off the season, and then

towards the end of the summer seeing the Kawasaki wins at Indy and Springfield were the 'big' break-out stories of the year.

But along the way, there were many other 'first time' events and happenings that also helped to define the great turnaround in AMA Flat Track racing. I've only touched on three of those events for the season, knowing there were many more. These were the one's (other than what we have talked about since the end of the season, that is) that also helped shape the great year that the series has had. (For that matter, I would love any/all suggestions from readers to add to the list, or just to write and read about through the off-season. So if you are reading this, and want to add to the mix of what you think would be a good read here, by all means drop me a line and a suggestion to help us all get through the winter months!)

So join me in congratulating these, and all the entrants and participants in the AMA Flat Track Series, for a year, and a job well done. Here's looking back on 2010 and looking forward to the 2011 season!

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Here are a few links to check out on Jeremy Higgins from the #82B Waters Auto Body/Power Sports Institute/Arlen Ness/Bell-sponsored KTM 950-based team. This was a monumental undertaking in setting up the big KTM for AMA Pro Flat Track, and along with Ducati and Kawasaki coming into this great sport (and winning, in their cases) is another fine example of the machinery available under the current rules in place for the series.

Jeremy putting the bike in the main in Minnesota and he and Chad Cose both putting the KTM 950 in the main at the season-ender in Prescott Valley were HUGE for the sport, let along the team! This is the kind of story that is bringing AMA Flat Track Racing back to the forefront in terms of helping to put more paying butts in the seats as well as getting the word out on this great sport. Excellent job by both Jeremy and Chad this year!

Here's the link for Jeremy Higgins' Team Project K Racing:

http://www.projectkracing.com/

Steve Warne's great Poppa Wheelie site has these shots of Project K/Waters Auto Body team mates Jeremy Higgins #82B (that number will be changing to a 'solid' number for 2011 based on putting the KTM in the final at Canterbury Park alone) and Chad Cose #49 on the team's Suzuki from the season-ender at Yavapi Downs:

http://pwheelie.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html#7495581553128681036

Jeremy filed this year-end report after putting the KTM in the main for the second race of the 2010 season (and second race in a row!) in the AMA Pro Flat Track K&N Filters presented by Motorcycle Superstore.com Grand National Championship season-ending round in Prescott Valley. Check it out at THE place for flat track racing and fans, FlatTrack.com:

http://www.flattrack.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1016&Itemid=9

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Here's some more info on 1st-time winner in the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Series, Steve Bonsey of the #80 Johnny Goad/

Alpinestars/Arai/Dodge Brothers-sponsored team. Congrats on a super season, Stevie, and we're looking forward to seeing more of you next year with a steel shoe strapped on!

Dean Adams' site SuperBikePlanet.com filed this interview with Steve Bonsey back in April of 2008 when he was still racing in the 125CC World Championship Series in Europe on an Aprilia. We're glad (and VERY lucky) to have this young man running in the AMA Pro Flat Track Series here in the States and hope that he is able to stick around and get a few more wins on the ovals!

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Apr/080404pw50.htm

Over at the MotoGP site they have this short story about Bonsey running in the 250CC class from June of 2009:

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2009/Bonsey+bounces+back+for+Barcelona+and+beyond

And RoadRacerX.com has this nice interview with Stevie from June of 2009 just after he had earned his National number at the Springfield TT, and what it was like running his first mile event in the AMA Flat Track Series at Springfield in May of '09:

http://www.roadracerx.com/features/tuesday-conversation/tuesday-conversation-stevie-bonsey/

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More on new AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Expert Series

rider J.D. Beach, who on his maiden voyage racing in the Expert class, stood on the podium at the Springfield Short Track with a fine 3rd place finish (behind winner Henry Wiles and 2nd place on the night Jake Johnson) on the #95C Red Bull/Top 1 Oil/Rockwall Performance/Craig Rogers-sponsored Honda 450. As a result of just making this event, J.D. earned his National number for the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Championship Expert Class. We hope to see more of this great young rider racing in the AMA Flat Track Series in the future as he definitely is a great asset to the sport. Great job, J.D.!

AMA Pro Flat Track had this story on J.D. Beach before he went out and won the Peoria TT and the Lucas Oil Indy Mile while riding in the AMA Pro Motorcycle Superstore.com Pro Singles Class:

http://www.amaproracing.com/rr/news/index.cfm?cid=39251

RoadRacerX.com has this interview with J.D. from back in April, where he talks about how the road racing is going at the time (VERY well) and riding the Pro Singles events that don't conflict with his AMA Road Racing schedule:

http://www.roadracerx.com/features/tuesday-conversation/tuesday-conversation-jd-beach/

Here is the link to J.D.'s bio on the Red Bull Rookies Cup page from when he was running in that series in 2008, where he eventually finished 16th in the overall point standings:

http://eu.redbullrookiescup.com/riders_detail.php?id=22

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