2013 eni World Superbike Championship Season Set to go at Phillip Island This Weekend

All set for 2013 World Superbike Season Opener at Phillip Island

 

Phillip Island (Australia), Sunday 17 February 2013 - The countdown to the 26th edition of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship is almost over, as the upcoming Season Opener weekend will officially start the international motorsport year. The six manufacturers involved in the series (Aprilia, BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki) will once again aim to achieve the ultimate goal of victory.

 

As on a continuing basis since 2009, the production-based racing championship kicks off at the fascinating Phillip Island GP Circuit, one of the most spectacular and renowned track of the whole motorcycle world scene. The refreshed Australian venue has recently undergone a 3 million dollar resurface.

 

Many potential title contenders among the nineteen full time entries for the crown left unattended by Max Biaggi, including last season's runner up Tom Sykes who missed the final achievement last year for a mere half-point gap. The Kawasaki Racing Team rider - flanked once again by Frenchman Loris Baz - will try his best to bring back the 20 year long awaited title to the Akashi manufacturer.

 

BMW realignment effort brings Marco Melandri and BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team a double challenge, with the Italian division led by Andrea Buzzoni now in charge of race operations. The Ravenna-born rider sets his sights on what his and Brand's first title in the series would be, after marking his name in BMW history thanks to six individual race wins in 2012. Following a positive Superbike debut season, Chaz Davies was selected as the second rider of the team.

 

The resounding comeback of Alstare Team and its two-year partnership with Ducati goes hand in hand with 1199 Panigale R World Superbike debut. Borgo Panigale's brand-new bike will be brought on track by former champion Carlos Checa and team mate Ayrton Badovini. A third Ducati will be lined up on the grid by MR-Racing Team and returning Max Neukirchner.

 

Aprilia launches its two World Title defence campaign with a brand new rider duo, with confirmed Eugene Laverty joined by new signing Sylvain Guintoli. The manufacturer from Noale will have two private teams on its side: Althea Racing Team featuring Italian rising star Davide Giugliano and Andrea Petricca's Red Devils, with Michel Fabrizio as the team's sole rider.

 

Leon Haslam crossed path again with Honda to join fellow Brit Jonathan Rea. The golden wing brand and its WSBK outfit chose to keep the faith on Northern Ireland's star, the only one rider able to place the CBR1000RR on the top step of the podium over the last four seasons.

 

FIXI Crescent Suzuki Team takes on its second World Superbike season, following a tough debut year. Jules Cluzel, graduated from Supersport after an impressive rookie season in the series, will be alongside Leon Camier. 2013 is going to be the 16th consecutive year in the series for the Pedercini Team. Sweden's Alexander Lundh - already with the team in the last four rounds of 2012 - and Italy's Federico Sandi will tackle their first full WSBK campaign.

 

Two welcome comebacks, both onboard BMW S 1000 RR, end our World Superbike season preview: Vittorio Iannuzzo, new signing for Grillini DENTALMATIC SBK Team and Ivan Clementi, a five-season World Superbike veteran who joined forces with the debutant HTM Racing Team.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

World Supersport

 

The FIM Supersport World Championship is now getting into its 15th edition and showing again the competitive level of these mid-sized production-based racing bikes, proved by the increasing interest of Manufacturers in this series - six this year (Honda, Kawasaki, MV Agusta, Suzuki, Triumph e Yamaha) - and the huge number of permanent riders on the starting grid (35 in 2013).

 

Turkish triple Supersport Champion Kenan Sofuoglu will race this year to defend the current title for the first time. The race bike #1 shows up after three years and it's the ZX-6R of MAHI Racing Team Kawasaki, a new project started less than one year ago, once the season had already started, to build up on 2013 with ambitious goals - the Team also hired 2002 World Supersport Champion Frenchman Fabien Foret.

 

Performance Technical Racing, better known as PTR, does not sit back and goes for an all-new five rider line-up with an average of 21 years of age. Sheridan Morais will be leading PTR's World Supersport assault after a positive rookie season in the series and a 6th final place.

 

Former PTR rider Sam Lowes moves to Russian Team Yakhnich Motorsport to join confirmed rider Vladimir Leonov. Pata Honda World Supersport Team's Lorenzo Zanetti and Michael van der Mark will both embark in their first WSS season, as the Italian stepped down from Superbike class and the Dutch rising star promoted after winning the European Superstock 600 title. 2011 runner-up David Salom and multiple race winner Luca Scassa make their comeback to the series after a year. Both of them will be part of Josef Kubicek's Intermoto PonyExpres Kawasaki Team.

The MV Agusta F3 is set to make World Supersport debut thanks to the partnership made by the Italian motorcycle maker with Giuliano Rovelli's ParkinGO Team. Roberto Rolfo and Christian Iddon are the ones chosen to race the 675 cc Italian bike. Suriano Racing switches back to team owner's beloved Suzuki and put the GSX-R 600 in the hands of Mathew Scholtz and Roberto Tamburini.

 

 

 

AMA Pro Racing & SpeedTV Announce Viewing Schedules for Daytona Bike Week 2013

AMA Pro Racing and SPEED Release Broadcast Schedule for GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track's 2013 Season-Opening DAYTONA 200 Week

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 19, 2013) - SPEED will once again serve as GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track's broadcast partner for the 2013 season opening DAYTONA 200 Week at Daytona International Speedway.   Fans can tune into SPEED on Friday, March 15, 2013, beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT to catch the elite AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike class battle it out during Race 1. SPEED will pick back up on Sunday, March 17, 2013 to broadcast the rest of the weekend's intense AMA Pro Racing action from the World Center of Racing.   Tune in Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT to catch the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike class compete in the 72nd running of the DAYTONA 200, America's longest running endurance motorcycle road race.                               Joey Pascarella #52 leads Dane Westby #5 and the rest of the field during the 2012 Daytona 200 in the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Championship Series first race of the season for the Geico Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing Series.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson.     The stars of AMA Pro Flat Track will be aired next at 6:00 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT and the thrilling action will conclude later that night on SPEED at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT when National Guard SuperBike Race 2 will be featured.   Highlights of the weekend's AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series races from Daytona will be included in the SPEED broadcasts and will also be available live on SPEED2, an online-only racing network located at www.speed2.com.   Live coverage of Friday's Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series race and Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport Race 1 can be viewed in a set of back-to-back airings on SPEED2 starting at 2:15 p.m. ET/11:15 p.m. PT. The second Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport race can be viewed live on Saturday, March 16, 2013, on SPEED2 starting at 10:00 a.m. ET/7:00 a.m. PT.   The SPEED on-air team for GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing will once again include veteran motorcycle broadcaster Ralph Sheheen providing play-by-play, with Motorcycle Hall of Fame rider Scott Russell joining him in the booth for analysis. Longtime SPEED reporter and host Greg White will provide reports from the pits.   In addition to television coverage, motorcycle editor Chris Martin and columnist Evan Williams will be providing insight and commentary on SPEEDtv.com. To follow all of SPEEDtv.com's motorcycle coverage, please visit http://moto-racing.speedtv.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

American Motorcyclist Association Announces New Road Race Series Partners for 2013

American Motorcyclist Association welcomes roadracing series as AMA Featured Series

PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- February 19, 2013 -- The American Motorcyclist Association is pleased to announce that the American SportBike Racing Association and U.S. Grand Prix Riders Union Championship Series have joined the AMA sanctioned events calendar as AMA Featured Series. The events, which feature some of the country's most competitive amateur roadracing, run March through October.

"Each of these series brings an exciting and unique flavor of competition to the AMA-sanctioned calendar," said AMA Track Racing Manager Ken Saillant. "We're looking forward to working with both ASRA and the USGPRU to advance the roadracing discipline and bring greater awareness to the top-notch competition that both of these series feature."

The ASRA Championship Series (www.asraracing.com) features both sportsman classes and classes for aspiring professional racers. It includes both Amateur and Expert competition in Thunderbike, SportBike and SuperStock classes.

"We are looking forward to our new relationship with the AMA as a featured series," said ASRA LLC President Kevin Elliott. "This not only elevates our series but it provides value to our racers and their sponsors by becoming a part of the largest motorcycle organization in the Americas. We feel that this gives both the AMA and the American Sportbike Racing Association a better position in our sport by providing riders with a clear stepping stone leading into the professional roadracing ranks. After years of running our series as a standalone, it was the logical move to join with the AMA and promote our sport with the help of such a great organization."

The USGPRU (www.usgpru.net) features 125cc and 250cc two-stroke roadrace bikes, as well as Moriwaki MD250H spec bikes. The USGPRU format includes extended-length grand prix racing with timed qualifying and is designed to prepare riders for two-wheel racing at the highest levels. For 2013, USGPRU events are running in conjunction with select events on the ASRA calendar.

In addition, select rounds of the ASRA Team Challenge endurance series are also sanctioned.

More information about AMA-sanctioned racing can be found at www.americanmotorcyclist.com/racing.

2013 ASRA Series
www.asraracing.com

March 9-10: Bloomingdale, Ga. Roebling Road Raceway (Includes ASRA Team Challenge)
May 25-27: Summit Point, W.Va. Summit Point Circuit
June 15-16: Alton, Va. Virginia International Raceway (Includes ASRA Team Challenge)
July 6-7: Elkhart Lake, Wis. Road America
July 20-21: Millville, N.J. New Jersey Motorsport Park
Aug. 17-18: Loudon, N.H. New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sept. 21-22: South Beloit, Ill. Blackhawk Farms Raceway
Oct. 19-20: Daytona Beach, Fla. Daytona International Speedway (Includes ASRA Team Challenge)

2013 USGPRU Series
www.usgpru.net

March 9-10: Bloomingdale, Ga. Roebling Road Raceway
April 14-15: Kershaw, S.C. Carolina Motorsport Park (Includes ASRA Team Challenge)
May 25-27: Summit Point, W.Va. Summit Point Circuit
June 15-16: Alton, Va. Virginia International Raceway
July 6-7: Elkhart Lake, Wis. Road America
July 20-21: Millville, N.J. New Jersey Motorsport Park
Aug. 17-18: Loudon, N.H. New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sept. 21-22: South Beloit, Ill. Blackhawk Farms Raceway

About the American Motorcyclist Association

Since 1924, the AMA has protected the future of motorcycling and promoted the motorcycle lifestyle. AMA members come from all walks of life, and they navigate many different routes on their journey to the same destination: freedom on two wheels. As the world's largest motorcycling rights organization, the AMA advocates for motorcyclists' interests in the halls of local, state and federal government, the committees of international governing organizations, and the court of public opinion. Through member clubs, promoters and partners, the AMA sanctions more motorsports competition and motorcycle recreational events than any other organization in the world. AMA members receive money-saving discounts from dozens of well-known suppliers of motorcycle services, gear and apparel, bike rental, transport, hotel stays and more. Through the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, the AMA honors the heroes and the heritage of motorcycling for future generations.

 

For more information, please visit:  www.americanmotorcyclist.com

 

Media contact: James Holter
Phone: (614) 856-1900, ext. 1280
E-mail: jholter@ama-cycle.org

 

Geico Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing Announces Renewed Partnership with Cardo Systems' Scala Rider

Scala rider and AMA Pro Racing Renew Partnership for 2013 Season

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 16, 2013) - For the second consecutive season, AMA Pro Racing and Cardo Systems, Inc. have reached an exclusive agreement which names scala rider as the Official Motorcycle Helmet Bluetooth Communications System of GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing for the 2013 season. As part of the agreement, AMA Pro Racing will once again name a year-end award after scala rider supporting the social media efforts of the stars of the sport.   Cardo Systems is the market leader in wireless Bluetooth® communications for motorcycle helmet headsets. The company's scala rider line of Bluetooth devices are the most advanced and feature-rich communication systems available. Through the partnership renewal, Cardo Systems will have ample opportunities for their high quality product line to gain maximum exposure at AMA Pro Racing events.   "Cardo Systems has been a great partner and we are thrilled to have them return for 2013," said Michael Gentry, COO of AMA Pro Racing. "The company is known for producing high-quality products with cutting-edge technology, and thanks to their support they're also helping our competitors put on high-quality events across the U.S."   Cardo Systems will be the beneficiary of in-market and promotional rights to utilize the series marks at the racetrack, in retail outlets and in related media. The exclusive partnership also enables Cardo Systems to promote their product on-site at GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing events. In addition to the promotional efforts at each event, AMA Pro Racing's website and social media outlets will also be used as a compelling tool for Cardo Systems to showcase their latest product offerings.   About Cardo Systems:   Cardo Systems, Inc., headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, specializes since 2003 in the design, development, manufacturing and sale of state-of-the-art communication and entertainment systems for motorcycle helmets. Cardo has pioneered the majority of the most useful and enjoyable innovations in Bluetooth® motorcycle communication systems. Cardo's scala rider line of headsets, now available in over 60 countries is the world's bestselling Bluetooth system for the motorcycle industry.   Visit www.cardosystems.com or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cardoscalarider for more information.

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

AMA Pro Flat Track: Waters Auto Body KTM Team to Field Steve Murray in Twins Series, Adds Ryan Wells for Pro Singles Class

Dave Waters, owner and team manager of the Waters Auto Body 'Project K' KTM AMA Pro Flat Track team, checks out the action on the track as riders Jeremy Higgins #82 and Steve Murray #51 get ready for their first practice session at round 4 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Springfield Mile I on May 27.

The team has retained Murray to campaign the #51 KTM North America/Waters Auto Body Racing/Bell Helmets/Arlen Ness-sponsored KTM LC8-based Twins Series mount for the upcoming 2013 season in what will be his second year with the team, while Higgins will be stepping aside for the year after riding for the team the last three seasons.

Rider Ryan Wells tries to cool off while the Iowa-based Weirbach Racing team goes about getting the #94B Weirbach Racing/General Engineering/Barnett/Spectro-backed Honda CRF450R ready to go for round 5 of the 2012 AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Championship season at the Lima Half-Mile on June 30.  In spite of missing out on five rounds in the 2012 season (Daytona Short Track I and the last four rounds of the season), Wells, a former AMA Horizon Award winner, still finished the year ranked as the 7th-place rider in the 'feeder' Pro Singles Championship class.

As was announced this week, Wells will be hooking up for the 2013 AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Championship season with fellow New York residents, Dave & Rhonda Waters, to campaign the Pro Singles class aboard their Waters Auto Body machines.

You can check out the full press release below as we wish the Waters Auto Body team and riders Steve Murray and Ryan Wells good luck for the upcoming 2013 season as we look forward to seeing them hit the track this year!


Press release courtesy of Dave & Rhonda Waters, Waters Auto Body 'Project K' KTM AMA Pro Flat Track team

WELLS TO “FLY” UNDER WATERS AUTOBODY/PROJECT K RACING BANNER

February 11, 2013 -- Albion, NY


Dave & Rhonda Waters are proud to announce their support of Flyin’ Ryan Wells to the Waters Autobody/Project K Racing Team for the 2013 Pro Singles Series.  Ryan has always shown the drive and determination required that it takes to become a championship rider and it is our pleasure to be able to help this young man and his family strive for the Pro Singles Championship in 2013.

Ryan Wells, the 2012 Daytona short track winner, has shown us that after being injured mid-year when he was not able to achieve the success he had aimed for that he has learned, grown and worked hard to overcome some of the obstacles that stopped him from attaining that goal.  He has been training all winter and we have seen that first hand.

Ryan Wells is shown taking the checkered flag on the #94B Weirbach Racing Honda at round 2 of the 2012 AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles Series season at the Daytona Short Track II.  Wells will be riding for the Waters Auto Body team in the 2013 season.  Photo courtesy of the Waters Auto Body AMA Pro Flat Track team.


“Dave & I have always tried to help the riders in our area excel in the sport.  In keeping with that tradition, Wells is a natural fit and we are excited about the future of the team and all the possibilities.  Our thought is Ryan & Steve will compliment one another with each other’s experiences and bring a friendly yet competitive atmosphere.”

Ryan had this to say regarding the team, “I am very excited to be working with the Waters Autobody/Project K Racing team as I feel we will communicate and work together well as a team.  I also feel having Steve Murray as a teammate will be a great learning step for me on and off the track.”

Piloting the KTM’s for the AMA Expert Twins season will be the sole pilot Steve Murray for a second year.  Jeremy Higgins has decided to curtail his race schedule for the upcoming season and dedicate more time to other aspects of his personal life.

 “Dave and I would like to express our gratitude and thanks to Jeremy and the Higgins family for the past three years.  Jeremy & Jack have given so much input over the years that have helped our team to continually make changes to bring the KTM’s closer to the goal of making mains week in and week out.  We can never thank them enough for all the hard work, long hours and lasting memories that were made and we wish them the best for 2013.”

2013 Edition of Pikes Peak Hill Climb to Showcase Even More International Flair

Rod Millen Showdown With Monster Tajima In Electric Division Highlights The 2013 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

Colorado Springs, February 11-------- A battle between two former Kings of the Mountain in the suddenly-loaded Electric Auto Division will highlight the 91^st running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 30.

Eleven new records were set last year at the second-oldest motor sports event in the USA behind the Indy 500, the first edition contested on the fully-paved 12.42 mile course with 156 turns that begins at 9,390 feet and finishes on the summit at 14,110 feet, where the air is rare.

The event’s growing international prestige is again evident this year with entries from France, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Sweden, Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland and Belgium.

The showdown in the Electric division will feature a pair of veteran drivers who have a combined scoreboard of 17 wins on America’s Mountain, New Zealander Rod Millen and Japan’s Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima.

Tajima, who will turn 63 two days before the race, will be again driving his Tajima Motors E-Runner, which was forced out of the race last year when Tajima developed a small fire aboard the electric vehicle. The Japanese driver, a fixture in the event, has won the Unlimited division eight times, and was the first driver to crack the ten-minute mark when he clocked a 9:51.278 in winning the title in 2011. It was his sixth straight win in the Unlimited field.

Millen, 61, will be making his debut in the Electric division, driving the Toyota TMG EV P002 that won last year’s Electric title when it was piloted by Japan’s Fumio Nutahara.

Nutahara (Hokkaido Japan) will be back himself in an effort to defend his Electric title, this time driving an auto that is yet to be determined by the 2006 Monte Carlo Rally PWRC Champion. He established the all-time record in the Electric division last year with his time of 10:15.380 in a 2012 Toyota Motorsport Gmbh.

Rod Millen has won nine titles on Pikes Peak, including five Unlimited crowns, the 2011 Time Attack 2WD crown, and other triumphs dating back to 1989 in Pikes Peak Open, Pikes Peak Production, and High Performance Showroom Stock divisions. Of those, only the Pikes Peak Open division is still on the card.

The loaded Electric field also includes the 2010 and 2011 champion, Japan’s Ikuo Hanawa, no stranger to the twists and turns of the rugged, fully-paved 12.42-mile course to the summit of Pikes Peak. He will be behind the wheel of a Summit HER-02 vehicle.

Rhys Millen (Huntington Beach, CA), Rod’s famous son, returns to the Peak, this time in the Unlimited division, driving a 2013 Hyundai PM58OT. Millen set the all-time mark on Pikes Peak last year in winning the Time Attack division with a clocking of 9:46.164.

Millen has nine Pikes Peak crowns to wear, Time Attack titles in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2012. He also triumphed in the old High Performance Showroom Stock division in 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2001. He also won the Pikes Peak Open division in 1992.

Veteran Paul Dallenbach (Basalt, CO) has teamed up with Rhys Millen this year and will be the prohibitive favorite in the Time Attack division, driving Millen’s Hyundai Genesis Coupe that set the all-time speed mark last year. Dallenbach has captured titles in the Open Wheel division in 1993, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2009 to stamp himself as one of the most accomplished drivers on the Peak.

"We're certainly proud to renew our successful partnership with Rhys Millen Racing to take on the unique challenge of international motorsports known as Pikes Peak," said Steve Shannon, vice president, marketing, Hyundai Motor America. "Last year's all-time world record, set by Millen in the production-based Genesis Coupe, was a defining milestone in Hyundai's quest to build thrilling and durable rear-drive performance vehicles that are as capable on the road as they are in the rigors of competitive motorsport."

Last year’s Unlimited division winner, veteran David Donner (Colorado Springs), is entered in the Time Attack division this summer. He’s won the Open Wheel division three times, 1991, 2002 and 2005 and is the latest in the legendary line of the Donner family that has raced and won on Pikes Peak – Robert Donner, Robert Donner, Jr., Robert Donner III and David.

Spencer Steele (Aurora, CO), will be back on the hill again this year. He won the Open Wheel division last year with a clocking of 4:13.240 on a course that was shortened by the late afternoon inclement weather near the summit of Pikes Peak.

Another driver back to defend his title is Rick Knoop (Laguna Beach, CA), who won the Exhibition division and Rookie of the Year honors last year with a clocking of 10:56.240. Knoop, a 34-year racing veteran for major factory teams at Daytona, LeMans, Sebring, Monza, Watkins Glen, LimeRock Road, Atlanta Riverside, Laguna Seca, Riverside and other major races is moving over to the Pikes Peak Open division this time.

Doug Siddens (Cedar Park, TX), who won the Exhibition Powersport auto division last year, has moved up to the loaded Unlimited division and will be challenging the Peak in a 2009 Polaris RZR-X.

The Motorcycles

Jason Archuleta (Colorado Springs) will return to defend his 250cc division title on his 2005 Yamaha YZ250 bike. He won last year with a clocking of 11:41.015, which set the all-time record for the 250 division.

One of the motorcycle division’s all-time stars is coming back to the Peak this year. Davey Durelle (Elizabeth, CO) will race in the 450 cc division on a 2009 Honda CRF450 bike. Durelle won the 450 division in 2011 and has a total of 16 championships on the Peak in divisions that include 250, 450, 500, and 750cc.

Last year’s 450cc champion, Travis Newbold (Wheat Ridge, CO) is entered again after taking the division crown and setting the all-time division record of 11:06.618. He’ll be on a 2005 Honda CRFX bike in defending his 2012 title and new record.

Another defending champion and all-time division record setter will be part of the Pikes Peak Vintage division this year. Marc LaNoue (Houston, TX) will be aboard his 1971 Triumph Champion bike as he attempts tp crack his own course record in the popular division.

2012 champion Steve Tutt (Platte City, MO), will defend his title in the Quad Modified field on a 2006 Honda TRX bike. He was another racer who set an all-time division record on the fully-paved course with his winning time of 11:40.521.

John-Thomas Wood (Adelanto, CA), will bring his 1996 Windle Suzuki bike to the Peak to defend his 2012 Side Car title, which included an all-time division record of 11:41.406. He also won the Side Car title in 2011 on the hill.

Get Tickets Now

Fans of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb can purchase tickets now for the June 30, 2013 race and assure themselves a spot on the Peak for what promises to be the best in the event’s long and storied history.

General admission seats are priced at $40.00 each, and the popular Family Four-Pack is priced at $135.00 when purchased in advance.

Tickets may be purchased on the PPIHC official website: www.ppihc.com

Camping permits, sold on a first-come, first-served basis, are available at $100.00 each.

(Note, PPIHC policy for the Family Four-Pack mandates that all four people must be in one vehicle on race day and each occupant in a vehicle with a camping permit must also have a race ticket.)

Race tickets are required for anyone 10 years of age and older.

Fan Fest!

 Fan Fest, Friday, June 28 (5:00-10:00 p.m.)

Fan Fest is the annual pre-race celebration held in downtown Colorado Springs (Tejon St. between Colorado Ave. & Bijou St.) promoting the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

More than 30,000 fans are expected to attend. This event is FREE and typically features a large Budweiser beer garden, live bands, chili cook-off for the fans.

Downtown business owners Sam and Kathy Guadagnoli will present the Red Bull Jumpers and Skydivers and a special concert as part of the evening.

Top race qualifiers will display their vehicles (cars, quads, motorcycles, etc.), give driver demos and be present for autograph sessions.

In addition, the PPIHC mobile museum will be on-site and exclusive PPIHC merchandise will be available for purchase. Tickets to the 91st running will also be on sale.

 

Mike Moran

Senior Media Consultant

The Colorado Springs Sports Corporation

1631 Mesa Ave., Suite E

Colorado Springs, CO 80906

(719) 634-7333, ext.1011

mike@thesportscorp.org

 

Visit Us At: www.coloradospringssports.org

Harley-Davidson Museum Racing Exhibit to Host Unveiling of 2013 H-D Factory Teams on February 22

Kenny Coolbeth, Jr. is shown on the #2 Harley-Davidson Motor Company/Screamin' Eagle/Spectro Oils/Fox-sponsored factory H-D XR750 lined up and ready to go for the first heat race of the day at round 16 of the 2011 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Springfield Mile II on September 4.  Coolbeth would go on to win his heat, take home a solid 3rd-place effort in the Dash for Cash four-lap bonus race and take a 4th-place finish in the 25-lap National main behind winner Willie McCoy, runner-up Chris Carr and 3rd-place finisher Jake Johnson.

It was announced today that the Harley-Davidson Museum, located in Milwaukee, WI. would be hosting a special racing exhibit on Friday, February 22, 2013 that will serve at the official unveiling for all of Harley's factory supported efforts for the new season.  Coolbeth will be in attendance along with such luminaries as 9-Time AMA Grand National Champion Scott Parker and 3-Time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Champion Andrew Hines as part of a special presentation that will include a panel discussion held along with the official unveiling of Harley's 2013 racing efforts.

To read more about this special event, check out the links below.


Thanks to Roadracing World.com for this press release concerning the H-D factory team unveiling that will take place on February 22.

You can read more here about the Harley-Davidson Museum's racing exhibit and team unveiling scheduled for February 22, 2013, direct from the H-D Museum's official site.

AMA Pro Flat Track: Zanotti Racing & Jake Johnson Are Making Changes and Working Towards Regaining the #1 Plate in the AMA Grand National Championship

Jake Johnson gets ready to roll out on the #1 Zanotti Racing/Schaeffer's H-D/Boughner Racing/Arai-sponsored XR750 for the first practice session of the day at round 4 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season at the Springfield Mile I on May 27.  Crew chief Ted McDermitt steps back after lending a hand while team owner Dave Zanotti rolls the starter out of the way after getting Jersey Jake's mount ready to go.  

After winning the team's second and third AMA Grand National Championship with rider Johnson during the 2010-2011 seasons (Dave's father, Mario, won the team's first AMA GNC back in '79 with the late Steve Eklund), the 2012 season was very different for the California-based front runners in The Rolling Thunder Show.  Although still finishing in the 3rd-place spot in the overall championship and with Johnson going on a late-spring to mid-summer run of consistent podium finishes, Jake and the team failed to win a race for the first time in their three seasons together.  To some, a third-place effort would be a great mark in any sport or avenue, but to the long-tenured efforts of this team, it was a major set-back and a time to take a look at the coming season ahead in a very different way.

Different in terms of what machinery they will be campaigning in the near future.  As was reported in early January, the team that has been extremely loyal to the Harley-Davidson brand over the course of it's lifetime of racing is now working on putting together a Kawasaki Ninja 650R-based parallel twin for their 2013 Twins Series efforts.  And as was confirmed by Tyler Porter of Fight For Dirt Track.com fame a little over a week ago, those plans are coming together quite nicely.

Surrounded by a former 3-Time 500cc World Championship-winning rider and team owner (and 2-Time AMA Grand National Championship-winning rider) and a former World Championship-winning tuner (Kenny Roberts and Warren Willing), the Zanotti Racing squad is looking to even the odds in the oldest and truest form of racing in the United States.

Rider Johnson looks over the pit area at the Illinois State Fairgrounds after his first practice session, while team members Wayne Karcich, Ted McDermitt and owner Zanotti go about their regular routines before hitting the track again at round 4 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season.

Karcich, a long-time friend of team owner Dave Zanotti, and who handles the Zanotti Racing team's pr, took the time to talk with me a few weeks ago to further confirm the team's big leap to the 'other side' after having exclusively campaigned the long-standing XR750 twins mount since their inception in the early-mid '70s.  He also mentioned a former 250 and 500cc World Championship-winning Japanese/American tuner that could very well end up being responsible for the building and tuning prowess on the 650R-based twins.  And due to the fact that 'Harley was cutting back completely on their outside sponsorships,' the team found it necessary to look further into being able to regain that #1 plate and the now-very popular Kawasaki twin was their weapon of choice.  

Karcich, a current and long-time fan and competitor in flat track racing, also stated that while attending the A1 round of the AMA Supercross Series that he had some talks with other sponsors including Kawasaki and Red Bull and that they were hopeful that someone would come on board to better help fund the Zanotti team's efforts.

Starting with a baseline built around a C&J-framed unit, former tuner to the American and European stars Warren Willing has been put in charge of building the team's frames for their new mounts and Roberts has been on-board to help with his technical prowess as well, for what will be a full-on assault on the 2013 Twins Series events.  In other words, they are parking their XRs and going with the Kawis for both the mile and half-mile rounds this year.

Jon Vedas, who runs the 2 Wheels Only radio show out of Jacksonville, FL., talked with team owner Zanotti and Johnson a couple of weeks ago, but no mention was made at that time about the Kawasaki effort.  

The team has also been putting in some early-season testing to better prepare for the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship presented by Motorcycle-Superstore.com season.  In early January for the first time in memory Jake and the team hit Perris Raceway in California to better get their Singles Series mount ready for the season ahead.

Jake and the team also ran the season-opening rounds of Gene Romero's West Coast Flat Track Series in Las Vegas and hope to be able to get some testing in before heading to Daytona for the season-opening AMA Pro Flat Track rounds on March 14-15.  Their plans are to roll out in Savannah the weekend before the short track doubleheader at the Steve Nace All-Star round with the new Kawasakis to get some on-track testing done on the half-mile and then head to Volusia for the second SNR event being held in DeLeon Springs, FL.

In the shot above, Jake puts a good lap down while qualifying the #1 Zanotti Racing/Schaeffer's H-D/Boughner Racing/Arai-backed Honda CRF450R at the running of the final National main event at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Multipurpose Arena-held short track on September 15, 2012. 

RacerXonline.com was on-hand at Perris Raceway when Jake and the Zanotti Racing team were there in early January testing and took this video of the action.

And Steve Warne, who runs the Poppa Wheelie site & also covers almost all of the west coast flat track action, was there to take some shots of Jake and the team at Perris.

This new mix for the upcoming Rolling Thunder Show season should make for some very interesting changes for the year.  With teams such as the Werner-Springsteen effort, Crosley Radio/Howerton Motorsports entry, USC Racing, Baer Racing and several others now campaigning the Kawasaki twin, the landscape of the 'all XR' show in AMA Grand National Championship racing is changing, and changing fast. 

Along with the Lloyd Brothers Ducati-based team, the Bonneville Performance Triumph team, the Waters Auto Body KTM team, Ron Woods' BMW/Rotax mount (which made the Pomona season-finale with Scott Baker #11), and a handful of other possible campaigners, that landscape is evolving into a great mash-up of machinery in the greatest racing series on wheels in the world, whereas what seems like just a few years ago the series was looking like a H-D XR750 spec series.  In just the last couple of seasons we have seen as many as eight different manufacturers show up at several of the Twins Series events to try and run the big show, making the parity in the AMA Grand National Championship all but unparalleled in memory.

The 2013 season is just around the corner and we're definitely looking forward to seeing what comes about, and we wish the Zanotti Racing team and the rest the very best of luck as always.  One thing is for sure, we can't wait to see them and everyone else hit the track as the first wheel is turned in anger in what will surely be an epic season all around as the quest will begin again for the AMA Grand National Championship and that elusive #1 number plate.  And it's shaping up to be a good one!

Saturday SuperbikePlanet.com Cinema Presents the 2000 Daytona 200 Pre-Race Show

Miguel Duhamel on the #17 American Honda/Dunlop/Jardine/Shoei-sponsored Honda RVT1000R RC51 tries to hold off Aaron Yates on the #20 American Suzuki/Yoshimura/Dunlop/Motorex-backed Suzuki GSX-R750 during the Wiseco Superbike 100 race two at Mid-Ohio on July 16, 2000.  Duhamel's team mate Nicky Hayden, on the #69 American Honda/Honda Riders Club/Pro Honda Oils/Dunlop-sponsored RC51 keeps the duo in sight as he comes up on a lapped rider going into the carousel just past the mid-point of the race.

With just a handful of laps to go, Duhamel would bin it while leading coming out of the Thunder Valley area, and Yates would take his second win of the weekend in the doubleheader round, with The Kentucky Kid following him home to a hard-earned 2nd-place effort.  

The Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire event at the Lexington, OH. facility was in it's 18th running at the northeast Ohio track, but also in the first-ever weekend of running a doubleheader round.  AMA Pro Racing had experimented with the two-race format since the '98 season at the Road Atlanta rounds, and for the 2000 season Mid-Ohio and Road America would be added to the doubleheader slate in what is now a standard for the top-tiered America road racing class, ala World Superbike, but split into two days of the three-day race weekends.

Earlier in the season and a little over 1000 miles south, the AMA Superbike Championship kicked off in Daytona Beach, FL.with the 40th running of the 200-mile classic at the infamous Daytona International Speedway, in the days when the superbike class was the ruling show and still being run on the full, 3.56 mile course.  The race at Daytona had been run for 19 years on the beach course before heading to DIS for the first time in 1961, so technically 2000 would have been the 59th running of the '200.'

Dean Adams from SuperbikePlanet.com has been busy with his video editing skills and has put together another great Saturday diversion with this pre-race show from the 2000 season.  Saturday superbike cinema at it's best.

A big thanks to Dean Adams from SuperbikePlanet.com for this video of the 2000 Daytona 200 pre-race show.  Dean's been around the biz for what seems like forever (I can say that being around as a fan for what seems like forever), and has gone to the trouble of archiving this footage (and many others) from the true glory days of AMA Superbike Championship Series racing.  Thanks for all the hard work man, it's definitely appreciated!

Now kick back with your Saturday coffee--or other beverage of choice--and enjoy the exciting footage of  the pre-race show from the new millennium's first running of the classic Daytona 200.  And enjoy!

Motorcycle News Rides & Reviews the Britten V1000

John Britten was a New Zealand-born mechanical engineer who is best remembered for engineering and building one of the most technologically advanced motorcycles of it's time, the Britten V1000, in the late '80s and early '90s.  Growing up as a young lad, Britten's personal heroes included Bruce McLaren (of Formula 1 fame) and Burt Munro (The World's Fastest Indian), so his background was obviously mixed in not only the two-wheeled world but also in the four-wheeled world.

Reportedly there were only ten total of the V1000 and V1100 machines built over the course of John's too-brief time on this planet (sadly, Britten passed away from cancer in late '95) and the one above was found on display at the Barber Museum outside Birmingham, AL. in April 2007.  The 999cc 60 degree V-twin quad cam machine is truly a work of art and a testament to the sheer genius of what the man was all about.

Check out the video that Motorcycle News.com put out the other day when they got the chance to test ride John Britten's V1000, one of the most technologically advanced racing motorcycles of it's time. 

Check out the official site for the Britten Motorcycle Company here.

MCN talks with Nick Jeffries about what it was like to ride the Britten at the Isle of Man TT.