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AMA: 2000 AMA Road Race Grand Championships move to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

26 February 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- The fourth annual American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Road Race Grand Championships will move to the famed Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, July 12-13, 2000, providing amateur road racers the opportunity to compete on a neutral playing field at one of the nation's premier road-racing circuits.

The grand championships will take center stage during a busy motorcycling week in and around Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in July. AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, the largest and most diverse vintage motorcycling event in the country, kicks off the motorcycling festivities July 7-9 at Mid-Ohio, and the week ends July 21-23 with the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited.

"We've enjoyed a great three years with the AMA Grand Championships at New Hampshire International Speedway, but many club racers have told us that they prefer a more central location," said Bill Amick, AMA vice president of sports and entertainment. "Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will also provide a more level playing field, since the Mid-Ohio circuit is not a regular venue for club racing."

The purpose of the AMA Road Race Grand Championships is to provide an opportunity for riders from road-racing clubs throughout the United States and Canada to match their skills and attract the attention of pro scouts. With the 2000 AMA Road Race Grand Championships immediately prior to the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship event at Mid-Ohio, those opportunities will be enhanced.

"We also want to engender closer relationships among the many fine road-racing clubs that are the heart and soul of amateur motorcycle road racing," Amick added.

Special cost-savings incentives will be offered to top riders nominated by their home clubs to participate in the 2000 AMA Road Racing Grand Championships.

"Along with Bob Stanley and FASTTRAX, which will co-produce the event with AMA Sports, we invite riders from all over the country to join us for what promises to be one of the year's showcase club road-racing events."

The 2000 AMA Road Race Grand Championships, coproduced by the AMA and FASTTRAX, is expected to draw many of the country's best amateur road racers in six expert-only AMA Premier Championship classes, which include Middleweight SuperSport, Heavyweight SuperSport, Heavyweight Superbike, Unlimited Superbike, Middleweight Grand Prix and Heavyweight Thunderbike.

Plans also call for other classes of competition, open to both expert and novice riders. Also, one outstanding rider, to be selected by a panel of expert judges, will earn the prestigious AMA Road Race Horizon Award and be honored at the AMA Champions Banquet this fall.

As in the past, licenses from all recognized national and regional road-racing organizations will be honored. AMA membership is required, but no special event licenses are necessary.

For those who want to improve their racing or street-riding skills, FASTTRAX Performance Riding Schools are offering classes July 10-11 at Mid-Ohio. The courses are designed to hone the skills of both racers and road-riders while experiencing one of the nation's premier racing venues.

For more information, or to receive a registration pack, contact either AMA Sports at (614) 856-1900 or FASTTRAX Racing at (330) 494-8410 or www.fastone.com.

Text provided by AMA

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.