Reply With QuoteAlso Dunlop to be the spec tire.
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AMA Pro Racing Announces Class Structure for 2009 Season
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (October 24, 200– AMA Pro Racing announced today its class structure and weekend event package for the 2009 motorcycle road racing season.
American Superbike will be the new premier class for AMA Pro Racing, and will showcase the traditional 1,000cc machines that competed in the former AMA Superbike class in the past. The new rules for the class are based on rules that were adopted by a committee comprised of the AMA staff, representatives of the various manufacturers, as well as experienced personnel from the American road racing infrastructure. Much of the new class structure has been architected with the participation and counsel of the major motorcycle manufacturers.
The class will adopt a spec tire and spec fuel and features changes that were made as a means to promote parity and to address the ever-escalating costs of competing in professional motorsports programs. American Superbike will compete in two feature races of 50 miles each at most events.
Also featured at all AMA Pro Racing weekends will be a new middleweight class to be known as Daytona SportBike. This class has been designed to include a broad range of competition equipment that formerly competed in AMA Supersport and AMA Formula Xtreme, as well as two- and three-cylinder machines not normally featured in AMA Professional events. This class will make its competition debut in the 2009 Daytona 200 By Honda, America’s most prestigious motorcycle event. The green flag will drop on the field for the first time under the lights at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, March 6.
AMA Pro Racing will include a third class, newly created for 2009, known as SuperSport. This category is designed as an entry-level class for professionally licensed riders aged 16-21, competing on 600cc production motorcycles with minimal modifications. Riders will be limited to three years of competition in the new class. SuperSport competition will provide young riders an affordable opportunity to hone their skills at AMA National events and create a clear path to advance to the higher levels of professional road racing.
Many 2009 race weekends will also include the popular Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup. This class showcases future road racing stars aged 14-16 that have been selected for the Series through Red Bull’s national competition program.
In addition, the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series is being revamped to include 600cc four-cylinder machines. The structure will go from three classes to two (GT1 and GT2) and will compete at select events, concluding with the 8 Hours At Daytona during Biketoberfest. The revamped program will be renamed SunTrust MOTO-GT.
AMA Pro Racing will review the specific lineup for each event weekend with the event promoters, who will announce their own weekend event schedules.
“The class structure we are announcing today bears little resemblance to that which we proposed several months ago, however I believe it will accomplish our goals of increased safety, parity and cost containment,” said Roger Edmondson, President of AMA Pro Racing. “The program we have worked out with input from the industry will provide for participation by a wide variety of brands, and should provide a showcase for the best riders in American racing, with the added benefit of running at the best venues in the United States. We were fortunate to have the assistance of many stakeholders in the creation of the program, including the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC).”
AMA Pro Racing has already released a 12-event schedule for 2009. In addition to its traditional events, pending safety committee input, American Superbikes and the AMA Pro Racing Program will return July 31-August 2 to Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas, for the first time in several years, and make their first visit to New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, N.J., September 4-6.
The class rules are posted on the internet at www.amasuperbike.com.
The complete rulebook will be finalized on November 20th, 2008. If you have questions or comments, please email them to proinfo@amaproracing.com attention: Roy Janson
Also Dunlop to be the spec tire.
Funny thing -
didn't edmonston say the premier class will be the one racing in the Daytona 200 earlier this year??
Dealer/Vendor
Imagine that, the factories didnt do there own series after all. Surprise surprise
No rules to slow the big bikes = no big bikes in Daytona 200Originally Posted by minifig-phil
Looks like SV650s just lost their premier class :cry
"I think you'll like Mat Mladin--if he's on your side. If he's not on your side--you don't like Mat Mladin." - Bob Hanna
http://www.goloracing.com
Why would they they got the DMC to cave!Imagine that, the factories didnt do there own series after all. Surprise surprise
Dealer/Vendor
Lets see.
DMG offers to give them the 1000cc bikes months ago. The factories (Honda and Suzuki) say no we are taking our marbles and going home. Now they give them the same thing with spec fuel and tires and they are coming to play. Premier class still not in the 200 which is also being run at night on a Friday.
The factory series was never going to happen. The factories knew it and so did DMG. This is a press release giving the factories a way to play and save face.
DMG is still controlling the series plain and simple. The factories get their superbikes but DMG get theirs as well. Now supersport is a 3 year only series so no more cherrypicking by the factories. DMG still gets its Moto-ST (GT) series now its even written into the ama rulebook.
Yep them factory boys sure showed DMG who is boss
Your missing one important thing Superbike is the premere class now
If the DMG knew the MIC's series wasn't going to happen then why did they cave?
DMG 'compromised' on the litrebike deal a while back.
Superbike may be premier for now but Daytona sportbike will always be the favoured class because it's what DMG wants.
"I think you'll like Mat Mladin--if he's on your side. If he's not on your side--you don't like Mat Mladin." - Bob Hanna
http://www.goloracing.com
Moderator
There was for some time a distinct possibility of Suzuki and Honda not participating *at all*. We still have not heard any official response from those camps.
DMG did indeed "cave in" to some extent ... they learned that unlike in NASCAR (or Canadian Superbike!), they can't just tell everyone else what the rules are and make them live by them.
I'm hearing rumblings that there is trouble on the horizon for NASCAR itself due to the steep down-turn in the North American auto industry and in the economy as a whole. Sponsorship money may come thinner than it has in the past, with GM bleeding a billion dollars a month in cash and being less than a year from running out of having enough cash on hand to fulfill its obligations. No professional "sport" is as reliant on massive sponsorship as auto racing ... I don't know how much the auto and motorcycle branches of DMG talk to each other, but it certainly wouldn't be out of the question for someone at the top saying "make this happen, whatever it takes" in a board meeting ...
Dealer/Vendor
We agree to disagree. MIC never did anything but issue press releases. They didnt even have their own members on board. There was no general vote among MIC members, ever. Two of the main palyers were already on record as running AMA in 09. None of the tracks were on board (at least officially). EVERY promoter re-signed with DMG/AMA for 09.
Where was the series? It never was.
That said DMG certainly gave them some. But keep in mind DMG could say midgets riding mopeds is the "premier" class but in the end its them that schedules the classes and spends the dough to promote them so we will see. They could stick them on Saturday mornings and call them "premier", we will see.
The factories are now running a SBK class with spec tires and spec fuel of which Suzuki for one said they would never do. They now cant hyjack the farm class because of the rules. Now Moto-ST is entrenched in the AMA of which the factories are on record as hating.
Sure doesnt sound to me like DMG caved? To me it seems more like an olive branch allowing Suzuki and Honda to come race without looking like they sold out.
Hats off to all of them for making it happen either way you slice it.
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