Next up in AMA sanctioned racing: The Catalina 2010 Grand Prix, Dec. 3, 4 and 5th at Catalina Island, California.
This is a one-time event. The Catalina Grand Prix is a closed-course event. The approximate 7 mile course will include natural, graded, and paved terrain (80% dirt, 20% paved). Riders are considered finishers provided they make 50% of their class leader's laps and receive the checkered flag. Due to circumstances on the island, there will be no practice and all motorcycles will be impounded, except for the actual race.All roads on the island are private and permission has been granted for their use for the actual race only. Details at: thecatalinagrandprix.com
The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) took the Motorcycle Hall of Fame induction ceremony out of a tent in Ohio and bought it to Las Vegas!
The class of 2010 inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame included legendary two-stroke engine tuner Eyvind Boyesen, who unfortunately died on Friday, Nov. 19th on the eve of the event.
Also honored was dirt-track racer Don Castro, sidecar roadracing champion Larry Coleman, off-road rights activist Clark Collins, AMA 250cc Roadrace Champion David Emde, competition apparel pioneers and JT Racing founders John and Rita Gregory, desert racing champion and team manager Bruce Ogilvie, and championship team owner and Pro Circuit founder Mitch Payton.
Here's the video:
The AMA welcomed a full house of AMA Racing champions and their families, friends and fans to the Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa in Las Vegas, Nev., on Saturday, Nov. 20, for the AMA Racing Championship Banquet, presented by World of Powersports. The banquet celebrated racers' championship seasons and awarded a number of special awards that acknowledged the standout performances of a few top competitors.
The AMA Racing Athlete of the Year award was won by Charlie Mullins, the overall champion of the 2010 AMA Racing Rekluse National Enduro Championship Series, presented by Moose Racing. Mullins excelled in the 10-round series, winning six rounds, while also competing in the AMA-sanctioned Can-Am Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series, where he finished second in overall points to Josh Strang.
"This is kind of a dream come true," Mullins said. "I never expected to win an award like this. It's a great honor, and I can't thank everybody enough. It's really special for me to win this."
Chris Borich won the AMA Racing ATV Athlete of the Year Award. Pennsylvania's Borich had a remarkable season in both the GNCC series and the AMA Racing ATV Hare Scrambles National Championship Series and won the overall title in both. Borich won 11 races in the 13-race GNCC series.
The AMA Racing Youth Rider of the Year was Jake Pinhancos. Jake won the national No. 1 plate in the 65 Stock (10-11) class at the AMA Racing Amateur National Motocross Championships, presented by AMSOIL. Pinhancos also won a World Championship in 2010. Jake led AMA Team USA to the overall win at the FIM Junior World MX Championship by taking the title in the Junior 65cc class.
"The most fun and exciting thing is going to all these races, hanging out with my dad and mom and seeing all these riders have fun," Pinhancos said. "To go out there and win this award just means so much to me." When asked about his aspirations, Pinhancos wasn't afraid to set high goals. "I dream of being the next Ricky Carmichael," he said, referring to the multi-time AMA Motocross and Supercross Champion believed by many to be the greatest motocross racer of all time.
Motorcycle Hall of Famer Jeff Fredette was named the AMA Racing Vet/Senior Rider of the Year. Fredette, already a legend in off-road racing, added to his reputation in 2010 by not only successfully competing in his 30th consecutive International Six Days Enduro, where he won another gold medal, but in winning two AMA Racing National Championships. Fredette won the Senior 40+ A class title in the AMA Racing Rekluse National Enduro Championship Series and claimed the 86cc-200cc Modern class No. 1 plate at the AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships. After accepting his award, Fredette was asked what advice he had for younger racers. "The longer you ride, the easier it becomes," Fredette said. "Keep focused, and make friends along the way. They come in handy in every aspect of your racing career."
The AMA Racing Female Rider of the Year was Maria Forsberg, from Brier, Wash. Forsberg had a phenomenal year in the GNCC series, where she won 11 of 13 races in the Women's class. Forsberg rode for the RPM/KTM team.
Randy Texter, a longtime fixture in the dirt-track racing community, was named the AMA Racing Sportsman of the Year. This award is given to an individual who has elevated the sport of motorcycle racing through his or her unselfish demonstration of outstanding sportsmanship. Texter passed away on Aug. 28, 2010, from an extended illness.
In announcing the award, AMA Director of Racing Joe Bromley recalled how Texter generously supported amateur dirt-track racers for decades and raised two children -- a son and a daughter -- who ascended to the highest levels of competition in AMA Pro Racing Grand National Championship competition.
AMA-chartered organizers, the clubs and promoters who run AMA-sanctioned events around the country, also were recognized for their efforts. Winners in those categories were Victory Sports, AMA Racing Motocross Organizer of the Year; Rausch Creek, AMA Racing Off-Road Organizer of the Year; BUB Racing Inc., AMA Racing Track Racing Organizer of the Year; Salinas Ramblers, AMA Racing Club of the Year; Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, AMA Recreational Road Riding Organizer of the Year; Buckeye Dual Sporters, AMA Off-Road Organizer of the Year.
Racer X Illustrated won the 2010 AMA Racing Media Award for its in-depth coverage of AMA-sanctioned events over the course of the season.
The AMA Racing Championship Banquet, presented by World of Powersports (WorldOfPowersports.com), was part of a two-day celebration honoring motorcycling's greats at Las Vegas' Red Rock. That celebration also included the 2010 Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, presented by JT Racing (JTRacingUSA.com), and the annual Motorcycle Hall of Fame Concours d'Elegance bike show, which featured some of the country's most-stunning original and immaculately restored classic motorcycles.
In addition, the weekend featured the final round of the AMA Racing GEICO Powersports EnduroCross Championship Series on Saturday as well as the Las Vegas debut of the movie "Carlsbad USGP: 1980," a look at an iconic motocross race that has been dubbed "the Woodstock of motorcycling."
Cannon Ball Run 2010 is underway from Kitty Hawk, NC to Santa Monica, CA. (Sept. 10 - 26) ...3,300 miles in 16 days, running bikes built before 1916. Photos: Cannon Ball 2010.
Buzz Kanter with a fan, next to Selma, his 1915 Harley at Wheels Through Time Museum on Sunday in Maggie Valley, North Carolina.
Buzz Kanter reports: Day three of the Motorcycle Cannonball is in the history book. Most of us made it over the mountain and the number of riders with a perfect score has dropped to 17 of the 45 that started. I feel honored that my partner in this Dave Fusiak and I are among them. Spent some time at Wheels Through Time which I always enjoy.
Wheels Through Time Museum curator and founder, Dale Walksler, is also competing in the run aboard his 1915 Harley-Davidson, with teammate Wayne Stanfield of Tustin, CA. "We've done all we can to prepare each machine for the cross-country trek, but realize that its going to be an enormous challenge, regardless of how much effort has gone into getting these machines ready for the road," said Walksler. "There are very few that have ridden motorcycles for such a long distance," said Walksler. "And there are even fewer who've done it on a 95 year old machine. Completing this run will be a true test of endurance, stamina, and grit, but it will also take an experienced hand when it comes to the mechanics of a motorcycle this old!"
Day Four - The rouged mountain ride out of North Carolina into Tennessee was one of only two parts of the trip, where vintage riders/crew could choose to "opt out" and not be penalized.
The steep mountain roads "tax the bike incredibly going up, and are, well, scarey coming down," reported Laura Klock of Team Effie. "Remember, these bikes didn't even have a front brake stock, and the rear brake leaves alot to be desired, compared to what we are used to with our modern bikes. It's hard on the clutch and the motor, and we decided not to push old Effie too hard."
Team Effie decided to play it safe coming over the mountains in order to "stay strong" for California.
Cris Sommer-Simmons, Pilot
Laura Klock, Crew
Toast Boyd, Crew/video/photos
Athena Ransom, Crew/Mechanic
Cris Sommer-Simmons' ride pays tribute to Effie Hotchkiss, a woman who road cross-country with her mother in the sidecar on a new 3-speed V-Twin Harley-Davidson in 1915 from Brooklyn, NY to the World's Fair in San Francisco.
Pre-race - video, entrant Shinya Kimura does a final check on his 1915 Indian Motorcycle. In 1914, Erwin “Cannonball” Baker made the ride in 11 days riding an Indian motorcycle.
The Dakar Rally has reached full registration in the bike and quad categories, four months ahead of the start of the rally raid. The 33rd edition of the Dakar will take place in Argentina and Chile from January 1st to 16th, 2011.
The 2010 Dakar Rally began and ended in Buenos Aires, covering a looping 9,000 kilometers between Argentina and Chile over 14 stages. 362 Teams began the race with 176 motorcycles and quad bikes, 134 cars, and 52 trucks. 187 Teams finished the race, including 88 bikes, 14 quads, 57 cars and 28 trucks.
Collected here are several photographs from the first 8 stages of Dakar Rally 2010 (37 photos total) including this photo of Spain's Gerard Farres Guell kicking up sand with his Aprilia during the 4th stage of the Dakar 2010 between Fiambala, Argentina, and Copiapo, Chile on January 5, 2010. Spain's Marc Coma won the stage, France's David Casteu took the second place and France's Cyril Despres the third. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)
The History of The Dakar Rally The adventure began back in 1977, when Thierry Sabine got lost on his motorbike in the Libyan desert during the Abidjan-Nice Rally. He survived the extreme desert sand conditions and returned home to France, enthralled by the landscape and promising to share his fascination with as many people as possible.
He proceeded to come up with a route starting in Europe, continuing to Algiers and crossing Agadez before eventually finishing at Dakar. The founder coined a motto for his inspiration: "A challenge for those who go. A dream for those who stay behind."
Courtesy of his great conviction and that modicum of madness peculiar to all great ideas, the plan quickly became a reality. Since then, the Paris-Dakar, a unique event sparked by the spirit of adventure, open to all riders and carrying a message of friendship between all men, has never failed to challenge, surprise and excite. Over the course of more than thirty years, it has generated innumerable sporting and human stories.
This Year's Rally Course
A limited 200 motorcycles and quads are allowed to start the race, in order to provide for the best possible management of the sporting event. As requests for further registrations are still flowing in, a waiting list has been established to allow a few more riders to join the race should any of the already registered contenders drop out in the weeks to come.
Click the map for an enlarged view.
In the 33rd edition of the now famous race, the maximum engine size has been limited to 450cc. So racers like Cyril Despres and Marc Coma can no longer dominate the race on their 640+ cc KTM engines, but will instead be running on the new KTM 450s.
Bearing in mind that all the riders in the elite category have to register with a 450cc, the new outsiders will race on equal terms with the usual duel contenders Cyril Despres and Marc Coma, who both won the last five editions of the raid they participated in on KTM bikes. In the struggle for final victory, we will also have to count with the expertise of Yamaha with 450cc bikes, and on Honda and Sherco riders of the likes of David Casteu.
Jorge Lorenzo’s dominant 2010 campaign takes its next step at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix this weekend, as the Fiat Yamaha rider looks to extend his season's lead even further. Late-night television host Jay Leno will serve as grand marshal of this year's race in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The 23 year-old has a 77-point lead over nearest Championship rival Dani Pedrosa in the standings going into Round 11, thanks to seven wins from the opening ten races of the campaign.
Having already won in the previous U.S. round at Laguna Seca this year Lorenzo has winning form at Indy too, where he stood on the top step of the rostrum last season. The Spaniard was on the podium the year before as well and is planning a continuation of his phenomenal 2010 run this weekend.
"The first back-to-back races in the second half of the season are coming, and this first one is after a few days of holiday in the U.S. for me,” said Lorenzo. “This weekend will be the second race in this country in 2010 and I am looking forward to it because I would like to repeat the same result as I got in Laguna! I just have good memories from America, last month in Laguna and last year in Indy.”
Reflecting on his success last season and with plans for continued success this year Lorenzo continued: “Last year was amazing, but this time I don't need to take too many risks. We can avoid it! Indy is a track that I like a lot and it has amazing history. The team and I are planning to continue our great season there this weekend."
The annual Isle of Man TT races can certainly be described as electric. Manufacturers and riders view the 37.7 miles of narrow twisting road as a proving ground for engineering and skill.
More than 200 riders and several spectators have lost their lives to this chase to push the performance envelope.
But there is now another electric element to the races. Starting last year, the event introduced a zero-emissions race. At the moment, zero emissions means electric.
Last year’s winner was the British-Indian team Agni, with an average speed of 84 mph and a top speed of 102 mph. With conventional bikes, an average of 100 mph is considered the benchmark of indisputable proficiency. The fastest lap ever recorded by any bike was set this year by John McGuinness at 131.578 mph.
This year an American team brought to the fray a unique machine built from the ground up: MotoCzysz’s E1 PC.
MotoCzysz (pronunced Moto-sizz) sported proprietary batteries, hand-built by a company that also supplies NASA, and an oil-cooled electric engine. The bike won the zero-emissions race with a lap speed of 96.820 mph and a top speed of 135 mph.
We could well see the zero-emissions race turn in times that rival standard races within a few years. And like all such races, this is a proving ground for the technologies and designs that will eventually make their way to the average consumer.
MotoCzysz holds several patents on this advanced electrical technology, and rumor has it the company is in talks with manufacturers, including Indian automobile giant Bajal.
Truly, the electric motorcycles at the TT races are giving us performances that can be described as, well, electric.
— Isle of Man TT 2010 by Guy Wheatley, the author of TEXARKANA GAZETTE.COM - a source for motorcycles and bike riding in Texarkana.
Highlights of the 2009 Isle of Man TT & 2010 Isle of Man TT
Following the success of the inaugural clean emissions motorcycle race on the Isle of Man in 2009, the Isle of Man Government Department of Tourism and Leisure became the official promoters of Zero TT 2010 on the TT Mountain Course, as part of the 2010 TT Race program.
As well as the usual prize money available to teams and riders, the Isle of Man Government created a £10,000 prize fund for the first TT Zero Race team to record a 100mph lap (160.93kph) around the 37 and 3/4 mile course. This landmark was achieved for the first time by a conventional bike in 1957, when Scotsman Bob McIntyre lapped the TT Course in 22 minutes 24.4 seconds for an overall average of 101.03mph. Rob Barber and Team Agni recorded a fastest lap time of 25 minutes 53.5 seconds (87.434mph) in the 2009 clean emissions race.
TT Zero 2010 - The Zero TT clean emissions race on June 9th was an integral part of this year's Isle of Man Time Trials, with the Isle of Man Government offering a £10,000 prize to the first team to record a 100 mph lap. Isle of Man TT racing was established in 1904.
There was no one to challenge John McGuinness as the HM Plant Honda rider dominated all six laps to take the 2010 Isle of Man TT win, setting a new outright lap record and a new race record.
McGuinness is now a 15-time TT winner, with three 130mph+ laps on his way to victory – including a new outright lap record of 130.442mph on lap two, despite slowing down to pit.
The clean emissions race in 2009 was widely credited with accelerating the development of clean emissions transport and many of the technical innovations that were introduced in the Isle of Man are expected to become an integral part of future mass market transport. The event was conceived with the support and involvement of numerous Departments of the Isle of Man Government as part of the Island’s Freedom to Flourish program.
The 2010 clean emissions race on the Isle of Man was renamed "TT Zero" and has become part of the core TT programme, featuring riders from all race classes. The one lap race was open to clean emission motorcycles at 4:30pm on Wednesday June 9th, following the Royal London 360 Superstock and Supersport Races. Qualifying was on Saturday June 5th and Monday June 7th.
Hon Martyn Quayle, MHK, Minister for Tourism and Leisure, Isle of Man Government, released this statement :“We are delighted that the Isle of Man was the first country to run an electric bike race and the fact that there are now events scheduled around the world is a tribute to the Island’s entrepreneurial, innovative spirit and shows what an achievement it was for the Isle of Man to run the groundbreaking inaugural event. We are now building on this fantastic start by properly integrating the clean emissions class into the race program - this really does send a clear signal that electric motorsport is fast evolving and that the TT Races remain at the forefront of motorcycle sport.”
The next Isle of Man TTs are May 28 to June 10, 2012.
Jeff Wright, who owns a bike shop and a biker bar in Iowa just spent 96 hours in Wisconsin at the Dairyland Classic - Wisconsin's Premier Flat Track Motorcycle Racing Event and posted some awesome photographs at Church of Choppers Blog.
Dairyland Classic, Cagefights, Road America AMA Races, rain, cops, booze, locksmiths, and t-shirts.
Goodtimes! Thanks Wisconsin!
Sheboyogan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth on Friday, June 4, 2010.
The XDL Championship Series is underway at Daytona International Speedway, Feb. 26 to 28th - Daytona Bike Week 2010.
The series continues at Lake Havasu City, Nashville, Los Angeles, Dallas and finishes with the now traditional MotoGP weekend at Indianapolis. Specific dates are listed below.
"As a motorsports-based action sport the schedule is a very important part of our series," said Randy Grube, XDL founder. "And it is one we have worked tirelessly at improving. I'm proud of what we have to offer for 2010 because it shows the acceptance XDL has gained and the direction we are headed in.
"Every stop on the tour is now part of a bigger happening, or in a key market, or both. I'm excited, our athletes are excited and I think 2010 will be a great year."
Round 1: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL - February 26-28 (Bike Week)
Round 2: Havasu 95 Speedway, Lake Havasu City, AZ - April 9,10
Round 3: Nashville Superspeedway, Nashville, TN - May 14, 15
Round 4: Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, Los Angeles, CA - June 18, 19
Round 5: Dallas, TX - July 9-11
Finals: Indianapolis, IN - August 26-28 (MotoGP)
The XDL Championship Series is the only national stunt riding championship, soon entering its 5th season. XDL is the leader in reaching the core 20-year old sportbike demographic and has developed into the fastest-growing action sport in America.
Photos of Joe Dryden at Daytona XDL kickoff.
Here's the full clip of the 2009 Indianapolis XDL Championship Event:
The 32st running of the Dakar Rally began and will end in Buenos Aires, covering a looping 9,000 kilometers between Argentina and Chile over 14 stages. 362 Teams began the race with 176 motorcycles and quad bikes, 134 cars, and 52 trucks. The race is just over halfway completed now, the winners expected to cross the finish line on January 16th. Collected here are several photographs from the first 8 stages of this year's rally. (37 photos total)
Spain's Gerard Farres Guell kicks up sand with his Aprilia during the 4th stage of the Dakar 2010 between Fiambala, Argentina, and Copiapo, Chile on January 5, 2010. Spain's Marc Coma won the stage, France's David Casteu took the second place and France's Cyril Despres the third. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)
