AMA Pro Racing Round 1 – Daytona International Speedway
Schedule

Wednesday March 3
8:30am Garages Open
9:00am – 12:00pm Rider Head Shots in Media Center – Mandatory
12:00pm Post Entry Deadline for SuperSport Top Guns Only
12:30pm – 1:00pm Free Practice Daytona SportBike (LC)
1:30pm – 2:00pm Free Practice American SuperBike (SC)
2:10pm – 2:40pm Free Practice SuperSport (SC)
2:40pm – 3:40pm Mid-day Break
3:45pm – 4:45pm Free Practice American SuperBike (SC)
5:00pm – 6:00pm Free Practice SuperSport (SC)
6:30pm – 8:00pm Free Practice Daytona SportBike (LC)
9:00pm Garages Close

Thursday March 4
8:00am Garages Open
9:00am – 9:20am Qualifying Practice Daytona SportBike Group A (LC)
9:25am – 9:45am Qualifying Practice Daytona SportBike Group B (LC)
10:15am – 10:45am Qualifying Practice American SuperBike (SC)
11:00am – 11:30am Final Qualifying SuperSport (SC)
11:45am – 12:30pm Final Qualifying American SuperBike (SC)
12:30pm – 1:30pm Mid-day Break
12:45pm – 1:30pm Mandatory Autograph Session- American SuperBike,
Daytona SportBike, SuperSport
1:30pm Opening Ceremonies – SuperSport
2:00pm SuperSport (12 laps) 35 Mile Race
3:00pm Opening Ceremonies – American SuperBike
3:30pm American SuperBike (15 laps) 44 Mile Race
5:00pm – 6:30pm Evening Break/Fan Track Rides
6:30pm -7:00pm Final Qualifying Daytona SportBike Group A (LC)
7:00pm -7:30pm Final Qualifying Daytona SportBike Group B (LC)
8:30pm Garages Close

Friday March 5
9:30am Garages Open (DAYTONA 200 Pit Assignments Posted at Tech)
11:30am – 12:00pm Warm-up SuperSport (SC)
12:15pm – 12:45pm Warm-up American SuperBike (SC)
1:30pm – 2:00pm Warm-up Daytona SportBike (LC)
2:00pm – 3:00pm Mid-day break
3:00pm SuperSport (12 laps) 35 Mile Race
4:00pm American SuperBike (15 laps) 44 Mile Race
7:15pm Opening Ceremonies-DAYTONA 200
8:00pm DAYTONA 200 (57 laps)
12:00am Garage area move-out

TIME CERTAIN SCHEDULE – All Sessions to start and finish as shown
(SC) = Short Course-4.67km, 2.9 miles (LC) = Long Course-5.65km, 3.51 miles

Daytona 200 TV Coverage:
Friday, March 5
AMA Pro Road Racing – Daytona 200
Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL, USA
SPEED
9:00pm-11:30pm (Live)

Well, I guess we can’t complain. The nice racing fans (?) over at SPEED have found it in their hearts to postpone the 35th re-runs of Pinks All-Out and Pimp My Ride to bring us some coverage of the AMA Pro Road Racing Series round 1 from Daytona.  The – um – excitement kicks off on Friday, March 5 with live coverage of the Daytona 200, which – as Ralph Shaheen will tell you – is “the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world.” And, although it will be dark outside and this will be live coverage, listen for Ralph to remind you about 100 times that this race is taking place “under the lights.”

On Saturday evening, set your DVRs to record the Supercross event and Superbike race 1 and 2 (which will be on a two-day delay). Finally, the weekend winds down with AMA Flat Track action from the new 1/4 mile Daytona short Track. It’s great for flat track fans to actually be able to see a race on TV, but don’t get used to the coverage, as AMA Flat Track will only be available on MavTV for the remainder of the season.

The ongoing coverage failure by SPEED makes one wonder if they’re in cahoots with the folks over at DMG to completely kill American road racing…

Daytona Bike Week broadcast schedule (subject to change):

March 5
· Daytona Sportbike Daytona 200, 9 p.m. ET

March 6
· Daytona Supercross, 8 p.m. ET
· American Superbike Race 1, 10:30 p.m. ET
· American Superbike Race 2, 11:30 p.m. ET

March 7
· AMA Grand National Flat Track, 6 p.m. ET

It feels great to be able to post some real racing schedules for the first time in a long time.  We’ve been (not so) patiently waiting all winter long, and racing season is finally here. The next week brings us round one of the FIM World Superbike Championship and the Australian Superbike Championship, both happening at Phillip Island. Also, AMA Pro Road Racing returns to Daytona for the Daytona Sportbike class’s Daytona 200, as well as American Superbike, Supersport and AMA Flat Track. With the uncertainty that the US economy brings as well as the ongoing DMG fiasco, Daytona will be the first chance for many of us to take a peek into what 2010 has in store for American motorcycle racing.

Here’s what’s going on in the upcoming week:

At the Track

February 26-28
FIM Superbike World Championship Rd #1
Phillip Island Circuit, Victoria, Australia

February 26-28
Viking Group Australian Superbike Championship Rd #1
Phillip Island Circuit, Victoria, Australia

February 27-28
Castrol Power 1 New Zealand Superbike Championship Rd #4
Manfeild Park, Feilding, New Zealand

February 27
XIIR – Extreme International Ice Racing
The Aud, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

March 3-4
AMA Pro Racing Flat Track Grand National Championship Rd #1-2
Daytona International Speedway Short Track, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA

March 3-5
AMA Pro Road Racing Rd #1
Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA

On TV

Sunday, February 28
Superbike World Championship Rd #1
Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia
SPEED
3:00pm-4:00pm (Same Day Delay) -Race 1
4:00pm-5:00pm (Same Day Delay) -Race 2

Friday, March 5
AMA Pro Road Racing – Daytona 200
Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL, USA
SPEED
9:00pm-11:30pm (Live)

*The Official Motourage Daytona 200 Drinking Game: Drink every time Ralph Shaheen says “Under the lights.” You’ll be falling down by lap three.

The AMA announced today the 2010 schedule for the 10-round AMA Racing/NATC Observed Trials National Championship Series, as well as the dates for the East and West Youth Championships.

Riders vying for national titles in several age-, skill- and machine-based classes in the AMA Racing/NATC Observed Trials National Championship Series will begin their campaigns on May 1-2 in Tishomingo, Okla.

Photo by Darlene Lynch

In the East, top youth trials riders will face off July 2-4 in Sequatchie, Tenn., while in the West, youth titles will be decided on July 17-19 in Las Vegas, N.M.

“The feats that these riders achieve on their motorcycles, from scaling vertical cliffs to crossing seemingly impassable rock gardens, will keep any fan coming back for more,” said AMA Director of Racing Joe Bromley. “Trials is one of the oldest forms of motorcycle sport, and we’re excited to begin another year in the storied history of this incredible discipline.”

From Oklahoma, the AMA Racing/NATC Observed Trials National Championship Series will go to Exeter, R.I., for rounds three and four; Cayuta, N.Y., for rounds five and six; Pueblo, Colo., for rounds seven and eight; and Norden, Calif., for rounds nine and 10. The complete schedule, as well as contact information for the East and West Youth Championships, is below.

For more information, visit www.natctrials.org.

Read more…

Robbie Bugden is on the hunt for his fourth NZSBK title

Robbie Bugden may be the defending Castrol Power1New Zealand Superbike Series champion however he’s not resting on his laurels for a successful defense of his Superbike crown. Bugden will be riding the new Triple R Mack Truck Suzuki Superbike Team GSXR1000 in the five-round title chase, starting at Ruapuna this weekend. Although an Australian, Bugden has won the last three NZ Superbike titles in a row, no small feat against New Zealand’s fastest riders aboard 200hp race bikes. But, retaining the Castrol Power 1 NZ Superbike title won’t be easy. Fellow Suzuki rider Andrew Stroud may be Bugden’s greatest challenger, again, although Hondas Craig Shirriffs and Hayden Fitzgerald have displayed good form during the recent Suzuki International Tri-Series, won by Stroud. GSXR1000 mounted Ray Clee can never be discounted in any race.

Team manager Peter ‘Red’ Fenton is confident of success at Ruapuna, “The tests we’ve done so far have been very encouraging, and Robbie has just done the Australian Superbike championship. He’s been over twice in the last month, that went well because we’d been working with the K9 model GSXR1000 in Australia.”

Suzuki rider Sloan Frost is the name many people will be watching this season, including the Triple R Mack Truck Suzuki Superbike Team, who are assisting the promising Hamilton racer this season.

Fenton’s Triple R Mack Truck Suzuki Superbike Team is the most successful motorcycle race team in recent history, notching up no less than four major NZ championships using Dunlop tires over the past three years. Fenton also manages Bugden’s Australian-based Joe Rocket Suzuki satellite team, completing the 2009 Australian Superbike season in fifth position.

Having the right backing can be as important to a team’s success as having the fastest rider. Their effort on both sides of the Tasman this year will be boosted considerably with new support from Mack Trucks.

James Smith returns for his fourth season with the Triple R Mack Truck Suzuki Superbike Team. The Christchurch rider will be busy – Smith has elected to race in the big-bore Superbike class on a Suzuki GSXR1000, and in the ultra-competitive 600 Supersport class aboard the latest Suzuki GSXR600. Smith has recorded excellent pre-season results during his first rides on a Superbike, and the team is expecting consistent results from the 29 year old. In the 600 Supersport category, Smith is aiming to go one better this year than his runner-up positions from the previous two seasons, and with 2009 champ Gareth Jones absent from the series, Smith must be title favorite.

Regarding the championship Fenton says, “Our aim this year is to win both classes. Because our series is so short a small mishap can really cost us – a bit of good luck goes a long way in our championship I believe, and sometimes you make your own good luck. But I know that Andrew (Stroud), Craig (Shirriffs), Hayden (Fitzgerald), and you can never write off Ray Clee, Sloan (Frost) will be on the pace too, all those guys will be competitive. With a bit of luck on our side and with Robbie and James’ natural talent, we should win.”

2010 Castrol Power 1 NZ Superbike Championship schedule:
Rnd 1: Powerbuilt Tools Raceway, Ruapuna, January 16-17
Rnd 2: Teretonga Park, January 23-24
Rnd 3: Timaru International Motor Raceway, Levels, January 30-31
Rnd 4: Manfeild, February 27-28
Rnd 5: Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, March 27-28

Just a Little Motorcycle Story
by Marion Akkaya

Nuerburgring, Germany. It was the final race of an extremely tough season of the 250cc Grand Prix class. Four riders still had a chance to get the Champion Title if the leader didn’t reach a top-six position – one of them was Can Akkaya. The qualifying board was showing a difference of about four seconds from the 44^th position to the pole, which was held by Can.  Changing weather conditions on the race day turned the tire decision into a poker game.  Can’s warm-up times on slicks were poor, caused by the inability of the team to find a proper setup for the conditions. The race began dry, but the organizer declared it a wet race.  Can’s fight for a fifth or better position and a title seemed to be hopeless. Then the rain returned, and Can’s riding skills became apparent as he was able to maneuver his slicks better than his opponents to beat all other competitors to the finish lin.  On that day, Can became vice-champion and earned a Honda contract.  During his career as a professional racer, Akkaya earned several international wins and four lap records in the German IDM, Dutch and Spanish Open and European Championships on 250s and Superbikes. After his lap record on the Zolder Circuit in Belgium, Can’s fans renamed the track “Area 36.” Can had his Moto GP wild card in the pocket, but a bad crash in the qualifying on Hockenheimring kept him away from this dream. Months later, Can returned to the track with only one mission: to win and to retire from racing. Can won his last race.

Far away from racing and eight years later, Can rode just a cruiser “to be physically restricted,” and right after his daughter, Jill, was born he began to write his story on the Internet. 60,000 readers brought him a contract from a book publisher, and his “Racers-Story …25 Seconds…” went on to become very successful in German language countries. This book lets you feel alive and on the limit. Following the release of his book, Can received several offers to return to the world of racing.  Can came back to the track as a test rider for a Ducati racing team.  He wrote columns for several magazines and worked as the chief instructor at Germanys top racing school, where he taught around 1,400 students.

From a Wild Card to a Green Card – which Can received from the US government, allowing him to make a dream come true – he immigrated into the USA with his little family. Since November 2008, Can and his family have lived in California’s San Francisco bay area.  It was not easy for the three to launch a new life in a country on the other side of the world, but they’re home.  Not long after his move, Can took the next step in his life and started his own business – the Superbike-Coach Corp. – on his birthday in May. He developed and now offers the Road Skill course for any street/road rider, the Track Drill for the racer and track day rider, a Setup Course and the Wheelie Course for everybody, and recently the Knee Down course. Can’s first Road Skill course was booked out in only one week. He converted an idea to reality and developed and created a wheelie bar, which his students use during the Wheelie Course to prevent a backwards fall on the wheelie bike. In only six months, Can established his business, the Superbike-Coach, in California’s motorcycle scene. The websites racers-story.com, superbike-coach.com and the Coach Blog get around 180,000 hits/month on average, and Can’s Facebook has the 5,000 friends limit – and a waiting list.

For 2010 he worked out a training concept for Youth Road Racing USA and has signed on be the coach of the upcoming ‘Next Moto Champion’ TV pilot, which is in production discussions with the Speed Channel. Can’s book, “Racers-Story …25 seconds…” will be published in the USA in this year too. You can read an outline on www.racers-story.com.

Superbike-Coach 2010 Schedule:

The Woodstock Bourbon Australian Superbike Championship and the International Entertainment Group have released the finalized 2010 ASBK event schedule.

As in 2009, the 2010 series kicks off at Phillip Island and includes two stops at the Victoria circuit; however, the Symmons Plains, Tasmania stop has been moved from the round two slot to become the season finale in November.  Queensland Raceway gets an extra event with the Quantum Racing Industries-sponsored third round, and the Mallala stop is absent from the 2010 calendar, most likely due to the declining quality of the south Australia circuit.  An event at Melbourne’s Broadford Track fills in the schedule.

AMA Pro Racing has released a revised schedule for the 2010 Flat Track Grand National Championship season. The 2010 season will offer $850,000 in purse money, and the calendar will include 21 events. The TT, originally scheduled at the opening round on March 3 – part of Daytona 200 Week by Honda – is being replaced with a  Short Track National on Daytona’s brand-new 1/4-mile lime-rock short track.  Construction on the new 1/4-mile track is scheduled to be completed by the new year. The track, located outside NASCAR turns 1 & 2 at  Daytona International Speedway, will have seating for more than 5,000 spectators.

Construction continues on the 1/4-mile Daytona flat track

Two events back on the schedule for 2010 are a TT on July 25th at the Castle Rock Fairgrounds in Castle Rock, WA and a Half Mile on September 18th at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, IA.

Castle Rock has a long history of AMA Pro TT National Championship events dating back to 1965 with events on and off the schedule since the Mount St. Helens catastrophic volcano eruption in 1980. National champions who have won the Castle Rock TT include Mert Lawwill, Gary Scott, Dick Mann, Jay Springsteen, Chris Carr and Jake Johnson. The last TT National was held at the circuit in 2007 and was won by Sammy Halbert.

Knoxville Raceway is known as the sprint car capital of the world, which has earned the track a solid reputation as the fastest half-mile dirt track in the nation. The last AMA Pro Half Mile National Championship was held in 1996 and won by Nine-Time Grand National Champion Scott Parker.

“Since we released the first 2010 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship schedule, we’ve received even more interest to be part of our growing series,” said Mike Kidd, Director of AMA Pro Flat Track. “The addition of Castle Rock helps our mid-season west-coast swing, and including Knoxville is certainly going to enhance the series.”

2010 Confirmed Events

Upcoming motorcycle racing events, brought to you by Motourage

Still hanging onto racing during the cold winter? Well, there’s no need to let go yet.
Discovery HD Theater comes through with Isle of Man TT and FIM Speedway coverage tonight and tomorrow.