Motourage

AMA Pro has announced its preliminary 2011 Road Racing schedule.

New this year is the change of the fabled Daytona 200 event back to its more traditional daytime running time, a return to Miller Motorsports Park over the Memorial Day weekend and some small date changes for some of the traditional events.

The 2011 AMA Pro Road Racing season will kick off at the famed Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. with the biggest motorcycling event of the year, Daytona 200 Week.  Activities will begin this year on Saturday night, March 5th with the longest continuous running Supercross event in America, the Daytona Supercross.  The opening rounds of AMA Pro Flat Track kick off Thursday, March 10 and Friday, March 11, 2011 to mark the second running of the Grand Nationals at the new DAYTONA Flat Track.

The Road Racing activities also begin on Thursday, March 10th with practice and qualifying for the four main classes of AMA Pro Road Racing.  The AMA Pro National Guard Superbike series will again race two times during the Daytona 200 Week activities on Friday, March 11th and Saturday, March 12th.  New this year will be the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series, making its debut at Daytona. The AMA Pro Supersport division will also race on Friday and Saturday.  The Daytona 200 will once again be run as a day race on Saturday, March 12th and will be the closing event of the 2011 Daytona 200 Week activities.  2010 Daytona 200 winner, Josh Herrin will lead the field in the namesake AMA Pro Daytona SportBike class for the 70th running of the famous event.

The series will then travel to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. for the West Coast Moto Jam, May 13 – 15, 2011.  The popular Infineon Raceway provides a full slate of activities throughout the weekend and this year the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series will make its debut at the 2.32-mile natural road course.

Next on the schedule for AMA Pro Road Racing is a return to Miller Motorsports Park on Memorial Day weekend, May 28 – 30, 2011 in conjunction with the HANNspree Superbike World Championship event. AMA Pro previously raced at the picturesque facility in Tooele, Utah from 2006 to 2008.

Elkhart Lake’s Road America will once again feature the full complement of AMA Pro Road Racing as the series travels to the legendary 4.0-mile road course through the Kettle Moraine countryside in Wisconsin, June 3 – 5, 2011.

Celebrating its 50th Anniversary Season, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will host AMA Pro Road Racing one week earlier than usual, the race taking place July 8 – 10, 2011.  The Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire will once again bring the eyes of the motorcycle racing world to the gentle hills in Lexington, Ohio.

The series will then travel to Northern California to join the activities at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, July 22 – 24, 2011.  This weekend will feature single races for National Guard Superbike, Daytona SportBike and Supersport in addition to the first stop in the USA for MotoGP.

The next event will be in August at another great facility for motorcycle racing, Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Va.  The August 12 – 14, 2011 weekend will once again see all Road Racing classes competing at the 2.25-mile country-club-like natural road course.

AMA Pro Road Racing will then travel to southern New Jersey for the Labor Day weekend at the New Jersey Motorsports Park event in Millville, N.J.  Very popular with fans and competitors alike, the impressive Thunderbolt circuit will host the series, September 2 – 4, 2011.

A return to Barber Motorsports Park, located in Birmingham, Ala., is still being negotiated and the June date and confirmation are to be determined.

One additional season-ending event is also under consideration and will be announced at a later date.

Preliminary 2011 AMA Pro Road Racing Schedule

AMA Pro Racing is proud to announce that longtime motorcycle racing veteran David McGrath has joined the Daytona Beach organization as Race Director and as a key member of its competition department.

McGrath has an extensive 25 year career in virtually every aspect of motorcycle roadracing and enjoyed a successful stint as a rider.  McGrath then progressed into a management role as crew chief for many successful riders and racing programs, which then led to key positions with a number of top motorcycle organizations and manufacturers including Dunlop, Vance & Hines, Buell and American Honda.  McGrath’s responsibilities have included crew chief, head of research and development departments and overall race and support department management.

“I have had the opportunity to work with some really talented people during my career” said McGrath, “and I’ve done just about every job in the four corners of the paddock.  I am excited to be a part of making AMA Pro Racing as good as it can be and if we can get the motorcycling community all pushing in the same direction, I feel we can see this sport achieve the success it so richly deserves.”

David Atlas, COO and Managing Member of AMA Pro Racing welcomed McGrath to the Company, “I am delighted to be adding David to our excellent staff.  He will bring a wealth of experience to the sport and he fits in perfectly with the very capable group that we have assembled for this season starting at Daytona and beyond.”

McGrath is married and is the father of triplets.  He is now in the process of relocating to Florida and will be operating full time out of the Daytona Beach headquarters of AMA Pro Racing.

McGrath doesn’t hide his love of the sport, “You could say I have an obsession with this sport and it is a dream come true for me to be a part of a group of people who are as devoted to motorcycle racing as I am.”