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AmericanMotorcyclist.com
Cover Photo by Mark Kariya Insets (L-R) by Corey Mays,
Expanding Our Outreach From AMA Racing For AMA Racers
Approximately a year and a half ago, the AMA launched a new publication for our members who compete. AMA Racer was printed in small numbers and provided online. Its primary purpose was to offer up information about AMA Racing Grand Championship events. It was printed more or less quarterly, and designed to come out according to the competition schedule.
While the publication served that purpose and helped improve awareness of those events, it did not have the distribution it needed to reach all our racers.
To expand our reach, we are pleased to announce that AMA Racer is now bound into select copies of American Motorcyclist during the racing season. That means, if you are reading this, you have been identified as a member interested or involved in racing.
In practice, the concept is a win-win approach. The AMA saves money by sending AMA Racer to racers only, and the members interested in competition information get it. We are able to take advantage of the economies of scale that come from printing the magazine, and we are able to cover much of those reduced costs by selling advertising that appears exclusively in this section.
Those are the logistics. Now, what can you expect from AMA Racer? Here’s a quick list.
First of all, we will shine the spotlight on our members who race. Too often, amateur racing gets pushed to the sidelines. While we understand that fans of the sport have a major interest in their AMA Pro Racing heroes, we also recognize the hard work, dedication and talent that it takes to rise to the challenge in AMA-sanctioned amateur competition.
In addition, AMA Racer is your direct link to those in charge of implementing the competition rules written by AMA Congress, the elected rulemaking body for AMA-sanctioned competition. We’ll include information on major rule changes and better explain those that need more background.
Also, AMA Racer is about the past, present and future of AMA-sanctioned amateur racing. It’s for the racers, about the racers and in support of the sport that racers love. As part of the AMA’s mission to protect and promote motorcycling, we seek to improve and promote amateur motorcycle competition.
Association pay dividends for both the AMA and our racers. We intend to add to these relationships in 2011 and beyond.
Vintage racing may be all about the past, but it’s also a big part of our future. The AMA has been at the forefront of the rise in vintage racing with both the AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships, which take place during AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, and the AMA Racing Vintage Dirt Track National Championship Series. Look for more growth in AMA-sanctioned vintage competition going forward.
AMA Racing and AMA Organizer Services are working more closely to reach out to both our clubs and promoters. The AMA is first and foremost a rider’s association, and our goal in our organizational relationships is to put your interests first. By helping our clubs and promoters better understand our rulebook and appeal process, we can improve the races for everyone. Along these lines, we also intend to have referee training in place by the fall of 2011.
This is just the start. Look for more improvements of the AMA Racing program going forward. But just as the AMA needs all of us, as members, to step up and fight for the cause, we need your to help improve the sport. Why do you love to race? What would make racing better for you? How can we work together to elevate amateur racing in America? Let us know at submissions@ ama-cycle.org and you could see your ideas in future issues of this publication.
Joe Bromley AMA Racing Director
Along those lines, we already have a lot of initiatives that we are working on for 2011. For example, excessive sound is a big one on our plate. AMA staff will be on hand at several national events educating riders on this important issue.
Partnership is another area where we will expand. Relationships such as those we enjoy with the Enduro Promotions Group, MX Sports and the National Hare & Hound
Bill Markham Uses Trials To Introduce Kids To The Sport
We all know that off-road riding offers benefits above and beyond the simple fun of blasting off on two wheels. Young riders learn responsibility, control and respect.
As an off-highway dirtbike and allterrain vehicle (ATV) instructor focusing on kids, Bill Markham, who runs ITS Motorcycle Training in Howard, Colo., is one trainer leading the charge.
Markham says that one benefit of learning to ride early is practical. Early riders make better drivers, he says.
“Our children are smart enough and physically able to do activities such as learning to ride motorcycles and ATVs off-road,” Markham says. “If they learn while they are young, they will be safer riders as they grow.”
Markham argues that given similar levels of driver’s education training, a 16 year old with years of motorcycle or ATV riding will be a better driver than one who was just introduced to operating a motor vehicle six months earlier.
“Controlling an off-road vehicle provides excellent experience to be able to react when needing to brake, adjust speed, and control a vehicle,” he says. “It
Off-Road Roundup
Hare And Hound, Hare Scrambles
Kurt Caselli Dominates At Ridgecrest: KTM/FMF Factory Team rider
Kurt Caselli crossed the finish line 8 minutes ahead of second-place finisher David Pearson at the second round of the AMA Racing Kenda National Hare and Hound Championship Series Feb. 13 in Ridgecrest, Calif.
After flubbing the start and getting off the line several seconds late, Caselli raced through the dust and roost to edge into second. A minor spill by leader Kendall Norman gave Caselli the lead for good.
“It feels really good to get a win here after an unlucky result at the first round,” Caselli said after the race.
Duvall Wins East Coast Opener: Thad Duvall battled with Steward Baylor, Brad Bakken and three-time AMA National Enduro Champ Russell Bobbitt at the opening round of the AMA Racing East Region Hare Scrambles Series Feb. 13 in Elko, Ga.
Baylor got out front early, then each contender put in a strong charge until after the second gas stop when Duvall started to pull away. The finishing order was Duvall, Baylor and Bobbitt.
Kendall Norman grew up on the beach. Now, he’s mastering a different kind of sand – the kind found in the AMA Racing Kenda Hare and Hound National Championship.
Don’t sit on the sidelines. Engage in the fight for your freedoms. Go online to AmericanMotorcyclist.com > Rights > Issues and Legislation. Pick an issue that threatens your motorcycling rights. Take action by writing your representative. The AMA makes it easy to fight for, and protect, your freedoms.
While you’re online—continuing to help us fight for your freedom to ride—please renew your AMA membership. Visit AmericanMotorcyclist.com or call (800) AMA-JOIN to renew your AMA membership today.
