PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), the world’s largest motorsports-sanctioning body, has announced its slate of 2006 AMA Sports national-championship events, premier racing series, and international competition. — 2006 AMA Sports Road Race Grand Championships, plus 2006 Motocross Manufacturers Cup The AMA Sports Road Race Grand Championships will take place September 22 – 24, held on a weekend for the first time since moving to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2000. Open to licensed road racers from all over the country, the 2006 AMA Sports Road Race Grand Championships will produce more than 34 individual champions. The accompanying Road Race Club Challenge allows the nation’s top road-racing organizations to compete for the title of top club in the nation. AMA Sports will present the prestigious Horizon Award to one up-and-coming amateur rider for performance, sportsmanship and potential to advance into AMA Pro Racing competition. The second annual AMA Sports Top Novice Award will be presented to a new road racer who best demonstrates their desire to win. New for 2006 are three Pro Am classes for AMA Pro and Expert licensed riders; a 72cc Metrakit youth class for racers ages 10 to 16, a qualifier for December’s Metrakit Mini GP World Festival in Valencia, Spain; and a 600cc Superstock Expert Class, from which 20 riders will be invited to return for the following weekend’s AMA Superbike Shootout. The 2006 Motocross Manufacturers Cup, promoted by Mid-Ohio, will feature all of the sport’s marquee manufacturers. Riders of all ages will be selected by the manufacturers, and also will have the opportunity to earn individual class titles. For more information, visit ~http://www.amadirectlink.com/amrace/2006/rr/index.asp~ — 2006 AMA Sports Dirt Track Grand Championships — The 30th Annual AMA Sports Dirt Track Grand Championships will take place July 2 – 8 at the historic DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in DuQuoin, Illinois. Racing begins Sunday at the indoor short track; mid-week racing takes place on the half-mile and TT courses; and the week concludes Saturday on the Magic Mile. In addition to the move to DuQuoin, new for 2006 are six support classes, including the event’s first international class in which riders from around the world will compete for American dirt-track supremacy. Vintage racers and the popular four-stroke 100cc-160cc class will get a chance to show off their skills as well. AMA Sports offers 21 National Championship classes for riders ages 4 and older. Glen “JR” Schnabel, current Grand National dirt track star and winner of 34 AMA Amateur National Championships, will be the 2006 AMA Sports Dirt Track Grand Championships Honoree. Located in Southern Illinois, the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds offer unique surroundings, including a 1,500-site camping facility set around a picturesque lake. To register for the 2006 AMA Sports Dirt Track Grand Championships, visit ~http://www.amadirectlink.com/amrace/2006/dt/index.asp.~ — 2006 AMA/FMF Racing National Enduro Series — This 11-round series began February 19 in Clear Creek, California, and will conclude October 29 in Delaware City, Delaware. The 2006 AMA/FMF Racing National Enduro Series features amateur and world-class professional off-road racers, including familiar names like Mike and Rich Lafferty, Russell Bobbitt, Stephen Edmondson, Fred Hoess and Patrick Garrahan. The 2006 AMA/FMF National Enduro Series covers a wide variety of natural terrain — California’s snow-covered mountains, Texas plains, Midwest forests, and East Coast sand — including woods and fire roads, with a minimum distance of 85 miles. Because speed isn’t the determining factor and a time schedule must be maintained, riders must have determination, stamina and skill to contend for the championship. AMA Sports also has joined forces with the National Enduro Promotions Group to promote enduro, one of the oldest forms of AMA motorcycle competition. AMA Sports and NEPG — enduro enthusiasts whose sole purpose is to improve the AMA/FMF National Enduro Series — will work with clubs, riders, enduro riders, manufacturers and aftermarket companies to cultivate the excitement and essence of enduro, and to expand the series. For more information about the 2006 AMA/FMF Racing National Enduro Series, visit ~http://home.ama-cycle.org/raceresults/typeindex.asp?s=12&year=2006~ For more information about the NEPG, e-mail [email protected] or [email protected]. — 2006 AMA/FMF Racing National Hare & Hound Series — The seven-round 2006 AMA/FMF Racing National Hare & Hound Series began January 22 in Lucerne Valley, California, and will conclude there October 22. Professional and amateur off-road motorcycle racers, plus riders in an ATV Open class, earn points at each round to determine AMA Sports National Champions. Expected to compete in the series are Destry Abbott, Russell and David Pearson, Kendal Norman, Matt Gosnell, Quinn Cody, Kellon Walch and Steve Hengeveld. Each AMA/FMF Racing National Hare & Hound Series course is laid out on natural terrain, with two loops of 40 to 50 miles. From a dead-engine start, competitors reach speeds of up to 90mph, challenging lunar-like California landscapes as well as Utah single-track trails. For more information about the 2006 AMA/FMF Racing National Hare & Hound Series, visit ~http://home.ama-cycle.org/raceresults/typeindex.asp?s=13&year=2006~ — 2006 AMA National Hare Scrambles Series — The 12-round 2006 AMA National Hare Scrambles Series, which began February 11 in Youncy, Arizona, will conclude October 15 in Eaglewood, New Jersey. Professional and amateur off-road motorcycle racers earn points at each round to determine AMA Sports National Champions. In the 2006 AMA National Hare Scrambles Series, a closed 10- to 15-mile course is constructed on trails and paths over natural terrain, requiring up to three hours to negotiate. Obstacles like trees, mud, rocks and water crossings mean that riders must have considerable stamina to maintain the minimum 25mph average speed. Top riders expected to compete in the series include Ricky Dietrich, Robby Jenks, Jordan Brandt, Nathan Woods, Nathan Kanney and Chuck Woodford. For more information about the 2006 AMA National Hare Scrambles Series, visit ~http://home.ama-cycle.org/raceresults/typeindex.asp?s=14&year=2006~ — 2006 AMA/NATC National Observed Trials Series — This eight-round series began in April in Holbrock, Arizona, and will conclude August 26 – 27 in North Kingston, Rhode Island. The series features professional and amateur riders competing to earn points toward national championships, attracting the nation’s best trials riders: Geoff Aaron, Bruce Le Richie, Cody Webb, Chris Florin, Keith Wineland, Patrick Smage, Sarah Duke and Louise Forsley. Skill and balance — not speed — along with intense concentration, strength, and strategy are required to be a top trials rider. Each 2006 AMA/NATC National Observed Trials Series course is laid out on natural terrain, over obstacles like logs, water and mud, as well as sheer rock faces. Obstacles must be traversed within set boundaries and without “dabbing” (putting a foot down). Points are scored for each dab or for failing to maintain forward motion; the rider with the fewest points wins. For more information about the 2006 AMA/NATC National Observed Trials Series, visit ~http://home.ama-cycle.org/raceresults/typeindex.asp?s=16&year=2006~ — 2006 AMA Pro/Am Motocross Championship Series — The seven-round 2006 AMA Pro/Am Motocross Championship Series, formerly known as AMA Thundercross, will serve as the qualifying ground for riders on the brink of entering professional motocross competition. AMA Sports and AMA Pro Racing have developed a structure in which amateur racers advance toward the professional ranks. The AMA Pro/Am Motocross Championship Series is the first step toward a national qualifying system slated to go into effect in 2007. In addition, the AMA Pro/Am Motocross Championship Series will benefit privateer racers currently in the professional/A-class ranks through a guaranteed $10,000 purse and manufacturer contingencies in each round. The 2006 AMA Pro/Am Motocross Championship Series will begin August 26 – 27 at Echeconnee Off-Road Park in Macon, Georgia, and will conclude October 28 – 29 at Mill Creek MX in Pell City, Alabama. For more information about the series, visit ~http://home.ama-cycle.org/raceresults/typeindex.asp?s=24&year=2006~ — 2006 U.S. Grand Prix Enduro — The U.S. Grand Prix Enduro, scheduled for July 22 – 23 in Hancock, New York, will be the 6th round of the 2006 FIM World Enduro Championship and the World Championship’s first visit to North America. the first time the World Enduro Championship has had events in North America. 2007 will continue including the U.S.A. in the World Enduro Championship tour. Riders from all over the world will compete against the best U.S. riders at Hancock, a long-time host of enduro and dual-sport events. Tests will include Cross, Enduro, and Extreme, as well as non-traditional special tests, held on challenging terrain that features mountains, fire roads and creek crossings. Entries will be limited to 150 world-class riders. Europe’s best, like David Knight and Ivan Cervantes, are expected to compete against American Kurt Casselli and others. For more information about the 2006 U.S. Grand Prix Enduro, visit ~http://www.usgpenduro.com~ — 2006 World Trials Championship: U.S. Grand Prix — The 2006 World Trials Championship: U.S. Grand Prix will be held May 19 – 21 in Sequatchie, Tennessee, at the Trials Training Center, the 650-acre epicenter of American trials competition. The 2006 World Trials Championship: U.S. Grand Prix, part of a ten-nation series, will be run in tandem with a round of the 2006 AMA/NATC National Observed Trials Series. The U.S. joins Japan as the only nations to host two-day, two-round events; each day will be a stand-alone points event in this 32nd World Trials Championship. Competitors at the 2006 World Trials Championship: U.S. Grand Prix will ride for world-championship points, as well as for the Wagner Cup, an honor that has been part of North American World Trials Championship events since 1975. The cup, named for NATC founding member Dr. Wiltz Wagner, will be awarded to the rider with the best overall two-day performance. For more information about the 2006 World Trials Championship: U.S. Grand Prix, visit ~http://www.trialsusgp.com~