AMA

About

About AMA Pro Road Racing

The year 2009 saw a major shift in the control and operation of professional motorcycle racing in the United States of America.  In a way, it returned to its roots with motorcycle racing veteran Roger Edmondson and a group of racing business professionals heading up the Daytona Motorsports Group that took over the operation of the sport from the AMA (American Motorcyclist Association).  The Daytona Motorsports Group quickly assembled some of the most experienced people in the motorcycle racing industry and began anew the process of running what is without a doubt, the most exciting form of motorsports in the world.

Now collectively run by a Managing Member group headed up by racing veteran David Atlas, joined by NASCAR Executive Tom Bledsoe and Daytona Beach attorney Chris Harris, the AMA Pro Racing organization is posed to move the sport of AMA Pro Motorcycle racing to the next level. 

Safety is first and foremost in the minds of everyone who participates in motorcycle racing and this continues today with the many innovations that continue to drive the sport forward.  From track configurations, to event operation, to the actual technical preparation of the machines, safety is job one.  The next priority is competition and many of the rule changes for 2010 are aimed at improving the quality of the racing for competitors and fans alike.

No one who has ever seen an AMA Pro motorcycle race ever forgets it.  There is no doubt that this form of racing is the most intense, exciting and unpredictable form of motorsports in the world. 

One of the first changes to the sport under the new leadership was the transition back to the original concept of the AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike rules that took the technical set up of the bikes to a more stock configuration.  Without question, this helped to control costs and improve competition by leveling the playing field.  There was domination at the front of the field thanks to true excellence in ability while the overall competitiveness increased significantly.  

The AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL class has its historic connections to the Formula Xtreme class that enabled many different types of motorcycles to compete through rules control, providing close racing with a variety of mechanical solutions to the equation.  This class provides very close competition with a sensible cost/performance combination and puts the emphasis on the riders’ abilities.  Last year, the top four riders in points rode four different brands of motorcycles and six of the top ten were differing brands, proving that talent was paramount to success.  

The AMA Pro SuperSport class is designed as a proving ground for new, young talent to show their skills as riders on smaller 600cc motorcycles that also have very few performance modifications permitted.  This year, the class will still see East and West coast points Championships with a season-ending Shootout. New for 2010, the class will also allow regional Expert-licensed riders to participate in a non-championship points scoring manner to augment the fields and provide local flavor to the individual events.

The transition from American Motorcyclist Association control of the sport to the new AMA Pro Racing group has opened up the sport to new ideas and direction thanks to the ability of the group to utilize and benefit from the years of experience from many different areas of motor racing.  Daytona Beach, Florida and Daytona International Speedway have been host to many of the landmark events in motorcycle racing.  From the first race on the sands of Daytona Beach in the 1930’s to the classic Daytona 200 road races at the famous speedway, history has linked the two iconic institutions together for many years.  Now, the formal aligning of the properties gives the sport and its participants the best platform possible to bring the sport to a new level of excitement on and off the track.