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AMA Flat Track race in Indy during MotoGP |
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Posted by Staff
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Thursday, 20 December 2007 |
AMA FLAT TRACK RACE IN INDY DURING RED BULL INDIANAPOLIS GP
Series to return
to historic Indiana State Fairgrounds on Sept. 13
INDIANAPOLIS,
Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007 - The AMA Flat Track Championship will return to the
legendary 1-mile dirt oval at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on Saturday, Sept.
13, the evening before the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The GNC Twins class, with riders on
motorcycles using twin-cylinder engines, will compete at the Fairgrounds. More
details will be provided in the future.
This will be the first AMA Flat
Track event at the "Indy Mile" since 1999, when seven-time AMA Flat Track
national champion Chris Carr won on a Harley-Davidson. 2006 MotoGP World
Champion Nicky Hayden finished 13th in that race en route to earning AMA Flat
Track Rookie of the Year honors.
The State Fairgrounds track has played
host to 41 AMA Flat Track national championship races since Joe Leonard won the
first race on the oval in 1954. Leonard then moved to auto racing, making nine
Indianapolis 500 starts and winning the pole in 1968.
Nearly all of the
legendary names of flat track racing have won at the Fairgrounds, including
Carr, Leonard, Jay Springsteen, Scott Parker, Ricky Graham, Bubba Shobert and
Kenny Roberts, who went on to win three MotoGP World Championships and owns Team
Roberts in MotoGP.
"We're excited that the AMA Flat Track race at the
Indiana State Fairgrounds is taking place the same weekend as the Red Bull
Indianapolis GP," said Joie Chitwood, IMS president and chief operating officer.
"There's so much great flat track history at the Indy Mile, which compliments
the history and tradition of IMS very well.
"The flat track race also is
the first of what we think will be many events in the Indianapolis area that
will make this one of the premier weekends of the year for motorcycle riders and
enthusiasts from around the world."
In 2007, Harley-Davidson factory
rider Ken Coolbeth became the first competitor to win the Singles and Twins
championships in the same season. Coolbeth is expected to return in 2008 to
defend his titles and will be joined by such series standouts as Carr, Jake
Johnson, Jared Mees and Bryan Smith.
Flat track racing - sometimes
referred to as "dirt track" racing - is the oldest and most traditional form of
racing sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA).
Dating
back to the years just after World War II, flat track is a uniquely American
form of motorcycle racing. Riders guide their machines sideways through the
turns, just inches apart from each other, at speeds faster than 100
mph.
Red Bull Indianapolis GP tickets: Tickets are on sale for
the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Sept. 14, 2008.
Tickets can be
purchased either online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com
at any time; on the phone by calling (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis
area or (317) 492-6700 locally between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday; or
visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ticket Office on the first floor of the
IMS Administration Building at 4790 W. 16th St. in Indianapolis from 8 a.m.-5
p.m. Monday through Friday.
All tickets for this event are three-day
tickets, with both reserved and general admission seating available.
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