2019 AMA Supermoto National Championship Series Schedule

The 2019 AMA Supermoto National Championship Series schedule features two new venues to start the season.

The series, sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association, will kick off 2019 at a new event in Primm, Nev., on April 6-7, followed by another new event in Grand Junction, Colo., on May 18-19. The remainder of the schedule includes four returning events at venues in the United States and Canada.

The Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada, is sanctioned by the Canadian Motorcycle Association. That round, coupled with the event in Sturgis, S.D., determines the FIM North America Supermoto Championship.

"The AMA Supermoto National Championship Series represents the pinnacle of the sport in the United States," AMA Track Racing Manager Ken Saillant said. "It is a sport that borrows elements from multiple disciplines to challenge riders, and we are looking forward to another season of intense competition."

Supermoto racing includes a mix of street-style racing and motocross. Riders compete on tracks that feature dirt and pavement sections with jumps and turns. Venues can range from football stadiums to closed-course streets or parking lots.

The AMA Supermoto National Championship Series is promoted by DRT Racing.

"We are excited to announce the 2019 AMA Supermoto National Championship Series schedule, especially the Anthony Hart Memorial Race as our season opener," DRT Racing President Alex Mock said. "In addition to the new venues we've added to the schedule, we've also secured manufacturer contingency programs for the teams and privateers, and select rounds will also feature a learn to ride program for new riders of all ages."

For more information about the 2019 AMA Supermoto National Championship Series, visit www.drtracinginc.com.

2019 AMA Supermoto National Championship Series Schedule

• April 6-7: Primm, Nev., Anthony Hart Memorial Race
• May 18-19: Grand Junction, Colo.
• June 14-15: Austin, Texas, 24th Annual ROT Rally
• Aug. 3-4: Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada, 50th Grand Prix of Trois-Rivières (CMA/FIM North America sanctioned)
• Sept. 6-7: Sturgis, S.D., 7th Annual Streets of Sturgis (AMA/FIM North America sanctioned)
• Oct. 4-5: Tucson, Ariz., 5th Annual Musselman Honda Circuit

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About the American Motorcyclist Association

Founded in 1924, the AMA is a not-for-profit member-based association whose mission is to promote the motorcycle lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling. As the world's largest motorcycling rights and event sanctioning organization, the AMA advocates for riders' interests at all levels of government and sanctions thousands of competition and recreational events every year. The AMA also provides money-saving discounts on products and services for its members. Through the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio, the AMA honors the heroes and heritage of motorcycling. For more information, visit www.americanmotorcyclist.com.

Not a member? Join the AMA today: www.americanmotorcyclist.com/mobile-join

About FIM North America

FIM North America is the Continental Union of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme that represents North America. FIM North America consists of the American Motorcyclist Association and the Canadian Motorcycle Association. Continental Unions are geographic subdivisions of the FIM.

Bajarallymoto.com announced “Pre-season” entries opened to the 2018 edition of BAJA RALLY October 8-13. This is particularly good news for early planners, teams of racers and returning navigators, all of whom will take advantage of 30-40% off the standard cost of entry during the month of December. The normal entry fee structure begins on New Years Day, starting with first the first of 3 levels of pricing. Apart from the cash discount on entry fees in December, pre-season allows riders riders and teams to draw a low running number and/or choose their number from 10-50.



With an emphasis on expanding the field of UTV Rally racers, BAJA RALLY officials made the announcement Saturday morning in a “live seminar” this at the International Off Road & UTV Expo in Scottsdale, AZ. The successful consumer event, organized by Andy Myers from Never Stop Riding, enabled the rally to reach out to pro UTV racers and team sponsors about getting trained for cross country UTV rally racing.

BACK TO SCHOOL

“We’ll continue BAJA RALLY SCHOOL training sessions each month through July 2018”, explains rally chairman Scotty “Breauxman” Bloom. “Adding Malle Moto and Quad Pro classes to next year’s rally, the school is gradually building a core-base of racers for BAJA RALLY and others like it. A key focus for our team is training UTV champions from other series like SCORE and BITD and prepping them for the easy crossover into rally.”



Bloom said the next BAJA RALLY SCHOOL date is scheduled for January 19-21. The 3-day training academy, which has proven quite challenging even for professional racers, has produced 20 graduates this year and six who went on to race BAJA RALLY 5.

Find out more about getting trained in UTV rally racing. HERE. BajaRallyMoto.com

The 2018 BAJA RALLY offered riders a little bit of everything. From dust and mud, to epic sunsets on both sides of the infamous peninsula. Top competitors made themselves known immediately, but even they weren’t a match for Mama Baja. Hurricane Rosa had plowed through the race course just a couple of weeks prior, giving the Mexican state a facelift just in time for the rally. In reaction, BAJA RALLY founder Scotty Bloom scoured the tracks to ensure accuracy in the road-book. A necessary tactic which proved helpful during earlier challenges. But torrential downpours and unrelenting mist created new obstacles for racers and organizers alike, as Special Stages Two and Three had to be shortened.



Visiting Las Cañadas Campamento for another year, the Prologue offered some fresh twists and turns for competitors to warm up with. A surprise to maybe everyone but Scotty Bloom, some competitors had difficulty finding their way to the finish, which in many ways exposed the high bar for the coming hurdles. The first official day of racing launched near Baja favorite, Mamá Espinoza’s. Racers aimed for the beach then took some 90-degree turns back to the highway. What was supposed to be a swift stage took several teams minutes, if not hours, more than expected. Yet most racers all arrived at timing and scoring singing praise for a fun, well-rounded section – albeit a bit weary from the ride/drive. Others were not so lucky, using up all of their time searching for those waypoints, ultimately being rerouted to the highway before the sun could dip down into the Pacific.



Special Stage Two, setting off from Cataviña, and Special Stage Three, a loop edging the Sea of Cortez, asked a lot from participants whom all, despite some early DNFs, put up a good fight. 2014 Champ and podium hopeful, Scott Bright, ran into a bike malfunction midway through the challenge in Central Baja. On one of the more technical tracks of the event, he finished respectably mid-pack, despite having to navigate with his road book squeezed between his knees. A long, arduous liaison took the entire event past Coco’s infamous Corner and down a storm-struck México 5 highway leading to San Felipe for the first time in the rally’s short, but storied, history. Trials for the third stage were aggravated by rain, which ended the ride abruptly at the scheduled gas stop. Front runners held their places as adversaries no longer had the full time allotted to catch up to them. Pro rider, Colton Udall, pushed his way to the top before it was too late, while another racer new to rally, Ray Dal Soglio, snagged second. Last year’s motorcycle class victor, Garrett Poucher, sat comfortably in a well-earned third position after starting in an undesirable position.



Special Stage Four was full of excitement and heartbreak as the fastest test of the week brought everyone back to the westside, then poolside at the San Nicolas Hotel & Casino in Ensenada for a night of celebration. The podium was still anybody’s guess, but it was rally raid newcomer, Skyler Howes, who came out triumphant. Ray Dal Soglio sat in second with Rally Comp founder, and “sleeper” fast-guy, Mike Johnson nabbing third place overall. UTV #124, led by L. Javier Pelayo, and #111, with Joe Bolton at the helm, were neck and neck much of the race. But it was an uncharacteristic misstep by Team Bolton which put Pelayo on the podium and left Bolton in a ditch, literally. Formidable drivers and navigators, Mama Baja can mix a poisonous cocktail which, if taken too fast, can leave you on your ass. 2018 BAJA RALLY Champion, Skyler Howes, eloquently summed up the race:

“This rally completely re-lit my love for Baja. The trails that we took on these road books down the beach, up and over mountains, through fields of giant cactus and through the towns of Baja California were amazing. The conditions couldn't have been better with wet dirt, cool temps, and beautiful scenery with the land as green as I have ever seen it. Not only did I get the win, but I had a week-long adventure with friends new and old, ripping through the desert, reading drawings on a piece of paper telling us which way to go. That right there, in my opinion, is what racing is all about. Nothing but good times.” – Skyler Howes, Garrett Off-Road Racing

The Dakar Rally doesn’t care where you came from, doesn’t care how old you are, whether it’s your first attempt, or your fifteenth. The Dakar has nothing to prove. It’s you, the rider, the racer, who has to show this cross-country test that you’re capable to completing its grueling course. And that’s what draws so many to its starting line. But in all its years, the Dakar has never seen an American stand atop its podium… until now.



Ricky Brabec raced his first Dakar Rally aboard a Honda CRF450 Rally in 2016 finishing 9th overall. And while a Top-10 finish his first year was certainly impressive, he would fail to finish the next three years in a row, with a heartbreaking engine failure on the penultimate stage in 2019 while leading overall. But hard work and, as Ricky would say, “trusting the process” has paid off for the American, taking home a first-place finish in the bike category in 2020, along with two stage wins. But like a new musician producing their sophomore album, it’s the second one that really counts. So, can the young American make it to the top step of the podium at the world’s toughest race, twice?

The 2021 edition of the Dakar Rally will be unlike any other before it, and arguably unlike any other race in history. Held amidst a global pandemic, the Amaury Sports Organization (ASO) will host the rally in Saudi Arabia for the second year in a row, offering racers a landscape and terrain akin to Mars. But according to Ricky, racing in Saudi Arabia last year felt like riding back home in Hesperia, California. The fast and rocky special stages were no match for Brabec, who took home two stage wins on his way to that infamous First-Place finish, which was the first (ever) for an American. Yet, this year presents new challenges for Ricky and his HRC Monster Energy team, namely another young American racer, Skyler Howes.



Racing on a privateer team, with little support, Skyler managed a 9th place finish at the 2020 rally. This accomplishment earned Howes a spot on the BAS Dakar KTM team for 2021. With a fresh KTM 450 Rally under him, and the support of a professional racing team, Skyler is in a prime position to challenge Ricky for the podium. But he’s not the only American with his sights set on Brabec’s Number-One plate. Andrew Short, a 16-year veteran of the AMA Supercross circuit, and Top-10 finisher at the 2020 Dakar Rally, recently signed with the Monster Energy Yamaha team for 2021 and is looking to pick up his first podium finish at Dakar, as well. But aren’t they all?



Three fearless men, each with an impressive resume heading into what looks to be an exciting, albeit different, Dakar Rally in 2021. And they all have exceptionally good chances of finishing atop the podium. Ten years ago that would have sounded like a fairytale. But here we are. A new day, a new Dakar. So, will this be the sophomore album we hope to hear from Ricky Brabec, or can another American racer return home to the USA with their own Number-One hit?