Dvus

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/...?article=25224


MOTO-ST, A New Professional Endurance Racing Series For Twins Announced At Daytona
Mar 09, 2006

From a press release issued by Professional Motorsports Productions:

MOTO-ST Series Launched to Provide Professional Endurance Motorcycle Road Racing

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 9, 2006) – With the eyes of the motorcycle racing world affixed on Daytona International Speedway for the famed Daytona 200 Week By Honda, a new professional motorcycle road racing series—sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) of Pickerington, Ohio and organized by Professional Motorsports Productions of Toronto, Ontario, Canada—was announced today at the “World Center of Racing.” The Daytona Beach-based Grand American Road Racing Association will assist the series with administrative and commercial support.

The new series, which specializes in long-distance team racing, will be known as MOTO-ST (Moto Sport Twins). Negotiations are currently underway for the inaugural MOTO-ST race to be held on the traditional road course at Daytona International Speedway this fall. Plans call for an eight-hour event featuring a substantial awards program.

“This is an exciting day for our sport,” said MOTO-ST Director of Competition Colin Fraser. “While there are several different forms and classes of motorcycle ‘sprint’ racing, long distance team racing and competition for twin cylinder machines has been under-served. We feel strongly that—through a logical and well-managed rules package—MOTO-ST will establish itself quickly with participants and spectators alike.”

The 2007 National Championship schedule for MOTO-ST will consist of up to six points-paying endurance races. Event purses will be substantial and will feature lap prizes for the class leaders. Pirelli has been named as the sole supplier of MOTO-ST tires for the 2006 inaugural event as well as the first full season of competition in 2007. All competitors will use Sunoco GT unleaded fuel and horsepower limits will be enforced by a Dynojet chassis dynamometer.

MOTO-ST will consist of two classes, Grand Sport Twins (GST) and Sport Twins (ST), and all motorcycles homologated for competition will be powered by twin-cylinder, four-stroke engines. Each machine will have its own list of specifications, including maximum horsepower and minimum weight. The MOTO-ST rules package will be completed and contingency and industry support will be finalized over the next 90 days, as will the full 2007 schedule.

Due to the long-distance nature of the events, each team will be allowed to use as many as three riders per race. Timed practice will determine the starting grid, which will be set up in rows of two with separate rolling starts for each class.

Safety car procedures will be in place for full-course caution periods, and the highest-placed lapped motorcycles in both classes will be allowed to make up one lap during any full-course caution. Scoring will be handled by transponders, giving teams on pit road instant and complete information on their status. Two-way radio communication between riders and their crews will be allowed and encouraged.

MOTO-ST management will have the benefit of an advisory board with extensive motor sports experience, both in motorcycle racing and other disciplines, and the board will guide the series rules and policies. The advisory board includes Fraser, AMA Hall of Fame members Steve McLaughlin and Don Emde, Grand American Road Racing Association President Roger Edmondson, Brumos Porsche President and General Manager Bob Snodgrass, Grand American Road Racing Association Director of Competition Mark Raffauf, experienced motorcycle tuner and road racing journalist Kevin Cameron, Roadracing World founder and editor John Ulrich and Grand American Road Racing Association Deputy Director of Competition Scott Spencer.



MOTO-ST ADVISORY BOARD

COLIN FRASER – Director of Competition for MOTO-ST as well as founder and organizer of the Canadian Superbike Championship. Also a former National Endurance racer.

STEVE McLAUGHLIN – AMA Hall of Fame member. Winner of the inaugural Daytona AMA Superbike race and founder of the World SuperBike Series.

DON EMDE – AMA Hall of Fame member. Daytona 200 winner and author of the definitive book on the Daytona 200. Also a member of the AMA Pro Racing board.

ROGER EDMONDSON – President of the Grand American Road Racing Association, which operates and sanctions the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve and the Grand-Am Cup Series. Also creator of SuperSport motorcycle racing and founder of the Championship Cup Series.

BOB SNODGRASS – President and General Manager of Brumos Porsche, Brumos Motorcars and Lexus of Jacksonville, and owner of Brumos Racing, which competes in the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve. Brumos Racing ranks as one of the elite teams in American sports car road racing, with several IMSA championships and wins in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, America’s most prestigious sports car race.

MARK RAFFAUF – Director of Competition for the Grand American Road Racing Association. Also a former president of IMSA and the most experienced Chief Steward in high-level American road racing.

KEVIN CAMERON – Experienced tuner and highly-respected technical and road racing journalist. Is featured monthly in Cycle World.

JOHN ULRICH – Founder and editor of Roadracing World and owner of one of America’s most successful motorcycle road racing teams with an extensive endurance racing history.

SCOTT SPENCER – Deputy Director of Competition for the Grand American Road Racing Association. Noted for his creation of the successful rules concept used in the Grand-Am Cup Series to provide fair competition among a wide variety of production automobiles.

RVFR

This sounds like it could be fun for some, to bad it's trying to be held at Daytona IMO there is a lot of trackers better suited fore this ala barber or the new track in Utah. I like those 8+ hour races a real test of man and machine I'll have to keep an eye on this on.

vtwin

I really like to see twins with their own open class, but long distance?
Twins break down in long races (ducati ever finish a 200?) when your trying to get every hp out of them. And if its not televised it wont do any good, they have twin classes now and they dont show them on tv. Daytona 200 race day used to have 600 race in morning, then battle of the twins (now thunder) then superbike races when i watched them every year.