Iceaxe
05-30-2008, 09:04 AM
Anyone else going to this, besides me?
Miller Motorsports Park: Superbike championship attracts millions of viewers to Utah
By Jay Drew - The Salt Lake Tribune
TOOELE - A twinbill featuring some of the best motorcycle racers from around the world screeching around two differently configured "circuits" at Miller Motorsports Park, accelerating up to 180 miles per hour and scraping their knees through corners all while racing wheel-to-wheel.
In a nutshell, that sums up what thousands of fans will see at the three-year-old road course this weekend, all while 95 TV networks broadcast the main event - the two feature races of the HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship - to 173 countries and an estimated audience of 120 million people.
"It's just good, close racing on a really fast track," said Ben Spies, champion of the AMA Superbike Series last year, after testing the new 4.5-mile full course the AMA guys will be running on this year. "It's a nice place to watch a race. It's going to be huge for the people of Utah."
To the casual observer, the whole spectacle can be confusing.
The important thing for fans to remember is that the weekend will feature two different motorcycle racing series - the Superbike World Championship, making its first stop in North America in four years, and the AMA Superbike Championship, which has visited MMP since the facility opened in 2006.
Organizers say it is the most significant international sporting event to visit Utah since the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.
"This has been a massive undertaking," MMP CEO/General Manager Alan Wilson said. "This event is an order of magnitude well above anything that we have ever attempted, and we have been preparing for it since last fall."
That was evident Thursday, as literally thousands of riders, team personnel, managers, crew workers and the like scurried around the 511-acre facility Thursday's events included practices for all four classes of the AMA Superbike Championship - AMA Superbike, AMA Superstock, AMA Formula Xtreme and AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport - and were capped off by a news conference on the steps of the State Capitol attended by Gov. Jon Huntsman, who later led a parade of motorcycles to the Gallivan Center in downtown Salt Lake City.
The real racing begins today, with the 60-kilometer AMA Formula Xtreme Series Race, the first of seven races during the course of the weekend, will be held at 4:55 p.m.
Formula Xtreme bikes are built-up versions of 600cc Japanese sport bikes.
The track announced Wednesday that fans who have purchased a paddock pass will receive "unprecedented access" in the history of professional motorcycle racing to the pit lane and pit garages. They will be allowed to walk the pit lane outside the pit garages at selected times during the weekend, thanks to the layout of the facility and agreements reached between the facility and series officials.
"At other international events, fans are allowed almost no access to the riders," Wilson said. "We have tried very hard to overcome this by working with [World Superbike], and as a result we have been able to provide a series of pit lane walks where the teams will cooperate to allow interaction between the riders and the fans."
Paddock passes are available at $15 for a single day, $25 for two days and $40 for a four-day pass.
The lowdown on the Superbike races
The HANNspree Superbike World Championship, and the Honda Summit of Speed AMA Superbike Championship:
WHAT: Seven motorcycle races, plus practice, qualifying and off-track entertainment such as stunt bikes, bands, helicopter rides and sky diving
WHERE: Miller Motorsports Park
WHEN: Today through Sunday
TICKETS: Call 435-277-7223 or go to http://www.millermotorsportspark.com
http://images.sportrider.com/news/146_0708_01_z+2008_world_superbike_championship+.j pg
http://www.strangevehicles.com/images/content/101748.jpg
Miller Motorsports Park: Superbike championship attracts millions of viewers to Utah
By Jay Drew - The Salt Lake Tribune
TOOELE - A twinbill featuring some of the best motorcycle racers from around the world screeching around two differently configured "circuits" at Miller Motorsports Park, accelerating up to 180 miles per hour and scraping their knees through corners all while racing wheel-to-wheel.
In a nutshell, that sums up what thousands of fans will see at the three-year-old road course this weekend, all while 95 TV networks broadcast the main event - the two feature races of the HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship - to 173 countries and an estimated audience of 120 million people.
"It's just good, close racing on a really fast track," said Ben Spies, champion of the AMA Superbike Series last year, after testing the new 4.5-mile full course the AMA guys will be running on this year. "It's a nice place to watch a race. It's going to be huge for the people of Utah."
To the casual observer, the whole spectacle can be confusing.
The important thing for fans to remember is that the weekend will feature two different motorcycle racing series - the Superbike World Championship, making its first stop in North America in four years, and the AMA Superbike Championship, which has visited MMP since the facility opened in 2006.
Organizers say it is the most significant international sporting event to visit Utah since the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.
"This has been a massive undertaking," MMP CEO/General Manager Alan Wilson said. "This event is an order of magnitude well above anything that we have ever attempted, and we have been preparing for it since last fall."
That was evident Thursday, as literally thousands of riders, team personnel, managers, crew workers and the like scurried around the 511-acre facility Thursday's events included practices for all four classes of the AMA Superbike Championship - AMA Superbike, AMA Superstock, AMA Formula Xtreme and AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport - and were capped off by a news conference on the steps of the State Capitol attended by Gov. Jon Huntsman, who later led a parade of motorcycles to the Gallivan Center in downtown Salt Lake City.
The real racing begins today, with the 60-kilometer AMA Formula Xtreme Series Race, the first of seven races during the course of the weekend, will be held at 4:55 p.m.
Formula Xtreme bikes are built-up versions of 600cc Japanese sport bikes.
The track announced Wednesday that fans who have purchased a paddock pass will receive "unprecedented access" in the history of professional motorcycle racing to the pit lane and pit garages. They will be allowed to walk the pit lane outside the pit garages at selected times during the weekend, thanks to the layout of the facility and agreements reached between the facility and series officials.
"At other international events, fans are allowed almost no access to the riders," Wilson said. "We have tried very hard to overcome this by working with [World Superbike], and as a result we have been able to provide a series of pit lane walks where the teams will cooperate to allow interaction between the riders and the fans."
Paddock passes are available at $15 for a single day, $25 for two days and $40 for a four-day pass.
The lowdown on the Superbike races
The HANNspree Superbike World Championship, and the Honda Summit of Speed AMA Superbike Championship:
WHAT: Seven motorcycle races, plus practice, qualifying and off-track entertainment such as stunt bikes, bands, helicopter rides and sky diving
WHERE: Miller Motorsports Park
WHEN: Today through Sunday
TICKETS: Call 435-277-7223 or go to http://www.millermotorsportspark.com
http://images.sportrider.com/news/146_0708_01_z+2008_world_superbike_championship+.j pg
http://www.strangevehicles.com/images/content/101748.jpg