AMA Announces Vintage Racing At Mid-Ohio
Vintage Motorcycle Days May Dump AHRMA For New Championship Event
Apr 8, 2009
Unlike past years, this year's racing may no longer involve the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA). The possible change is rooted in an ongoing dispute between the AMA and AHRMA over the vintage racing organization's charter and sanctioning with the AMA.
AHRMA on its website has indicated an April 30 deadline is looming to resolve the dispute. That may be extended to May, according to the AMA.
AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships
In a press statement issued April 7 by AMA Governmental Affairs Director Bill Kresnak, the organization this year is introducing it's own racing events at Vintage Motorcycle Days in Ohio. VMD this year is scheduled for July 24 to 26.
This year will be the inaugural "AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships," according to Kresnak's press statement. It will honor top riders in various racing disciplines. Championship titles and No. 1 plates will be awarded and the AMA also will crown an overall champion this year.
The vintage racing will include road racing, dirt track, motocross, hare scrambles (cross country) and observed trials. The overall No. 1 plate will be awarded to the "Grand Champion" rider accumulating the most points in all or several of the racing disciplines.
In the AMA's April 7 press release, AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman stated : "It's only appropriate to recognize the top competitors at the event (VMD) with AMA Racing National Championships." There was no mention in the press release of the ongoing dispute with AHRMA.
Under the AMA's plan, champions from the various disciplines together with the overall Grand Champion selected at VMD will be invited to attend the AMA's annual awards banquet later this year. They'll be permitted to defend their respective No. 1 plates at the 2010 championships at VMD in Ohio.
More details about the new vintage racing event will be announced in the near future, according to the AMA.
AMA/AHRMA Dispute Unresolved
AMA spokesman Peter Horst, in an April 7 email, said the AMA made its announcement to assure riders and fans that racing will be featured during this year's VMD regardless of the outcome of the dispute with AHRMA, which for years has sponsored vintage racing events in partnership with the AMA.
AHRMA, founded in the late 1980s to promote vintage motorcycle racing, has typically included the VMD races in its larger national racing series, rather than as a stand-alone championship as the AMA is proposing. According to Horst, the AMA's championship racing event planned for this year's VMD in Ohio has "been under consideration for some time."
Horst said the AMA "hopes that the unresolved issues with AHRMA will be settled and that AHRMA will continue to be part of VMD. They have always done a great job there. We won't know what the resolution will be until May, most likely."
AHRMA Executive Director David Lamberth in an April 8 email said negotiations between his organization and the AMA are continuing. If the dispute is not resolved, AHRMA will continue with its scheduled races this year, with the exception of VMD.
Already a Backlash
Some vintage motorcycle riders and fans have already expressed disappointment in the new racing arrangement at VMD. A number of postings on the message board for the Penton Owners Group, dedicated to preserving and racing Penton brand off-road motorcycles, suggest some riders may no longer attend the annual event.
The coming weeks and months will likely reveal just how popular, or unpopular, the new series will be among vintage motorcycle racers and fans.
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