Officials from the AMA and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca announced
today that they are exploring the possibility of adding a stand-alone
AMA Superbike event in 2007. The companies are also considering
reducing the number of AMA classes involved with the Red Bull U.S.
Grand Prix from four to two.
The 2007 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix featuring the MotoGP World
Championship and AMA Superbike Championship will be held at Mazda
Raceway Laguna Seca on July 20-22, 2007.
Kerry Graeber, AMA Pro Racing Vice President, Director of
Communications said the conversations are very preliminary at this
point but that the AMA and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca would like to see
both initiatives happen.
“We’re excited about the possibility of adding a stand-alone AMA
Superbike event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca,” said Graeber. I also
think everybody agrees that trying to run all four AMA classes at the
Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix is overly optimistic. Featuring two classes
instead of four is better from a logistics standpoint and will result
in a better overall show. It will also benefit our competitors with
increased track time for practice and qualifying sessions.”
Gill Campbell, CEO/General Manager of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca echoed
Graeber’s thoughts. “We want to continue showcasing AMA road
racing alongside the MotoGP World Championship while simultaneously
creating a new AMA weekend for later in the season. We see this
as the best of both worlds for competitors participating in the AMA
Superbike Championship.”
No date for the separate AMA event has been determined but Campbell
confirmed that the companies are looking at September. “There are a
couple of weekends in September that work from our perspective,”
said Campbell. “The AMA is finalizing its 2007 schedule right now
and determining how those two options work overall.”
A final decision on both issues is expected within the next two weeks.