Pro Superbikes, Sportbikes Returning to Miller Motorsports Park
Pro teams to participate in Utah Sport Bike Association event
TOOELE VALLEY, UTAH (March 7, 2014) — Motorcycle racing enthusiasts throughout Utah and the Intermountain West will get a nice bonus over the weekend of May 24-25 when the top professional Superbike and Sportbike racing teams return to Miller Motorsports Park in conjunction with Round 2 of the Utah Sport Bike Association’s (UtahSBA) Vortex Masters of the Mountains championship.
The pro teams will visit Utah as part of a three-race independent series put together by John Ulrich, publisher of Roadracing World magazine and a longtime team owner, due to the lack of pro national races in the western United States. The series will begin April 26-27 at California’s Auto Club Speedway, moving on to Sonoma Raceway on May 3-4 and finishing up at Miller Motorsports Park. Plans are being finalized to provide television coverage for all three events.
The weekend will include a full field of Pro Superbike and Pro Sportbike teams, plus a full slate of racing for the amateur UtahSBA teams. Also on the weekend schedule are Round 3 of the National Auto Sport Association’s (NASA) Utah Region championship and Round 3 of the Utah Kart Championship. The UtahSBA and Pro teams will compete on the 2.2-mile West Course at Miller Motorsports Park, while the sports cars of the NASA Utah Region will compete on the 2.18-mile East Course. Tickets for the event are priced at only $6 per day for adults, with kids 12 and under admitted free of charge.
“We are very excited to welcome back all the top professional Superbike and Sportbike teams to Miller Motorsports Park,” said John Larson, General Manager of Miller Motorsports Park. “We appreciate the hard work and cooperation among John Ulrich, the teams and the Utah Sport Bike Association to bring this event to fruition, and we know that our dedicated motorcycle racing fans will support it wholeheartedly.”
Ulrich said he was motivated to create this three-race series to fill the gap in the schedule, give the teams more opportunities to race and provide exposure for their sponsors and provide motorcycle racing fans in the western United States with more opportunities to see their favorite athletes compete.
“We owe it to road racing fans to have national-level professional events here in the west, and when I saw that there wasn’t anything scheduled this side of the Mississippi River, I decided I had to do something about it,” Ulrich said. “Our series of three Pro Superbike races and three Pro Sportbike races held in conjunction with three existing regional events fits neatly into a five-week time frame and finishes with UtahSBA at Miller Motorsports Park. You couldn’t ask for a better racetrack and a better racing group to work with, and thanks to both for helping this effort to rebuild our sport in the United States.”
The UtahSBA has been an integral part of the racing family at Miller Motorsports Park since the track opened in 2006, and they are excited to have North America’s top racing teams compete with them.
“We’re very excited to be part of a professional road racing event of this caliber,” said Dana Wilson, Treasurer of UtahSBA. “Roadracing World has always been a supporter of our Vortex Masters of the Mountains series, so when I read John’s editorial outlining his vision for a new pro series, I reached out to see how we could help. UtahSBA runs a great regional series, and tracks don’t get any better than Miller Motorsports Park, so it seemed to be a good fit. With all the big teams coming in May, I’m sure we’ll see some longstanding West Course records fall.”
Among the riders who will be competing during the weekend include J.D. Beach, Cameron Beaubier, Garrett Gerloff, Jake Zemke, Martin Cardenas, Roger Hayden, Chris Clark, Chris Ulrich, Melissa Paris and young phenom Joe Roberts, along with three-time Superbike Champion Josh Hayes.
“It’s great to have the opportunity to go back to Miller Motorsports Park, a place that has always held a special place in my heart,” said Hayes. “I’m happy we’re going back to Utah and going to ride around a big, fast racetrack. We definitely never get to ride our motorcycles enough, and any opportunity to do laps on our motorcycles and practice our profession is definitely welcome.”
For more information about Miller Motorsports Park, call 435-277-RACE (7223) or visit the track’s website at www.MillerMotorsportsPark.com. For more information on the Utah Sport Bike Association, visit their website at www.UtahSBA.com.
About Miller Motorsports Park:
Miller Performance is part of Miller Sports Properties, which includes the NBA Utah Jazz; MiLB Triple-A Salt Lake Bees; Miller Performance, consisting of Miller Motorsports Park, the Ford Racing School and Oneiro, an event management company; EnergySolutions Arena, which seats nearly 20,000 fans; KJZZ-14 Television; 1280 The Zone Sports Network; Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, men’s professional cycling race; and All-Star Catering.