American Honda Announces Additional Moto2 Team Details Torrance, CA: Following an earlier release outlining American Honda’s intention to participate in the Moto2 class at the 2010 Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, August 27 to 29, American Honda now announces that the team will be led by Kevin Schwantz. Schwantz, the 1993 500cc Grand Prix World Champion, has a wealth of racing knowledge and currently runs the Schwantz School, where riders can learn from the best aboard Honda CBR600RR machines. “It’s an honor for me to be chosen as team manager,” said Schwantz. “We’ve been using CBR600RRs for some time now at our schools, and I’ve ridden a Moto2 bike and it’s very good. I watched the first three Moto2 races and I expect the racing to be just as good at Indy.” Led by Schwantz, the team will field a Honda-powered Moriwaki MD600 ridden by wild card entry Roger Lee Hayden. Roger Lee Hayden has a solid history with American Honda, and a string of 12 national road race victories on 600cc machines en route to a Supersport championship. Along with his siblings Nicky and Tommy, the Hayden brothers are American racing royalty, and the Indy GP will give American fans another opportunity to see Roger racing on American soil. At 27, Hayden also qualifies to race as a wild card entry: Moto2 rules require all wild card riders to be 28 years old or younger. “This is a great opportunity for me to race in front of my home crowd at a MotoGP event,” said Roger, who is currently competing in the World Superbike Championship. “The Moto2 class is really competitive and I’m looking forward to jumping in the middle of it.” The team will be staffed by Erion Racing technicians led by Kevin Erion. Erion Racing has been American Honda’s premier support team for more than 15 years, winning 16 national championships””-many of them with Honda’s CBR600 in the process. “We’re excited to partner with American Honda again and participate in our first World-Championship event,” said Kevin Erion. The American Honda Indy GP Moto2 team will also benefit the Ride for Kids® (RFK) program and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation® (PBTF) through special fund-raising activities. At Indy, for example, Schwantz will lead the Lap of Champions, where 300 participants will join him in a lap around the track in a special fund-raiser that benefits the PBTF by raising funds to promote childhood brain tumor research. More, from a press release issued by Indianapolis Motor Speedway: SCHWANTZ, ROGER HAYDEN TEAM UP WITH HONDA FOR Moto2 AT INDY INDIANAPOLIS Grand Prix motorcycle racing legend Kevin Schwantz will lead the American Honda Moto2 wild-card effort at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Aug. 27-29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with fellow American Roger Lee Hayden riding the Honda-powered Moriwaki MD600. Schwantz, from Houston, won 25 races and the 1993 500cc World Championship during his illustrious Grand Prix career. Since retiring in 1995, Schwantz has run the Schwantz School, a motorcycle riding school based at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama that features sessions Aug. 19-20 and 21-22 at IMS. “It’s an honor for me to be chosen as team manager,” Schwantz said. “We’ve been using CBR600RRs for some time now at our schools, and I’ve ridden a Moto2 bike and it’s very good. I watched the first three Moto2 races, and I expect the racing to be just as good at Indy.” Hayden, 27, from Owensboro, Ky., will make his Moto2 debut at the same event in which his older brother, 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden, will attempt to record his third consecutive Red Bull Indianapolis GP podium finish. Nicky Hayden finished second for Repsol Honda in 2008 and third for the Ducati Team in 2009 in the MotoGP class at IMS. Roger Lee Hayden is competing this season in the Superbike World Championship. He has a solid history with American Honda, and a string of 12 national road race victories on 600cc machines en route to the 2007 AMA Supersport championship. “This is a great opportunity for me to race in front of my home crowd at a MotoGP event,” Hayden said. “The Moto2 class is really competitive, and I’m looking forward to jumping in the middle of it.” Moto2 is a new class introduced this year, replacing 250cc as the final stepping stone to the premier MotoGP class. Moto2 riders compete on machines with 600cc Honda engines and Dunlop control tires. Competition has been intense this season in the class, with 40 or more riders in each race, including American rookie Kenny Noyes and former MotoGP standouts Toni Elias and 2008 Red Bull Indianapolis GP MotoGP runner-up Alex De Angelis. The Honda Moto2 team at IMS will be staffed by Erion Racing technicians, led by Kevin Erion. Erion Racing has been American Honda’s premier support team for more than 15 years, winning 16 national championships. The American Honda Indy GP Moto2 team will also benefit the Ride for Kids program and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation through special fund-raising activities. At Indy, Schwantz will lead the Lap of Champions, where 300 participants will join him in a lap around the track in a special fundraiser that benefits the PBTF by raising funds to promote childhood brain tumor research. IMS tickets: Tickets for the 2010 Red Bull Indianapolis GP are on sale now. A new structure offers additional value and flexibility to fans attending the annual MotoGP event. Among the highlights of the new ticket structure are lower prices and single-day reserved and general admission tickets for Race Day, Sunday, Aug. 29. Fans can order tickets online at www.imstix.com, call the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700, or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area or visit the ticket office at the IMS Administration Building at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street. Online orders can be made at any time. Hours for phone orders and the ticket office are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday-Friday.