A Pro Practice held by Team Hammer, Inc. today kicks off this weekend’s road racing activities at The Colonel’s Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minnesota, marking the first time a Thursday practice has been held at the track in recent memory.

Present for the day are 48 CRA cornerworkers and medical workers, along with three ambulance crews. AMA’s Hugh Fleming arrived on Wednesday afternoon and deployed AMA Air Fence, setting up the track to meet AMA standards.

The practice is sanctioned by AMA affiliate WERA and riders are covered by secondary medical insurance.

The practice is open to licensed AMA Pro riders who are entered in this weekend’s pro events.

The day is divided into groups for 600cc Supersport/250cc Grand Prix, 750cc Supersport/Pro Thunder, and Superbike/Formula Xtreme. Each group is scheduled to have four on-track sessions, three 30-minute sessions and one 60-minute session.

Team Hammer is providing lunch, dinner and post-event soft drinks and beer for members of the cornerworker crew, and is also paying track camping fees for cornerworkers who camped at the track.