With construction underway at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, owners say they are considering running their own motorcycle road racing series at the new facility, beginning late in 2010. Micky Grana, one of three partners who share ownership of the facility, says that they’re looking into an eight-month series that would start running in September 2010. Grana says that the Ed Bargy-designed course is drawn in such a manner that it requires no barriers, each corner has its own run-off area, and it is raceable in both directions. Because of that, he can run a race series at the facility without running the same track in the same configuration each month. The plan which is still in the development stage at this point, and as such is subject to significant change is for race events to take place once a month through May, with December dark so racers can spend the holidays with their families, Grana says. The initial phase of the Chuckwalla Valley Raceway project is fully permitted, and construction is underway on the fencing and access roads and water well system at the site, Grana says. When it opens, plans call for the facility to include a 2.7-mile, 17-turn road racing course, a paddock, RV parking and access to a small airstrip. Current plans, barring unforeseen delays, call for the track to be operational in mid-May, Grana says. Grana says that running a motorcycle race series at the track was a plan that always was in the back of his mind, but that he is exploring starting racing in 2010 because former Willow Springs Motorcycle Club Race Director Jay Tanner suddenly became available. Tanner was removed from his position after the October races at Willow, and Grana called him the next morning. Together, the pair began laying plans for a race series next year. “With Jay not having that (WSMC) position anymore, I think there’s a place for a good race organization, something that’s new,” says Grana, a racer who operates SoCal Track Days at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch. “Some of the plans we have it’ll work right now, and it’ll prompt me to get my second track built more quickly. I can’t stand the thought of racing the same track every weekend. “My thoughts are to start with an eight-month race series, starting in September, maybe October, depending on the weather,” Grana says. “In June, July, August, it’s really hot here. But historically, the weather the rest of the year has been beautiful. We get a grand total of about three inches of rain a year and it all seems to come at once. The rest of the time, it’s perfect.” Grana says the second track, when built, will be 2.5 miles in length, and will also be designed so motorcycles can race in both directions. And while the two tracks will be separate facilities, with separate garages, paddocks, etc., they can be connected to make either a 3.1-mile track or a 4.5-mile track, both of which could be raced clockwise or counterclockwise. Ultimately, that would give Chuckwalla the opportunity to run eight different racing configurations. “All of our run-off areas are suitable for motorcycles,” Grana says. “We spread the track out so we made sure that none of our corners share run-off area. Our soil is kind of clayish sand. We really took safety seriously. We don’t have K-rail barriers. It was designed with bike safety right from the beginning. We took the approach that if it’s safe for a bike, it’s definitely safe for a car.” Tanner would not discuss the specifics of his firing from WSMC, other than to say that track management had decided to make a change. Tanner, however, said he was looking forward to the opportunity to work with Chuckwalla Valley Raceway. “I really, really enjoyed working with the racers at Willow Springs,” Tanner says. “I’m getting older, and my racing days are winding down. But I can’t see walking away from this. “I think with this being a new track, we’ll have a good turnout the first time,” Tanner says. “We want to make sure that they like what they see, so they’ll keep coming back.”