The American Motorcyclist Association
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Posted July 19, 2006   Email this articleEmail   Print this articlePrint


Nicky Hayden's first-ever MotoGP win at last year's U.S. Red Bull Grand Prix was truly a victory to remember. Tune in this year to see what new history is made as Hayden chases his first world title. (Photo by Grant Parsons)

MotoGP joins AMA Superbike for the biggest weekend of roadracing this summer in the U.S.

For many U.S. fans of roadracing and sportbikes, the biggest weekend of the year is coming up: the combined U.S. Red Bull Grand Prix MotoGP race and a full slate of AMA Superbike Championship racing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

The next best thing to being there

If you can't make it to Laguna Seca this weekend, you can still enjoy your own personal motorcycle roadracing marathon, thanks to extensive television coverage.

On Saturday night, SPEED plans to broadcast a one-hour report on MotoGP qualifying. On Sunday, SPEED will show  four hours of MotoGP and AMA racing from Laguna Seca (and if that's not enough roadracing for you, SPEED will also show both FIM World Superbike races from the Czech Republic on Sunday).

Then, if you want an encore, tune in to ABC on July 30 for a replay of the MotoGP race.

While motorcycle roadracing is primetime stuff in many other countries, the airing of a MotoGP race on U.S. network television marks a breakthrough in bringing the sport to a broader audience.

“It is great news for the sport to be broadcast across the United States on network television," said Manel Arroyo, managing director of MotoGP promoter Dorna Sports. "Working alongside a prestigious network such as ABC will certainly help us achieve our objective of bringing MotoGP to the attention of a more mainstream audience.”

Check the listings below and don't miss the action.
Event Time (EDT) Date Network
MotoGP qualifying 9 p.m. July 22 SPEED
AMA Superbike 3 p.m. July 23 SPEED
AMA Supersport 4 p.m. July 23 SPEED
MotoGP 5 p.m. July 23 SPEED
AMA Formula Xtreme 6 p.m. July 23 SPEED
MotoGP 1 p.m.
(3 p.m. PDT)		 July 30 ABC

For West Coast fans, the event, now in its second year with MotoGP as the featured class, is the most spectacular weekend of racing on asphalt. What could top last year's dramatic and emotional breakthrough MotoGP win by former AMA Superbike champ Nicky Hayden?

Well, maybe seeing Hayden pad his current points lead in the MotoGP championship — something most of the tens of thousands of fans at Laguna Seca will be hoping for this weekend.

Hayden enters the weekend with a 26-point lead in MotoGP, but all-time great Valentino Rossi and Hayden's Repsol Honda teammate, Dani Pedrosa, are applying pressure to the Kentucky Kid.

Meanwhile, another past AMA champion, Colin Edwards, who finished second to Hayden in last year's U.S. Red Bull Grand Prix, is desperate for a MotoGP win after nearly beating Hayden last month in a one-on-one battle in Holland.

In addition to the MotoGP action this year, all four classes of AMA Superbike Championship competition will race at Laguna Seca. In the premier class, Yoshimura Suzuki sophomore rider Ben Spies carries a 21-point lead over his teammate, six-time champ Mat Mladin.

The Suzuki riders face a resurgent Honda team, led by Jake Zemke, who broke the Suzuki stranglehold on victory circle with a win at Miller Motorsports Park in the last round of the series, and Miguel Duhamel. Neil Hodgson and Ben Bostrom of the Parts Unlimited Ducati team return to Laguna Seca, where last year a guy named Bostrom (Eric, not Ben) won the race on a Ducati. And Team Kawasaki may be at its strongest in months, as Roger Lee Hayden, who was injured earlier this season, is expected to return to Superbike competition alongside his brother and teammate, Tommy Hayden.

If you can't be there, the good news is that you can find even more television coverage of the races this year. Live and in person or on TV, expect a lot of action at the biggest weekend of racing on the West Coast.

© 2006, American Motorcyclist Association