Rider Files

(NEWS RELEASE)

INDIANAPOLIS, Thursday, June 14, 2012 – A preview of the Grand Prix of Great Britain World Championship event June 17:

Race: Grand Prix of Great Britain
Date: Sunday, June 17
Round: Sixth of 18 races in 2012
Circuit: Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire, England
Distance: 20 laps on 18-turn, 3.666-mile circuit
2011 Winner: Casey Stoner, Honda
2012 Points Leader: Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha
U.S. Riders: Nicky Hayden, ninth, 40 points; Ben Spies, 11th, 24; Colin Edwards, 17th (tie), 4.
TV: MotoGP: 2:30 p.m. (ET) Sunday, June 17, SPEED. Moto2: 3:30 p.m. (ET), Sunday, June 17, SPEED. Moto3: Noon (ET) Tuesday, June 19, SPEED.
Web: www.motogp.com
Twitter: @MotoGP

LAST RACE
Jorge Lorenzo extended his lead in the MotoGP World Championship with a victory Sunday, June 3 in the Grand Prix of Catalunya, his third win of the 2012 season.

2010 World Champion Lorenzo beat fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa to the finish by 5.003 seconds on his Yamaha Factory Racing machine. Andrea Dovizioso held off reigning World Champion Casey Stoner for third, ending Stoner’s streak of 19 consecutive top-three finishes dating back to May 2011.

WHO’S HOT
Jorge Lorenzo: 2010 World Champion Lorenzo has dropped just 10 points in five starts this season, with three victories and two second-place finishes on his factory Yamaha M1. He has expanded his lead in the World Championship to 20 points, 115-95, over defending World Champion Casey Stoner.

Stefan Bradl: 2011 Moto2 World Champion Bradl has made a quietly effective jump to the premier class this season with LCR Honda. The German has finished in the top 10 in all five races this season, with a best of fifth in May at Le Mans. Bradl’s solid form has generated whispers that Ducati is interested in hiring him for next season, especially since German automotive giant Audi just purchased the legendary Italian motorcycle manufacturer.

WHO’S NOT
Ben Spies: Whatever can go wrong seems to happen this season for 2010 Rookie of the Year Spies. He has just two top-10 finishes in the first five races, with a best of eighth at Estoril. Spies is facing increasing pressure to perform to keep his factory Yamaha ride in 2013, especially with the success this season of Yamaha satellite riders Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow, both of whom are ahead of Spies in the standings. Spies earned the first podium finish of his MotoGP career in 2010 at Silverstone, site of this weekend’s race.

Colin Edwards: It’s been a rough start to the season for the Texas Tornado, who is competing on production-based Claiming Rule Teams machinery after racing prototypes for the first nine seasons of his MotoGP career. Edwards’ best finish is 12th in the season opener at Qatar. Since then he has finished just one of two starts, missing two races due to a broken collarbone suffered in a crash and failing to finish the last race, at Catalunya, due to mechanical problems with his Suter-BMW.

NEWS and NUMBERS
Andrea Dovizioso’s third-place result June 3 in the Catalunya Grand Prix was the first podium finish by a satellite rider since Colin Edwards finished third in the British Grand Prix in June 2011. Both Dovizioso and Edwards rode a Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine to the podium … Race Day for the 2012 British Grand Prix, Sunday, June 17, marks 63 years to the day since the first World Championship Grand Prix was contested. British rider Harold Daniell won the Isle of Man TT on June 17, 1949, aboard a single-cylinder Norton … It’s been 28 years since a British rider finished on the podium in the premier class at his home Grand Prix. Ron Haslam was the last, finishing third in 1984 in the 500cc class … Cal Crutchlow has scored 56 points during the first five races of the season, the best premier-class start over five races by a British rider since Haslam in 1987 … Brazilian Eric Granado is scheduled to make his Moto2 debut this weekend at age 16 years, 7 days on Race Day. He will become the youngest rider to start an intermediate-class race in Grand Prix motorcycle racing history.

***

2012 tickets: Tickets for the 2012 Red Bull Indianapolis GP MotoGP event, scheduled for Aug. 17-19 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, are on sale now at www.imstix.com, by calling (800) 822-INDY or (317) 492-6700 or by visiting the IMS Ticket Office at the IMS Administration Building at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday-Friday.

Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information.

Information on camping at IMS during the Red Bull Indianapolis GP is available at www.imstix.com. Hotel package information can be found at visitindy.com/redbull.

(NEWS RELEASE)

AURORA, Ill. (June 14, 2012) – Monster Energy Cup track designer Ricky Carmichael, a five-time Supercross Class Champion, took the next step in designing this year’s track when he sat down with Feld Motor Sports® to discuss the optimal track layout for fans and riders.

Carmichael met with Feld Motor Sports’ Todd Jendro, vice president of two wheel operations, Dave Prater, director of supercross, and Nate Swartzendruber, Monster Energy Cup manager, as well as Dirt Wurx’s Chris Blankenship at his Florida compound.

“I am really excited to design this year’s Monster Energy Cup track, which will be all new and something that the fans and riders have never seen before,” said Carmichael. “I am going to take what I learned from designing last year’s track and give the riders the perfect combination of big air, high speeds and technical rhythm sections that will generate great racing.”

To watch Carmichael ride some of his obstacles and discuss this year’s Monster Energy Cup at Las Vegas’ Sam Boyd Stadium on October 20, watch the video below.

The 2012 Monster Energy Cup features an all-new track design inspired by five-time Supercross Class Champion Ricky Carmichael. The Carmichael-inspired track design will consist of supercross and motocross obstacles unlike any other racetrack design in the world. More than 200’ of the track will be built into the grandstands, and the riders exit the stadium and race through the Monster Energy Fan Zone outside of the stadium and through the pit area before they catapult back into the stadium. The Monster Energy Cup posts a $250,000 purse with the winner walking away with a $100,000 check, and any rider that wins all three Main Events will take home $1 million.

For more information on the Monster Energy Cup, log on to www.SupercrossOnline.com. For all media requests, please contact Denny Hartwig dhartwig@feldinc.com or 630-566-6305. To follow the Monster Energy Cup on Facebook and Twitter, log on to www.Facebook.com/VegasMECup and www.Twitter.com/VegasMECup.

Tickets for the 2012 Monster Energy Cup can be purchased at the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office, UNLVtickets outlets, online at www.UNLVtickets.com, www.MonsterEnergyCup.com, or by phone at (702) 739-FANS. Tickets will be available at the Sam Boyd Stadium Box Office on the day of the event only.

About Feld Motor Sports®
Feld Motor Sports®, Inc. is the world leader in specialized arena and stadium-based motor sports entertainment. Feld Motor Sports, Inc. productions include Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam®, Monster Energy Supercross, AMA Arenacross Series, Nuclear Cowboyz®, and IHRA® Nitro Jam®. Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is a division of Feld Entertainment, the world’s largest producer of live family entertainment. For more information on Feld Entertainment, visit www.feldentertainment.com.

Mert Lawwill hugs the rail on the Syracuse Mile during an AMA Grand National in 1975. By ’75 Lawwill, the 1969 AMA Grand National Champion, was in his mid-30s and hindered by injuries and mechanical problems with his motorcycles. Lawwill finished in the top-10 of the final standings every year from 1964 to 1975 (with the exception of 1971 and ’74 when he was out with injury). Lawwill was still consistent by ’75, but for the first time in four years failed to win a national. When Lawwill hung up his racing leathers in 1977, due to an inner-ear disorder that affected his balance, he had amassed an incredible 161 career AMA Grand National finishes during his 15-year racing career.

Mert Lawwill hugs the rail at the 1975 Syracuse Mile as he races his factory Harley-Davidson through a turn in front of the Yamaha of Chuck Palmgren (No. 38). You can also just see the front of Hank Scott’s Yamaha behind Palmgren. (AMA press photo)

Dennis Martin (No. 28), on his FZR750, races side by side with Honda VFR750 mounted Phil Pummell at Grattan Raceway during a WERA Sprint race in September of 1987. Pummell’s Honda was a Superbike if I recall, so this was probably an A or B Superbike race or possibly Formula One. Martin also ran the A & B Production classes on his Yamaha and he was one of the Yamaha riders in ’87 able to give the Suzuki GSXR riders fits.

Dennis Martin (No. 28), on his FZR750, races side by side with Honda VFR750 mounted Phil Pummell at Grattan Raceway during a WERA Sprint race in September of 1987. (Larry Lawrence photo)

The 2012 Hertz British Grand Prix kicked off with a special MotoGP™ Olympics in London today as the city starts to warm up for hosting the Olympic Games this summer. Read more.