COSTA MESA, CA, OCT. 6 – MotoAmerica has announced an expanded schedule for the 2017 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Race Championship with 10 rounds and two new venues on the provisional calendar for the upcoming season.
The two new rounds on the schedule are rounds seven and eight, which will be held at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California, August 11-13, and two weeks later at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 25-27.
While the Sonoma round will mark the first time the MotoAmerica Series has visited the racetrack in Northern California’s wine country, it was once a regular stop on the AMA Superbike circuit. The last time the AMA Superbike Series held a round at Sonoma Raceway was in 2012 with Josh Hayes and Blake Young splitting victories in the two Superbike races.
The 2017 season will mark the first time an AMA-sanctioned race will be held at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex. The 2.8-mile, 19-turn racetrack is situated in a 400-acre complex located 45 miles northwest of Pittsburgh in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
The 10-round series will begin, as it has in the first two seasons of the MotoAmerica Series, in Austin, Texas, at Circuit of The Americas, April 20-23, with the races again being held in conjunction with the Red Bull MotoGP of The Americas. Prior to the race, there will be a two-day MotoAmerica team test at COTA, March 28-29.
From Texas the series will head directly to Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, for back-to-back races, April 28-30. Round three will take place at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, a few weeks later, May 12-14.
The first weekend of June will feature round four at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, before the series heads west to the Utah Motorsports Campus in Salt Lake City, June 23-25.
Round six will again be run in conjunction with the World Superbike Championship at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, July 7-9, with a one-month summer break prior to the series’ return to Sonoma Raceway for round seven, August 11-13.
The series will then head back east for the final three rounds beginning with the debut race at Pittsburgh International Race Complex, August 25-27, followed by round nine at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey, September 8-10. The series will conclude for the first time at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, the following weekend, September 15-17.
“We’re thrilled to announce that our 2017 MotoAmerica schedule will feature 10 rounds, including two new stops,” said MotoAmerica President and three-time 500cc World Champion Wayne Rainey. “It’s always been our goal to expand the series and we’ve been able to do that entering our third season. We’re excited to be going back to Sonoma Raceway because it’s a great racetrack with a long history of Superbike racing. I won a Superbike race there way back in 1983 and wrapped up my second AMA Superbike Championship there in 1987. It’s also great to be going to an all-new racetrack for us at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex. It’s always exciting for the teams and riders to go to a new racetrack and we’re happy to be bringing our series to a new market in Pittsburgh and its surrounding areas.”
2017 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Race Series
(Provisional Schedule)
Round 1: Circuit of The Americas, Austin, Texas, April 20-23
Round 2: Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia, April 28-30
Round 3: Virginia International Raceway, May 12-14
Round 4: Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, June 2-4
Round 5: Utah Motorsports Campus, Salt Lake City, Utah, June 23-25
Round 6: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, California, July 7-9
Round 7: Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, California, August 11-13
Round 8: Pittsburgh International Race Complex, August 25-27
Round 9: New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, New Jersey, September 8-10
Round 10: Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama, September 15-17
