Graves Motorsports, with assistance from Yamaha Motor Corporation, has signed on to sponsor 15-year-old champion road racer Josh Herrin to compete in the AMA Supersport series for 2006. Herrin will race in the WERA National Challenge Series until May 23, when he turns 16 and becomes eligible to compete in the AMA Pro Racing National Series, aboard an all-new 2006 Yamaha YZF-R6, prepared by Team Graves Yamaha.

Herrin won the 2004 USGPRU 125 national title at the age of 14. The year prior to that, Herrin raced mini bikes and YSR 50s and was invited to compete in the World Mini GP Festival at the Valencia, Spain circuit, riding a mini GP bike that hit over 100 mph on that track’s front straight. Herrin finished the double event with a sixth and thirteenth and as the top-scoring American.

In 2005, Graves Motorsports supported Herrin’s championship season in WERA. Herrin took his Graves-prepared YZF-R6 to the 600 Superstock and C Superbike expert titles at the WERA GNF. On his way to those championships, Herrin won more than two-dozen races and set a class lap record at Nelson Ledges, Ohio. Herrin also competed in the 2005 AMA Grand Nationals at Mid-Ohio, finishing third in 600 Superstock and 600 Supersport.

Graves Motorsports principle Chuck Graves said, “Josh’s results are already beyond our expectations. He’s not only fast, he’s immediately fast at every track. It’s rare for a rider, especial at Josh’s age, to learn new tracks so quickly. The kid has us all excited to see how far he can go in his career as a racer and we’re lucky to be there at the right time to help him.”

The Dublin, Georgia tenth-grade racer Herrin said, “I grew up in California watching my father road race, so his support has been core to my successes ever since I started racing when I was seven. We’re used to being a family at the track and now I feel as though I just have a bigger family behind me with Chuck’s team and Yamaha and everyone else helping out.”

For updates on Josh Herrin’s racing season visit ~http://www.gravesport.com~

We are very pleased to announce that the sale of the AZPRA to Tom Branson is official! As the new owner, Tom is making some executive decisions including changing the name of the club to the Arizona Minimoto Racing Association or AMRA, a change which he feels better encompasses both pocketbikes AND minimotards. Very soon, the AZPRA.com web address will redirect you to the new website which is ~http://www.azminimoto.com~

On a more personal note, Brian, Erica, Jason and Lindsey would like to thank everyone for their support of the AZPRA over the past 2.5 years and for the great friendships that have developed. Here’s to many more years of fun racing!

Roadracing World is accepting submissions to be included in their 2006 Young Guns feature.

They describe the program by saying “To qualify for the Young Guns feature, a racer must be between the ages of 12 and 19, have finished in the top three in a sanctioned Expert-level road race or Championship on a 125cc or larger motorcycle with full-size wheels, and reside within the United States or Canada.”

More information on the Young Guns program can be found on their website here:

~http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=24810~

NW MiniMoto Racing League (NWMRL) which hosts races at the Xplex Seattle (Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA) has released its 2006 race schedule. Practices are Friday with races being held on Sunday.

April:

Practice 7th

Race 9th

Practice 28th

Race 30th

May:

Practice 19th

Race 21st

June:

Practice 2nd

Race 4th

August:

Practice 4th

Race 6th

September:

Practice 15th (This might be the 8th)

Race 17th (This might be the 10th)

October:

Practice 13th

Race 15th

In addition to their Xplex races NWMRL intends to host an indoor pocketbike session during their big Datona party in March. They have hosted this event for the last 2 years. It is in Seattle at Champs karting, cost should be about $25 which covers your entry, food, drinks, and plenty of time on the track for the pocketbike.

More information can be found by visiting their website at ~http://www.nwmrl.com~

Note: For you NW racers out there, NWMRL and OMRRA have two confirmed conflicting race dates on May 21st, and October 15th with a potential third on September 10th.

Czech based Blata, one of the most established and successful manufactures in worldwide minibike racing and MotoGP constructor, today announced an agreement with Redondo Beach, CA based Drew Price Racing to sponsor 15-year-old SCminiGP racer Drew Price. In 2004, Drew secured the Rookie of the Year Award and the Junior Production Championship Title in the SCminiGP series. In 2005, against much stiffer competition, he placed 3rd in the Junior Production class and 2nd in the NSR Cup.

“I can’t thank Blata and Ras Brodsky enough for this opportunity. A new Open Class bike, parts and a mechanic. I am very proud to be a part of such a special organization,” says Drew Price.

For the Czech based company, this involvement in the SCminiGP series will mean a new and significant step in its commitment in the sport and further demonstrates Blata’s enthusiasm and dedication to building tomorrow’s racing champions.

SCminiGP is Southern California’s program for MiniGP racing; a road racing program on a smaller scale. They have created a program that advances road racing skills at a beginner level in a safe and educational environment.

For more information: ~http://www.DrewPrice.com~ ~http://www.BlataUSA.com~ ~http://www.SCminiGP.com~

According to event organizer Peter Bengston, the annual ‘Minimoto Trip’ hend this March 13-17 is expected to draw over 150 riders.

Riders and teams are expected to come from all over Europe including: Sweden, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, and Italy. They also expect to have a few token riders from the United States. All the major minimoto manufacturers are expected to have some representation at the race. While some teams will be there all 5 days, other teams such as the France based BMS team plan on only attending the final two days.

The Benidorm, Spain event will be the first event to put all the 2006 models head to head. It will be interesting to see if the 4-stroke minimoto bikes will be competitive out of the box like their big brothers were in MotoGP.

More information about the event can be found by visiting their website: ~http://www.minimototrip.co.uk~

Underdog Leathers is proud to announce its support for the Metrakit Australian MiniGP Championship. Underdog Leathers will support this new grass-roots racing initiative by supplying race suits to competitors at heavily discounted prices.

The Metrakit Australian MiniGP Championship provides a unique opportunity for junior riders to become involved in road racing at club level, Australia-wide, and internationally. Eight to 18 year old riders compete on special Metrakit MiniGP motorcycles imported from Spain especially for the series.

Underdog Leathers is an Australian Company. It was started by an Australian motorcyclist with the view of being able to provide other Australian motorcyclists with the sorts of gear they need at an affordable price.

More information on pricing and how to qualify for this special discount can be found on our website ~http://www.underdog-leathers.com~

What do you get when you cross a pocketbike with a MiniGP racer? No, it isn’t a joke with a off-color punch line. You get a Jawa GP50 Auto. The Auto is the size of a MiniGP racer, has its brakes, its tires, its suspension…everything except the clutch.

Oddly enough this is a new concept in MiniGP bikes, though MX manufacturers have been doing automatics for decades.

The Auto is intended to offer young riders an alternative to riding pocketbikes or a mini-motard. This is a mid-sized bike. Its wheelbase is 990mm, seat height is a meer 630mm, weight comes in at a claimed 40kg. The Auto is powered by an Morini engine. While not a Honda powerplant you may recognize Morini from the off-road industry.

As some MiniGP clubs move from purely kart tracks to include running big tracks, the Jawa GP50 Auto enables the little guys to partake in the big track festivities.

“The LCRRC (UK based Low Capacity Road Racing Club) has been moving more and more toward true road race circuits, rather than kart circuits, which obviously pocket bikes can’t cope with, this machine gives us an Auto that can cope with these tracks, and offer youngsters an auto but with suspension and hydraulic brakes…a big step forward.” commented Scott Cuppello of Phoenix Racing who imports the Jawa line into the United Kingdom.

This is a brand new bike and we at MiniGPX haven’t seen or ridden it yet. If we can convince them to send us a test bike we will provide a road test (hint hint).

Unfortunately Jawa doesn’t seem to have a website. You can get additional information on Jawas by contacting Scott Cuppello of Phoenix Racing through his website: ~http://www.phoenixminimoto.com~

It appears that USGPRU will be testing the MiniGP waters in 2006. They have teamed up with CMRRA and USMiniGP to see how the programs fit.

USMiniGP will now reflect how other Metrakit series are being run internationally, with emphasis on the spec 70cc, 80cc big wheel, and spec 125cc PreGP bikes. This change means they need to run on bigger tracks. It appears that USGPRU thinks they do too. Metrakits will run during the July 1-2 USGPRU event at Beaver Run, PA. According to USGPRU, the 50cc bikes will be limited to a practice class with USGPRU at the request of USMiniGP.

This joint event is a test of how the MiniGP bikes will fit into the overall USGPRU program according to Stewart Aitken-Cade with the USGPRU.

“This is a one-time event (this season) with the Metrakit crowd. Depending on how this weekend goes we may increase that interaction in the future” said Aitken-Cade.

USGPRU also is running an event with CMRRA.

“We are working with the CMRRA on the west coast for a weekend. We are running at Streets of Willow with them. The idea being to build the relationship between the mini’s and the GP classes we run. In Europe this is a little more established relationship. We’re just trying to establish that and create a clear progression for the youth racers to go from minis to small bore GP bikes, to the pros” continued Aitken-Cade.

As there is no national program in place lets hope that things go smoothly and the USGPRU pick up the MiniGP bikes long-term.

For more information on the USGPRU visit their website at ~http://www.usgpru.net~

USMiniGP, the American Metrakit series has begun taking registration for its upcoming 2006 season.

USMiniGP will accept 25 riders on the West Coast and 25 on the East Coast for the 2006 season. The USMiniGP events will be a closed grid if the maximum number of 25 riders per coast is reached. The East Coast series is already nearing the 25 rider maximum. USMiniGP will charge a refundable $500 season deposit per rider to reserve a spot.

The series will shift focus to align better with how other Metrakit series are being run internationally, with emphasis on the spec 70cc, 80cc big wheel, and spec 125cc PreGP bikes.

Registration for the USMiniGP series can be completed here:

~http://www.cycleimports.com/acatalog/Register.html~