GRC have decided to move up a step and get into the MiniGP market with a new bike for 2007. Shown are snapshots of the prototype bike shown at the Milan show. The expected street date of the bike is Spring 2007.

The bike is expected to ship with

- Aluminium frame

- Marzocchi upside down forks

- Billet yokes

- Matris top mount steering damper

- Matris adjustable rear shocks

- Am6 and Derbi engine options

The final appearance is expected to be refined from what was shown at the show.

According to the UK imported, Minimoto UK, the bike has been given provisional permission to run in the MMRA British Championships, providing the bike complies with their rules and regs. Check back to their site for updates.

Prices have not been announced.

For more info give Minimoto UK a call at 01666 838234 or visit their site at: ~http://www.minimoto.co.uk~

2007 is shaping up rather nicely for the Oklahoma SuperBikers!

Over Ten thousand dollars in contingency and class sponsorships have already been confirmed for our racers. Team Michelin & Island Racing, EBC Brakes, Moto Liberty, Precision Motorcycle Products (PMP) and DZ Graphics, have all committed to support the Oklahoma SuperBikers series for 2007. Both mini classes and big bike alike will benefit from these gracious sponsors. These companies and businesses have chose time and time again to support our sport not only by producing superior products but they also choose to give back directly to you the racer. They truly SUPPORT THE SPORT!

Before you make your next purchase please give them a look. Visit ~http://www.oklahomasuperbikers.com~ and click on our sponsors tab for a link to their websites and other exciting OSB information.

Oregon’s proposed Bill 49 will prohibit operation of all-terrain vehicles by persons under 12 years of age. It will restrict operation of all-terrain vehicles by persons 12 to 15 years of age to a maximum of 90cc. It will prohibits sellers of all-terrain vehicles from knowingly selling all-terrain vehicles for use by persons under 12 years of age or for use by persons 12 to 15 years of age in violation of engine displacement limitations.

Oregon defines an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) in three classes. Class I & III are listed in the bill. Class I defines what we in the motorcycle world know as the ATV, a vehicle of 3 or more wheels. Class III includes “an off-highway motorcycle with a dry weight of 600 pounds or less that travels on two tires.” Of note, Oregon classifies a pocketbike specifically as an ‘off-road’ vehicle. It is probable to assume Class I would also include 125GPs through 600 Superbikes in race form since they are not allowed on highways as well should law enforcement want to get particular.

Should the bill pass, racers under 16 years of age will be forced to not only purchase bikes but also race outside the state lines to save their parents from potentially being issued a class D traffic violation. The bill affects many venues of racing including motocross, supermoto, dirt tracking, mini road racing, and quite possibly may include any racing with motorcycles of up to 600 lbs.

Up and coming teen racers like RoadracingWorld.com’s Elena Myers and Red Bull Rookies Cup racers like Cameron Beaubier and JD Beach who all hail from the west coast will risk violation should they be found racing in the state of Oregon on anything over 90cc.

Senate Bill 49: ~http://www.leg.state.or.us/07reg/measures/sb0001.dir/sb0049.intro.html~

~http://www.leg.state.or.us/07reg/measpdf/sb0001.dir/sb0049.intro.pdf~

Oregon DMV ATV definitions: ~http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/DMV/vehicle/atv.shtml~

Metrakit Canada (www.Metrakit.ca) is proud to announce the signing of American racer Peter Lenz (www.PeterLenz.com) to the Metrakit Canada factory MiniGP race team. Lenz will ride for the factory effort in the Canadian National Mini Roadracing Series on a Metrakit MiniGP 50 and Metrakit XL80.

The CMA sanctioned 5 race Canadian mini series is the only nationally sanctioned series in North America. Metrakit is looking to Lenz to win the overall 2007 Canadian championship for the Spanish marque in his first year on the brand.

“Peter is a special rider, I look forward to seeing him progress through the Metrakit program,” explained Phil Gaze of Metrakit Canada. “I believe Metrakit has a lot to offer a developing rider like Peter. Metrakit is committed to providing young riders a start in road racing and providing them the opportunity to achieve their true potential.”

In addition to his responsibilities in Canada, Lenz will be competing in one round of the Metrakit Spanish championship series in Valencia, Spain.

“I’m going to be the best I can. There will be a big race in Spain and the Europeans are fast, so I’ll have to set a fast pace to beat them,” commented the enthusiastic Lenz. “There will be some changes switching to the new bikes but I’ll change too. I’ll do the very best I can to win.”

In addition to the Canadian and Spanish events, Lenz who resides in Fort Vancouver, Washington will be racing Metrakits in MiniGP races in the Western United States and Texas.

Lenz’s first race with Metrakit will be March 4th with the NMRRA in Oregon. The Canadian national mini series kicks off April 15th in Vancouver, BC.

About Metrakit

No other company offers young road racers the equipment, program, opportunity and relationships to achieve world-class success in road racing that is available through Metrakit and Metrakit Canada. To learn more about Metrakit visit their site at ~http://www.Metrakit.ca~.

About Peter Lenz

In addition to Metrakit, Peter will be receiving support from: Keith Code’s California Superbike School, Arai, FNB-racing.com, EDR Performance, MiniGPX.com, Pro Caliber, Vortex, SpyOptic, Tranquil Velocity, ASV, Pro Circuit, Galfer, Speed Graffix, and Echo Alley Web Development. To stay up to date with Peter Lenz visit his website at ~http://www.PeterLenz.com~.

According to OMRRA’s forum (~http://www.omrra.com/forums/showthread.php?t=538~) OMRRA’s rule committee has finalized the rules for their new 85GP class. The rules will not allow any motards or 4-stroke based bikes in the class.

Class highlights:

- 85cc 2-stroke (open mods, max 85cc)

- 17″ wheels

- GP style chassis

On a positive note OMRRA has purchased a large quantity of AirFence to line PIR’s concrete and tire walls.

The OMRRA Board voted to not organize any Pocketbike races at the McMinnville race track for the 2007 season, due to the high cost of an ambulance, lower rider turn out and constant turmoil within the participants and crews.

OMRRA has decided that it will take a step back from organizing races at the Mac track and look at how we want to continue our support of pocketbike racing in the future. OMRRA will continue to support pocketbike racing and will be putting on some special events for riders at PIR.

Last year OMRRA lost a significant amount of money with our Mac races and despite extensive efforts from the club, we did not feel we ever achieved the positive effect that we were striving for. We look forward to our continued support of Mini racing in the Northwest.

Based on rider feedback, the USMGP has moved it Willow Springs race date to April 6th, 7th & 8th. The change was made to avoid running the same weekend as the AMA Superbike race at California Speedway.

USMGP also relocated their event scheduled for Fremont Raceway Park on May 11th, 12th & 13th to BeaveRun.

For an updated schedule refer to their website here: ~http://www.usmgp.com/~

1998 AMA Roadracing veteran Steve Crevier Pro Honda Oils 600 SuperSport Championship goes indoor to compete for Canada’s newest Natonal Title.

AMRA hosts Unique National Winter RoadRacing Event

2 CITIES, 6 DAYS, 18 RACES, 108 HEATS = ONE NATIONAL CMA TITLE

108 times over six days the green flag was dropped by premier Race Director Dave Rudd as competitors from across Canada joined forces to create the most unique Indoor Feature Race Event and vie for the newest CMA National Title with two full weekends of intense Competition, Camaraderie and Sportsmanship.

How do you have the most fun possible when it’s -20 outside with 2ft of snow on the ground? Well if you are the AMRA, you prep a dozen 125cc four strokes to factory specs, and mount them with the same street tires front and rear. Then you convince the Canadian Motorcycle Shows that using 60,000 square ft to have an INDOOR ROAD RACE TRACK at the Calgary and Edmonton shows is a great idea. Now, with a track and bikes, all you need are racers. What if the Factory Stars working for the manufacturers at the shows agreed to race against the best mini road racers in Canada? Yes, they say? Well, why not put something on the line and make it a National Championship? Game on!

This is exactly what played out in Calgary and Edmonton during the Motorcycle Shows over two weekends in January. Participants included 16 past and current National Champions. Factory pilots Steve Crevier from Yamaha, Darren James from Buell, Jordan Szoke and Brett McCormick from Kawasaki as well as multi-time Canadian Superbike and 600 champ Don Munroe battled it out with current and rising mini road race stars J.R MacRae, Matt Bagshaw, Jay Fox, John Lenz, Geoffrey Gerbrandt, and Cody Matechuk. Pro moto-crossers such as Cale Barr and Kyle Cole joined the action as well, just to name a few of the 42 riders vying for the coveted title of 2007 National Indoor Mini Roadracing Champ.

The track surface was cement floor, with multiple lefts and rights as well as short straights. Speeds of 50 to 60 kilometres per hour in the tight confines made for extremely exiting racing for the packed stands of 600+ fans that took in the action. Between ten and twelve racers were randomly seeded into 4 heats that would see the top two advance to a final, with third and fourth placers earning spots in the last chance qualifier. Over the weekend, racers would gain points from eight main events. Their points would seed them into one final race per weekend, with the two finals determining the championship. The top 10 in points were placed into the final, with the rest of the riders fighting for the 11th and last position by way of “winner advances” heat races.

Racing was a combination of road racing, dirt track, motocross and ice racing, putting a premium on the ability to find some drive on the slippery surface. Slide it in, slide it around, stand it up and drive hard seemed to be the skill-set needed to succeed. Easier said than done! While the heat races had numerous winners, with every brand being well represented, the main events were dominated by a couple of the sports young guns.

Cody Matechuk and Brett McCormick won the lion’s share of main events, putting them on the front row for the two championship races in Calgary and Edmonton. McCormick had pole in Calgary for the final event, but the green flag saw Matechuk pull the holeshot. That was the last that anyone saw of him, as Matechuk pulled out a couple-second lead and held it throughout for the win. McCormick kept his championship hopes alive by scoring a solid second. Steve Crevier followed in third with Jordan Szoke close behind in fourth. Darren James rounded out the top five.

Edmonton again saw McCormick on pole in the Main Event, but again Matechuk stole the holeshot. Steve Crevier squeezed McCormick out in turn two, and Matechuk immediately started pulling a gap. Not wanting to let Matechuk get away, McCormick passed Crevier on lap 3 and went to work. Although Matechuk had the field covered in Calgary, with the championship on the line, McCormick definitely had something for him in Edmonton. After closing the gap by lap 8, 15-year-old McCormick started putting the pressure on 12-year-old Matechuk, showing him a wheel and trying to get by in a couple of spots. The pressure worked and Matechuk made a small mistake coming on to the back straight. McCormick pounced making an inside pass. To ensure their would be no retaliation, McCormick eked out a 2-second gap and held it to the finish for the Edmonton win and the Championship victory. Kale Barr followed in third with Jordan Szoke in fourth, cross-country star Matt Montandon in fifth and Fox Family Star Matt Bagshaw in sixth.

All weekend long, capacity crowds were treated to some of the best racing to be seen anywhere. The camaraderie and fun was evident on the participant’s faces. Friendships were reinforced, as well as new ones made. These are the trademarks of the AMRA and Canadian mini road racing in general. What does your family do for fun?!

The racers may always be in the spotlight, but it is only with a team effort that the show could be this successful. Special thanks to the mechanics – Jeff, Ryan, Jimmy, Devin and Ron – who were truly put to the test, race officials – Dave, Robert and Scott – and volunteers – Siggi, Tim, Darrel, Don, Stephanie, Erin, Mitchell, Grant, Steve and many others. Of course, deep gratitude goes out to Stu & Iris McColl for continuing to be the voice of the AMRA, and Berna and Jay Fox of Fox Family Road Racing for gluing all the pieces in place. What an incredible team!

Special thanks to Buell, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha for supplying the machines for the phenomenal racers to commandeer around these unique AMRA and Canadian Motorcycle Show tracks. AME Motorsport Magazine (long time sponsor of AMRA), Blackfoot Motorsports of Calgary, Cycle Works of Edmonton, Force Products, Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks and Wildlife Foundation, Canadian Motorcycle Association, Second Gear Club, Parks Foundation Calgary and Stratotech Park of Edmonton; without their support, the AMRA would be unable to continue to bring the expertise it does to these events.

What does your Family do for fun?

For more information on Mini Road racing, AMRA events, news and developments, contact ~http://www.amra.ca~.

You may want to start planning to head to Edmonton, Canada on May 18-20th, 2007. That weekend at the Stratotech Park will be the first International North American mini motorcycle racing event. Stratotech Park (~http://www.stratotech.ca/~)is where the 2006 Canadian National Karting championship was held, generally a very nice facility.

The event is currently sanctioned by the CMA (Canada’s equiv of the AMA) and is part of the CNMRRA (Canada’s mini national series). They currently are working on formal sponsorship by other sanctioning bodies to make it an internationally sanctioned event.

The weekend includes everything from an 80GP class, lightweight motards, to pocketbikes. A special highlight is the Metrakit challenge and NSR spec race.

Riders from Australia, United States and Canada are already confirmed for the event.

More information on the event can be found here: ~http://amra.ca/Metrakitchallenge.htm~

For American’s traveling to the event, be aware of a few things.

- Passports are now required for air travel to/from Canada. If you don’t have one, go to your local post office and start the process. You are looking at about six weeks to get one (faster service is available for a fee). Read more here: ~http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html~

- Do some research on your bike before you depend on shipping it. Some bikes based on their displacement may end up ’stuck’ in government red tape.

- If you are going and not driving, best ask some questions on this forum run by the Vice President of the sponsoring club ~http://forum.phatbikes.ca/viewforum.php?f=26~

We have finalized our 2007 schedule. We have added 4 races and 1 additional track to this years schedule for a total of 3 tracks and 8 races. We have some other very exciting things in the works for our 07 season, stay tuned!

April 1st- JRP Speedway (Clockwise) û Tulsa Oklahoma

April 29th- MacArthur Park Speedway û Oklahoma City Oklahoma

May 27th- Oklahoma Motorsports Complex û Norman Oklahoma

June 24th- JRP Speedway (Counter) û Tulsa Oklahoma

July 15th- JRP Speedway (Clockwise) û Tulsa Oklahoma

Aug. 19th- Oklahoma Motorsports Complex û Norman Oklahoma

Sept. 16th- MacArthur Park Speedway û Oklahoma City Oklahoma

Oct. 14th- JRP Speedway (Counter) û Tulsa Oklahoma

2007 Sponsors Include

- SlydWayz Supermoto School

- Broken Arrow Fencing

To learn more about Oklahoma Superbikers Mini Road Racing visit our website at ~http://www.oklahomasuperbikers.com~