Eighteen AMA National No. 1 Plates Awarded at AMA Road Race Grand Championship
Top amateur and expert road racers from throughout the country vied for AMA National No. 1 plates during the American Motorcyclist Association Road Race Grand Championship at Road America in Lake Plymouth, Wis., July 1-3.
Greg Jones is the Content Director for Motorcycle & Powersports News.
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Top amateur and expert road racers from throughout the country vied for AMA National No. 1 plates during the American Motorcyclist Association Road Race Grand Championship at Road America in Lake Plymouth, Wis., July 1-3.
“Road America is a venue that many racers dream of racing,” said AMA Track Racing Manager Ken Saillant. “All of our AMA competitors were excited at the opportunity to race at the facility and test their skills against fellow road racers. The talent was phenomenal this year.”
Jody Barry, a 17-year-old from Lake in the Hills, Ill., captured top honors at the event, winning the 2016 AMA Road Racing Horizon Award. The distinction honors the rider showing the most promise for success in the professional ranks. In addition to Barry, past winners of the AMA Road Racing Horizon Award have included Jason DiSalvo, Ben Spies and Blake Young.
“I really didn’t expect it [the AMA Road Racing Horizon Award], to be honest with you,” Barry said. “It means a lot, looking back at the other riders that have won it in the past. It means a lot in that sense.”
Barry gained the top step of the podium with wins in Expert AMA Moto 2 and Expert AMA SuperBike 600. He also captured a win in Expert AMA SuperSport 600 and took first in the AMA-sanctioned ASRA Team Challenge race (a 50 lap, three-hour endurance race), riding solo in the GTU class aboard a Yamaha R6 he had raced only one weekend previously.
Barry has been road racing for six years and currently rides a Yamaha 600 in expert classes around the country. He also races the KTM RC Cup Championship in the MotoAmerica series.
“My dad road raced before I did, and I took an interest in it, going to the track with him as a little boy,” Barry said. “I want to thank him for introducing me to the sport.”
Barry’s goal is to race more AMA races and to move up to the 600 class in the MotoAmerica series in the next couple of years.
The 2016 AMA Youth Road Racer of the Year award went to 13-year-old Nate Minster of Oak Grove, Minn. Minster took fourth in Expert AMA SuperSport 500 on a KTM 390.
Bailey Cox of Martinsburg, W.Va., won the AMA Novice Road Racer of the Year award. Cox won the Amateur AMA SuperSport 600, Amateur AMA Moto 2 and Amateur AMA SuperBike 600 national championships aboard a Yamaha 600.
The AMA Vet/Senior Road Racer of the Year honor went to Tom Girard of Nashtotah, Wis. He seized the national championship in the Expert AMA SuperBike 1000 and Expert AMA F-40 classes on his Kawasaki 1000.
Other AMA National Champions include:
Samuel Kok: Expert AMA SuperSport 1000
Victor Baranovici: Amateur AMA SuperSport 1000
Charlie Mavros: Expert AMA SuperSport Lightweight Twins
Ryan Nolan: Amateur AMA SuperSport Lightweight Twins
Drew Jankord: Expert AMA SuperSport 500
Adrian Jasso: Expert AMA Moto 3
Victor Baranovici: Amateur AMA SuperBike 1000
Kevin VanEngen: Expert AMA SuperBike Lightweight Twins
Tim Koebert: Amateur AMA Superbike Lightweight Twins
Matthew Craska: Amateur AMA F-40
The AMA Road Race Grand Championship ran in combination with Championship Cup Series, American Sport Bike Racing Association and United States Grand Prix Racers Union events. View full results from the AMA Road Race Grand Championship at www.ccsracing.us/results/2016/070316%20Rd%20Am%20AMA%20Results.pdf.
Meagan Kusek is the editor of Motorcycle & Powersports News. Since 2016, she has been covering various aspects of the B2B automotive markets, including professional carwashes, auto dealerships, motorcycle/powersport dealerships and collision repair shops.
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