Champions honored at the AMA Visa Card Racing Championship Banquet
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The American Motorcyclist
Association (AMA) welcomed a full house of AMA champions and their
families, friends and fans to the Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa in Las
Vegas, Nev., on Sunday, Nov. 20, for the AMA Visa Card from Capital One
Racing Championship Banquet. The banquet celebrated racers'
championship seasons and awarded a number of special awards that
acknowledge the standout performances of top competitors.
Speaking
at the banquet, Stan Simpson, the chairman of the AMA's Board of
Directors, thanked all AMA racers for their contribution to making
motorcycle racing the exciting sport it has become.
"On behalf
of the board of directors of the American Motorcyclist Association, our
AMA staff, and each and every AMA member, I congratulate all of you for
your successful seasons," Simpson said, addressing the crowd. "Your
skill and determination have earned you a place among this elite group
of champions and taken you to the top of amateur racing. The AMA has its
roots in amateur motorcycle racing. But not only are you our past, you
also represent the future of motorcycling. You are the backbone of the
AMA."
Hundreds of top competitors, in disciplines ranging from
land-speed racing to motocross to woods racing and everything in
between, received their national championship trophies and No. 1 plates
at the banquet. Special awards included AMA Athlete of the Year honors.
The
AMA's highest competitive honor, the AMA Athlete of the Year, has
evolved for 2011. The award now includes two categories of outstanding
AMA racers. One award recognizes an athlete who stands atop an AMA
National Championship Series, and another honors one of the amateur
racers who has proven his mettle at an AMA Grand Championship event.
The
AMA National Championship Athlete of the Year award was won by Russell
Bobbitt, the overall champion of the 2011 AMA Racing Rekluse National
Enduro Championship Series, presented by Moose Racing. Bobbitt won four
rounds of the 10-round series. Notably, the FMF/KTM rider overcame a
mid-season injury to battle back in the highly competitive series and
ultimately dominate the final round in a must-win scenario to capture
the title over his teammate and defending National Enduro Champion
Charlie Mullins.
"I really didn't think I was going to get this
at all," Bobbitt said. "I'm kind of blown away right now. With all the
other nominees -- Kurt Caselli, Taddy (Blazusiak), Charlie (Mullins) and
(Pat) Smage -- all those guys are really good. So many of them are on
KTMs, and I just think it's amazing what everyone's accomplished. It was
a great year for me. I'm really excited about this, but I want to
congratulate all the other riders for their stellar years. I'm looking
forward to next year. I know we have a great team behind us."
Daniel
Bromley won the AMA Grand Championship Athlete of the Year Award. The
Pennsylvania dirt-tracker has earned 36 AMA amateur national
championships in his career. In 2011, his last season as an amateur,
Bromley won the AMA Dirt Track Horizon Award; the 250cc Modified
Two-Stroke, 250cc DTX Grand Championships; the 250cc DTX Short-Track,
250cc DTX TT, 250cc Modified Two-Stroke Short-Track, 250cc Modified
Two-Stroke TT, and 251cc-500cc DTX TT National Championships. He also
competed in the AMA Racing Winter Dirt Track Championship Series where
he won the 250cc DTX championship.
"I'm pretty speechless. It's a
pretty big honor," said Bromley, who competes on KTM motorcycles with
his older brother, Joseph. "Having a brother to race and compete with is
really helpful because he's out there helping me on the track, and I'm
helping him. His lines are usually better than mine, so that helps.
Having someone there supporting you on the track and off the track is
really important. My goals for 2012 are to hit Daytona and most of the
short-track and TTs. I want to make the (AMA Pro Racing) Pro Single
mains because that's where it begins."
The AMA ATV Athlete of
the Year Award was won by the most dominant rider in the history of XC2
Pro-Am class competition in the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country
Series: Yamaha rider Walker Fowler. Fowler, of Rogers, Ohio, won every
round of the off-road racing series against the fastest ATV riders in
the country.
"It was just a crazy year for sure -- a dream
season," Fowler said. "I don't think I'll ever be able to do it again.
It's every racer's dream to be able to do something that no one else
can. But there are a lot more goals in front of me that are the same
thing, and that's what keeps us racers going. I just want to thank the
AMA for giving us all these series to compete in and letting us go out
and do what we do."
The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country
Series also delivered the AMA Female Rider of the Year: KTM's Maria
Forsberg, from Brier, Wash. Forsberg had a phenomenal year in the GNCC
series, where she won 11 of 13 races in the Women's class.
AMA
Veteran/Senior Rider of the Year was Tim Shephard. Shephard, of Sugar
Grove, Ohio, was the AMA Senior Off-Road Vintage Grand Champion at the
AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships.
Austin Lee, the Super
Mini National Champion from the AMA Racing East Hare Scrambles
Championship Series, was the AMA Racing Youth Rider of the Year. Lee,
from Bedford, Ind., won three rounds of the 10-round series.
The
AMA Sportsman of the Year was presented to Claudia Danielewicz of
Oxford, Mich. Danielewicz has been instrumental in advancing racing
opportunities for women in AMA-sanctioned off-road competition.
"Claudia
Danielewicz has been an AMA member and racer for more than 10 years,
and she has helped change the face of female competition in off-road
racing forever," said AMA Director of Racing Joe Bromley. "Claudia has
been instrumental in helping to get more female riders active in AMA
Racing. She has helped promoters align class structures so that we have a
girls youth class, as well as a ranking system to move them up through
the women's classes. She is the 2011 AMA Sportsman of the Year."
Other special awards included:
AMA Racing Media Award
Shan Moore, off-road photographer and reporter
Motocross Organizer of the Year
Feld Motor Sports, AMA Arenacross
Off-Road Organizer of the Year
Source Interlink Media, GEICO AMA EnduroCross Championship
Track Racing Organizer of the Year
Steve Nace Racing, Dirt Track
ATV Organizer of the Year
Racer Productions, Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series
Recreational Road Riding Organizer of the Year
Sound Rider, Sportbike, Dual-Sport, Touring, Scooter Rallies
Recreational Off-Road Organizer of the Year
Dirty Dabbers, Great Adventure Dual Sport
Club of the Year
Cheaha Trail Riders
AMA Legends & Champions Weekend The
AMA Legends & Champions Weekend was a three-day celebration of
motorcycling's greats held at Las Vegas' Red Rock Nov. 18-20. In
addition to the AMA Visa Card Racing Championship Banquet, the
celebration included the AMA Visa Card Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction
Ceremony, presented by KTM, and the annual Motorcycle Hall of Fame Dave
Mungenast Memorial Concours d'Elegance bike show, which featured some
of the country's most-stunning original and immaculately restored
classic motorcycles. About the American Motorcyclist AssociationSince
1924, the AMA has protected the future of motorcycling and promoted the
motorcycle lifestyle. AMA members come from all walks of life, and they
navigate many different routes on their journey to the same
destination: freedom on two wheels. As the world's largest motorcycling
rights organization, the AMA advocates for motorcyclists' interests in
the halls of local, state and federal government, the committees of
international governing organizations, and the court of public opinion.
Through member clubs, promoters and partners, the AMA sanctions more
motorsports competition and motorcycle recreational events than any
other organization in the world. AMA members receive money-saving
discounts from dozens of well-known suppliers of motorcycle services,
gear and apparel, bike rental, transport, hotel stays and more. Through
its support of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, the AMA preserves the
heritage of motorcycling for future generations. For more information,
please visit AmericanMotorcyclist.com.
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