Former Harley-Davidson Wrecking Crew rider Joe Kopp will ride an American Agip/Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati in the 2010 AMA Grand National Twins Championship – at least on the miles. As for the half miles, Kopp will have a choice between the Ducati and his Latus Motors Harley-Davidson XR750.
“I am more excited for the season to start than I have been in years” Kopp said. “Equipment-wise, I have the best of both worlds. I will be riding Ducatis on all the mile tracks and will be able to choose between the Ducati and my XR750 on the half-mile tracks depending on how testing goes. I really think that we are going to surprise a lot of people this year with the Ducati. This is exactly the type of challenge that I feel I needed and I am really looking forward to proving that we can win on this bike right out of the box. I think with my feedback and experience, and my crew’s knowledge, that we can further development of this bike very quickly and have fun doing it.”
Aaron King, meanwhile, will return to the Lloyd Brothers team and will ride an Aprilia.
Additionally, Larry Pegram will ride a Ducati for the team at selected events, including the Indy and Springfield Miles.
“Building and developing the Ducati dirt tracker with the Lloyd Brothers has been a lot of fun for me,” Pegram said. “We had great success last season and I am really looking forward to racing at round two of the series at Springfield, Illinois on Memorial Day weekend. I just hope Kopp doesn’t win the first race – I really want to be the first guy to win a dirt track on a Ducati.”
“We are thrilled about the team that we have been able to assemble to work together to issue in a new chapter for the historic AMA Grand National Championship. It is truly a team effort. Bringing new brands to dirt track will lead to a broader audience appeal for the series” said team co-owner Michael Lloyd.
Kopp is the second big-name flat tracker to switch from Harley-Davidson for the 2010 season. Earlier, Bryan Smith inked a deal that will see him aboard Bill Werner’s Kawasakis in the coming season.
