Mid-Ohio Sold

Cycle News Staff | March 2, 2011

The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, a staple on the AMA road racing calendar for some 28 years and the site of the annual AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, has been purchased from TrueSports by Green Savoree Racing Promotions.Green Savoree, which also owns and operates the Honda Indy Toronto and Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersberg (both events on the IndyCars Series schedule), is assuming operations of the Lexington, Ohio, facility and its driving and riding schools, The Mid-Ohio School – immediately. The company says it is retaining

TrueSports’ offices and staff and will promote Mid-Ohio’s 2011 schedule of spectator and non-spectator events and school course dates. Other terms of the sale were not announced.

“Properties like Mid-Ohio don’t come on the market every day,” said Green Savoree co-owner, president and chief operating officer Kevin Savoree. “It was a great opportunity to invest in a property with a great history and tradition that, like us, has deep roots in sports car and Indy car racing. It was also a chance to extend our relationship with Honda, which is a longtime partner of Mid-Ohio and our other properties.”

“This is a positive and very exciting deal, and one that serves all our interests,” said TrueSports, Inc. President Michelle Trueman Gajoch. “Kim [Green] and Kevin have a great track record as team owners and event promoters, and will bring a new energy and perspective to the operation. That’s great news for our associates and fans and for the many loyal partners we’ve been doing business with for so many years. They’re the right people to steward the track through its next 50 years.”Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will celebrate its 50th season of racing in 2011. The Honda Super Cycle Weekend, presented by Dunlop Tire, will be held July 8-10; AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days will take place July 22-24.The Mid-Ohio facility was built in 1962 by Mansfield, Ohio, businessman Les Griebling as a place for sports car racing. The track was purchased by entrepreneur and racing enthusiast Jim Trueman in 1982 and his daughter Michelle has run it since her famous father passed in 1986.”In addition to continuing to develop this fantastic facility, we look forward to building relationships with the track and school’s many longtime partners and attracting even more of the exciting events Mid-Ohio’s loyal fans have come to expect,” Savoree added. “We’re eager to write the next chapter in the 50-year history of North America’s largest privately held road course.”

Founded in 2009 by veteran motorsports executives Kim Green and Kevin Savoree, Green Savoree Racing Promotions is a privately held motorsports event ownership and management company. In working together since 1993, Green and Savoree have won four IndyCar Championships, three Indy 500s and the 12 Hours of Sebring as team principals, and established the Indy Racing League’s first street race in 2004. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the firm owns and promotes multiple professional racing events in North America, including the Honda Indy Toronto and Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.