Cycle News Staff | December 31, 2019
MotoAmerica has announced that it will add a youth program to three of its 2020 MotoAmerica events via the MotoAmerica Mini Cup, beginning with the Road America round, May 29-31, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
MotoAmerica Brings On New Youth Program
The MotoAmerica Mini Cup Series will be held on karting tracks in conjunction with three MotoAmerica events: Road America (May 29-31), The Ridge Motorsports Park (June 26-28) and Pittsburgh International Race Complex (August 7-8).
The Mini Cup Series will feature four classes of racing: 110cc (four-speed); 160cc; 190cc (racers aged up to 14 years); and 190 Adult (racers over the age of 15). The motorcycles will be based on spec rules centered around the Ohvale GP-0, a mini road racer that is now ready for the U.S. market after proving to be extremely popular in Europe.
The MotoAmerica Mini Cup fills a current void in the series and provides an entry point for riders under the age of 14. The Mini Cup will give young racers a way to bridge the gap to the MotoAmerica Liqui Moly Junior Cup class through the MotoAmerica Mini Cup and “The Road To MotoAmerica.”
“We saw the Ohvales race for the first time at PittRace in 2019 and we came away impressed,” said MotoAmerica President Wayne Rainey. “The bike is basically a miniature GP racer and serves as an ideal platform to get kids and their families on track and racing. We saw the need to provide an avenue for kids who are too young to race in our Liqui Moly Junior Cup to get started and work on their skills before moving up to bigger bikes. We’re excited about this and can’t wait for it to get rolling at Road America at the end of May.”
Lance Bryson, Senior Sponsorship Manager, added: “This is an exciting time for road racing in the U.S. There have been few paths to lead American youth riders to start training for a full-time U.S. or international road racing career. MotoAmerica will now promote a youth feeder system to ensure that more young racers can follow in the footsteps of the Kenny Roberts, the Wayne Raineys and the Cameron Beaubiers of the world.”
“We’ve been hard at work to help bring a solid platform into the U.S. market for youth, and their parents, to get involved in road racing with an affordable and easy to understand platform,” said Brandon Cretu of Rise Moto, the Ohvale GP-O distributor for the U.S. “The Ohvale GP-0 provides tiered engine options to progress with young racers skills and help them rise through the ranks until they’re ready for big bikes on big tracks. It also provides an exciting and affordable way for older riders and professional athletes to gain access to invaluable training time and inexpensive track time and racing. It is an exciting time for our sport and Ohvale is happy to be working with MotoAmerica.”
For more information on Ohvale motorcycles, visit https://www.risemoto.com/
The 2020 AMA MotoAmerica Mini Cup Series
May 29-31 – Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
June 26-28 – The Ridge Motorsports Park, Sheldon, Washington
August 7-8 – Pittsburgh International Race Complex, Wampum, Pennsylvania