AMA Pro Road Racing

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AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT

AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT – Quick Look

  • Top Speed: Over 160 mph
  • Eligible Bikes: More than 40 makes and models of today’s most popular motorcycles are eligible in SunTrust Moto-GT
  • Minimum Weights: 365 – 390 lbs.
  • Fuel: Sunoco 260GTX
  • Tires: Dunlop SportMax GPA Front (120/70ZR-17) and Rear (190/55ZR-17)
  • Race Lengths: 2 Hours. Season-ending 8 Hours At Daytona is 8 hours
  • Riders to Watch: Jay Springsteen, Jimmy Filice, Chris Ulrich, Michael Barnes, Robertino Pietri, Kris Turner, John Ashmead

One of AMA Pro Road Racing’s newest series is also one of its most unique. The AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT division is the only series in the organization that features multi-class racing with teams of riders that share a single motorcycle in a race. SunTrust Moto-GT also features the only true endurance race in the AMA Pro Road Racing lineup and the 8 Hours At Daytona will be run for the fourth time in 2009 after debuting with SunTrust Moto-GT in the fall of 2006.

After the successful inaugural race, full seasons were run in 2007 and 2008 and fans can expect the same close racing and wide variety of competitive motorcycles again this year. The original SunTrust MOTO-ST moniker has also been replaced with the new AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT name which reflects some class adjustments and the fact that even more motorcycles are now eligible. The biggest changes are that the competition is no longer strictly reserved for two-cylinder motorcycles and that the previous three classes have been narrowed to just two, making it easier for race fans to follow both the overall battle while watching a “race within a race.”

The former premier SST category has been renamed GT1 and will feature a wider mix of potentially more powerful motorcycles. With the competition balanced through horsepower and minimum weight, GT1 is home to a mix of three and four cylinder motorcycles of various displacements. Bikes with unlimited displacement are also allowed but must tip the scales at a hefty minimum of 385 pounds and produce no more than 130 horsepower. Smaller and less powerful motorcycles can run at a much lighter weight.

The former GST and ST classes have been essentially replaced by GT2. Two-cylinder motorcycles remain the only type eligible in GT2, but variety is also part of the mix with several different types of bikes and engines eligible. Liquid and air cooled engines of various displacements run at a variety of weights and horsepower. Unlimiteds are also eligible, but their minimum weight of 390 pounds makes them the heaviest bikes in Moto-GT.

While things have been shaken up as far as eligible motorcycles are concerned, the format of the racing has changed little. Team and multi-rider based, several riders share each competing bike and the race in the pits during rider changes is just as critical as what is happening on the track. SunTrust Moto-GT is the only series in AMA Pro that features rider changes during pit stops.

SunTrust Moto-GT also features some of the best known names in two-wheeled racing. The series has been home to riders such as legends Jay Springsteen and Jimmy Filice, former Daytona 200 winner John Ashmead, top road racers Chris Ulrich, Cory West and Michael Barnes, multi-talented youngsters James “The Rocket” Rispoli and Henry Wiles and international stand outs Martin Cardenas and Robertino Pietri. On the manufacturer front, Aprilia and Ducati swept respective SST and GST honors in each of the previous seasons while Kawasaki won ST the first year before being edged by Suzuki in 2008.