AMA introduces national advancement system for off-road competition

PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- Participants in American Motorcyclist Association-sanctioned off-road races will soon have greater assurance that their competition is properly classified. For 2013, the AMA is rolling out a nationwide program to advance C- and B-class riders across similar off-road disciplines.

"The time has come for a standardized, nationwide advancement process for AMA-sanctioned off-road competition," said AMA Off-Road Manager Chuck Weir. "Racers should be provided with an accurate gauge to measure their skills relative to their fellow competitors. They deserve professional and consistent class rankings, and nationwide off-road advancement is an important part of that."

Modeled after the existing B-to-A class advancement procedure for enduro racing, the new off-road advancement process assigns lifetime advancement points to riders who finish in approximately the top 15 percent in either the overall C or overall B skill designation. Once a rider earns 100 lifetime advancement points during his or her racing career, he or she is advanced to the next higher level.

"Key to this process working well are the race results themselves," Weir added. "That is why we are asking AMA clubs and promoters running AMA-sanctioned off-road events to provide timely and accurate results. Those results and earned advancement points for all AMA-sanctioned competition will be available online at www.americanmotorcyclist.com."

The lifetime advancement points schedule is available on page 79 of the 2013 AMA Competition Rulebook available at www.americanmotorcyclist.com/racing/rules.aspx.

"It's important for racers to keep in mind that the points table is based on finishing order in the overall C and B skill designations, rather than in specific classes," Weir explained. "In other words, your lifetime advancement points are determined by where you finish in the top 15 percent of all C riders or all B riders. Points are not necessarily earned based on where you finish in your individual class, such as Vet C or 250 B, for example."

The skill designation applies across the following off-road disciplines defined in the AMA Competition Rulebook: hare scrambles, enduro, cross country, hare and hound, grand prix, desert scrambles, mud and snow scrambles and European scrambles.

"One of the responsibilities of a sanctioning body is to establish and enforce fair rules, and legitimate skill designations are a necessary step toward a truly impartial playing field," Weir said. "Racers will find this nationwide consistency only in AMA-sanctioned competition, which is just one more reason why events run by AMA chartered clubs and promoters are the best in the country -- the gold standard for amateur competition."