Road Racing
Motorcycle road racing features contests of speed on closed, paved courses.
Don’t let the name fool you; road racing does not happen on public roads, but, rather, dedicated, paved circuits that are anywhere from one to five miles long and incorporate many challenging right and left turns. Riders compete on a range of bike types, from nearly stock, street-legal sportbikes to purpose-built road–racing machines.
Most road-race bikes are fully faired with an aggressive and athletic riding position, although some classes feature more traditional upright and non-faired machines. One of the most popular modern road racing classes even features large touring motorcycles — baggers — that have been highly modified for road racing competition.
Claim: Injured motorcyclists are uninsured and disproportionately rely upon the public to pay for their injuries.
Response: Motorcyclists are just as likely to be privately insured as any other road user.
A medical center study1 reported that injured motorcyclists in the trauma center relied on public funds a lower percentage of the time than did automobile drivers to pay their hospital bills during the same time period.
A university study2 reported that automobile drivers and motorcyclists have their medical costs covered by insurance at a nearly identical rate.
Conclusion: Injured motorcyclists are less likely than the general population to use public funds to pay for injuries sustained in crashes, and no more likely to be uninsured than other vehicle operators.
The AMA Road Race Grand Championship is a single national championship event that determines AMA amateur and expert national road racing champions. This format mirrors what is done in dirt track, motocross, Arenacross, Hillclimb, ice racing and other disciplines. A highlight of the event is the Nicky Hayden AMA Road Race Horizon Award, which is awarded to the rider showing the most promise for success in the professional ranks. Past winners of the Nicky Hayden AMA Road Race Horizon Award have included Jason DiSalvo, Hayden Gillim, Jake Lewis, Ben Spies, Miles Thornton, and Blake Young.
2023 Nicky Hayden AMA Road Race Horizon Award Letter of Intent
Other awards presented at the event include the AMA Road Race Youth Award, the AMA Road Race Top Novice Award and the AMA Road Race Vet/Senior Award. Continue checking back for updates on this event.
- RRGC: Competition Bulletin (updated August 2023)
AMA partnerships
By virtue of its responsibility to issue licenses for professional road racing in America, the AMA is exclusively charged with advancing amateur road racers to the professional ranks. The AMA’s partner in professional road racing in America is MotoAmerica.
The AMA works with a number of additional regional road racing organizations to manage amateur road racing in America. These organizations maintain their own class structures, schedules, supplemental rules, and additional licensing requirements.
Full licensing procedures for the AMA. The AMA’s partner in professional road racing in America is MotoAmerica.