Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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IN THE WIND P28 MOTOAMERICA 2017 SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED M otoAmerica expanded its schedule for the 2017 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Race Championship to 10 rounds, adding two new venues to the provisional calendar for the upcoming season. The two new stops on the schedule are rounds seven and eight, which will be held at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California, August 11-13, and two weeks later at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Pennsylvania, August 25-27. The 2017 season will mark the first time an AMA- sanctioned race will be held at the Pittsburgh Interna- tional Race Complex. The 2.8-mile, 19-turn racetrack is situated in a 400-acre complex located 45 miles northwest of Pittsburgh in Wampum, Pennsylvania. "We're thrilled to announce that our 2017 Mo- toAmerica schedule will feature 10 rounds, including two new stops," said MotoAmerica President and three-time 500cc World Champion Wayne Rainey. "It's always been our goal to expand the series and we've been able to do that entering our third sea- son." CN GET READY FOR MOTOAMERICA DOUBLEHEADERS M otoAmerica says its super- bike doubleheaders will now be run on separate days during the 2017 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Race Championship with su- perbike race one scheduled for Saturday afternoon followed by race two on Sunday afternoon. "With World Superbike chang- ing to the two-day Superbike race format, it was something that was always of interest to us," said MotoAmerica partner Chuck Aksland. "It was good to watch them do it for a year and get their feedback, which was positive on many fronts. They had increased Saturday attendance and better television viewership, among other things. We also had many requests from our fan base to make the change. Obviously, the two-day format was something that has been done here in previous years, but with our move to the World Superbike one-bike rule for 2017, it became more of a necessity as it gives the teams some flexibility and breathing space in the preparation from race to race." At the stand-alone MotoAmer- ica races, Superbike race one will be held on Saturday after- noon with Sunday's race two on a similar schedule with a tenta- tive 3:15 p.m. start time. The other classes (Supersport/Su- perstock 600 and KTM RC Cup) will continue to run the two-day format as they have in the first two seasons of MotoAmerica. The schedule will vary some- what when MotoAmerica joins MotoGP at Circuit of The Ameri- cas and World Superbike at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. In addition to the schedule change, MotoAmerica has also announced that the qualifying procedure for the Superbike class has also changed. Super- pole will now consist of just one 15-minute session featuring the 12 fastest riders from Superbike Practice 1 and 2. Superbike Practice 3 will not qualify riders to the Superpole session. CN 2017 MOTOAMERICA AMA/FIM NORTH AMERICAN ROAD RACE SERIES (PROVISIONAL SCHEDULE) Rnd 1: Circuit of The Americas Apr. 20-23 Rnd 2: Road Atlanta Apr. 28-30 Rnd 3: Virginia International Raceway May 12-14 Rnd 4: Road America Jun. 2-4 Rnd 5: Utah Motorsports Campus Jun. 23-25 Rnd 6: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Jul. 7-9 Rnd 7: Sonoma Raceway Aug. 11-13 Rnd 8: Pittsburgh International Race Complex Aug. 25-27 Rnd 9: New Jersey Motorsports Park Sep. 8-10 Rnd 10: Barber Motorsports Park Sep. 15-17