2024 Speedway News
Costa Mesa
Costa Mesa Speedway is Back and celebrating 54 years of fast, colorful and unpredictable racing! Saturday night April 13 we are proud to present the Spring Classic/Jack Milne Cup featuring professional Speedway Motorcycle Racing, Insane 2-man Sidecar Teams and 150cc Juniors. Over 40 races will be run in just over 2 hours! The Costa Mesa Speedway bullring oval puts everyone right on top of the action.
Gates Open at 6pm with a rockin live band
Happy Hour from 6-7pm
Big Show blasts off at 7:30pm sharp
Join us at the hassle free OC Fair and Expo Center for the most exciting live action event ever. Visit our website at CostaMesaSpeedway.net for more information. See ya at the races!
Perris Speedway
Attention Perris Speedway riders:
2024 Perris Speedway Rider License and Mechanic Form
Rider License and mechanic forms will be available this evening. With those will be credentials and family/friend pass included. You will find the details on that within those forms.
Entry for April 20th opens soon. I’ll have the information to all of you on that as soon as possible.
Be sure to take part in Kern’s event on April 6th, Costa Mesa’s event on April 13th as well! Industry fires up June 1st.
Ride Perris and WTP Motorsports are excited for the 2024 race season!
Join us next Wednesday April 3rd for open practice once again! Speedway riders- this is the last practice we have until our Speedway season race opener Saturday April 20th for $6,000!
I wanted to make some notes in regards to some guidelines to follow, speedway related:
- practice sessions will be 4-5 laps
- 1 practice start at the beginning of your session, followed by a series of laps as stated above
- DO NOT stop on the track once green flag laps have begun
- Stage near riders of your caliber so the pit gate steward can effectively get a sufficient amount of riders out at any particular session
- DO NOT enter the track when the pit steward isn’t looking and a session is underway
$35 per rider
Mechanics & Spectators are free
Gates open at 4pm, motorbikes on track at 5pm
*BONUS: up for grabs will be $100 to any Speedway, Flattrack, Sidecar, or Trike bike that puts on the most practice entertainment or “rider of the night”,courtesy of Pavement Recycling Systems, Allstar Kia of San Bernardino, and WTP Motorsports (there will be a team of officials watching throughout the evening who will select a winner)
Thank you all for your cooperation so far as we get close to official race season!
Look forward to seeing you all there, let’s go!
Aaron Fox March 28, 2024
The seeded top eight riders from 2023 should be:
5 - Max Ruml 59 Points
98 - Broc Nicol 47
14 - Billy Janniro 44
188 - Louie Mersaroli 38
3 - Dillon Ruml 34
28 - Slater Lightcap 30
30 - Alex Martin 21
321 - Russell Green 20
Deadline to submit your application is April 27, 2024.
TEAM USA SPEEDWAY 2024
TEAM USA SPEEDWAY 2024 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER ENTRANTS
Team USA is delighted to release its list of riders who will be competing in the 2024 FIM World Championship Qualifiers. Eight riders will compete in four different disciplines, which is the highest number of American riders that have ever placed entry in Individual FIM World events in a single season.
Luke Becker leads the Grand Prix Qualifying places with the firm intention to earn a place in the 2025 series. He is joined by Swedish based Gino Manzares and a welcome overseas return for Broc Nicol. Alex Martin returns for his second season in SGP2 (Under 21) where he will be joined by Slater Lightcap, who wowed at 2023 Polish League Training Camp. Youth spots see Nick Hohlbein return in SGP3 (250cc) where he will be joined by 2023 SGP4 entrant Kensei Matsudaira. The 190cc SGP4 class will see a debut for the fast rising 13-year-old Brady Landon.
The team stated, “2023 was a difficult year in theory as we were not qualified for the World Cup and two of our riders lost their team places in England due to the league restructuring. This left us very thin on the ground with only two full-time riders in Europe. Some may have wondered whether this was the beginning the end for America on the International stage.”
“But 2023 served as the inspiration to work harder. It was the launch point for our Junior Speedway Academy, Team Training camps and USA racing back home in America. We now have a new breed of young rider coming through as far as they are spending extensive time practicing and being coached at our base track, Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield, CA. And more importantly, they are investing in equipment and resources in Europe to really have all pieces in place to climb the gigantic ladder to world success.”
“Ultimately, the goal is to compete to win World Championships. That is a long way away currently, but the present scene is the most encouraging it has been in over a decade. We currently lack depth in Europe but that is going to change. To have five riders in Youth and Under 21 events says all that you need to know about what is ahead in the near future.”
“Our goal as a team for 2024 is to qualify for the Speedway of Nations final in Manchester this July. It would be the first final for the USA in over 20 years. It will not be easy, realistically we are in the mid pack of about six countries chasing two final spots, but we have always had our best team performances in the UK.”
“As a unit, we have never been stronger. There are so many pieces to the puzzle both within and externally to the formal Team USA structure. Greg Hancock coached most of the squad over the winter and will continue to work with many of the team during the season, whilst Gino Manzares worked with the juniors in the academy. The likes of the Hohlbein family and Martin family have blazed the trail with European bases being set up with other riders now following this lead.”
“These are vital steps, but bigger ones will be needed moving forward. We are hugely motivated to do whatever it takes to compete at the highest level.”
The list of riders, events and locations are listed below.
SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX
Gino Manzares 20 May Debrecen, Hungary
Broc Nicol 20 May Abensberg, Germany
Luke Becker 25 May Zanovica, Slovakia
SGP2 (UNDER 21 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP)
Slater Lightcap 8 June Ludwigslust, Germany
Alex Martin 8 June Macon, France
SGP3 (250cc YOUTH)
Nick Hohlbein 22 June Teterow, Germany
Kensei Matsudaira 22 June Teterow, Germany
SGP4 (190cc YOUTH)
Brady Landon 15 June Malilla, Sweden
Steve Evans (March 22, 2024)
Champion Speedway
So things are really starting to come together for an awesome Memorial Day weekend in May for this event! It is going to be the biggest collection of talent ever assembled on the East Coast before! Excited to start making some announcements: The first 3 current guest riders racers to book their flights are current US Open Champion, Bradley Wilson-Dean, 2018 US Open Champion Aaron Fox and 2012 US Open Winner, Chris Kerr! The first 3 of the not so current riders who booked are 1999 and 2001 US Open Champ, Jimmy Sisemore, Nor Cal D-1 rider, Devin DeFreece, and former CA D-1 rider and US Open contestant, Mike Maely, son of the legendary Ken Maely! There is a long list of more great names coming and we are working really hard behind the scenes already for this special celebration! Stay tuned and keep your calendars free for May 25-26!
WOW, the 50TH Anniversary Races/Celebration May 25-26 at Champion Speedway are going to be insane! The biggest collection of speedway talent ever in one place on the East Coast! Guest list is starting to look awfully impressive! The band Wreckless Marci is booked in for Saturday night also! Mark your calendars!!!
MAVTV - FIM SPEEDWAY
(Apparently) MAVTV will broadcast the SGP FIM Speedway action in the USA until 2026. The link is here. The link to MAVTV is here.
Looks like FLOWRACING will be showing them via MAVTV or some such nonsense. Good Luck!
Fast Fridays Events
Kern Raceway Events
Unfortunately our race at Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway next Saturday March 16th is being pushed back to our next scheduled date of April 6th.
The big grand reopening car race last weekend was rained out and is being rescheduled for the 16th. Given the size of this event it will take up all of the tracks attention, staffing and resources.
As things grow under the new ownership, they will absolutely have the ability to run multiple events at the facility on the same day.
We are looking at running a practice on Sunday 17th instead and will let you know about that in the next day or so. Anyone who has prepaid entries can roll them to the 6th or can request a refund.
Steve Evans (March 6, 2024)
Perris Raceway Events
March 6th canceled, rain.
Unfortunately, this weeks practice has been canceled as rain begins to hit the area and forecast is unfavorable through Wednesday, February 21st.
BUT WAIT, there is GOOD NEWS! YOU ASKED for weekend practices and we will bring them to you as weather permits, starting with Sunday, March 24th! Stay tuned because we are working on the facility, new web-site and the 2024 schedule of events!
Costa Mesa Events
February Kern Raceway Events
USA versus The World Update!
It is fair to say that any rain out or event rescheduling comes with several challenges and unexpected expenses but that's part of racing. On a typical night of racing in America there are many logistics and moving parts involved. When you are bringing over an international team of riders, it goes to a whole new level.
Luckily, four of the world team were already scheduled to be in the states through the following weekend. So for Paco Castagna, Leon Flint, Tom Brennan, and Paweł Trześniewski it was just a case of their patience and turning this past weekend into a tourism weekend.
We are delighted to say that former GP winner Chris Harris was able to change his flight for next week, which was literally done in the nick of time as the rain out and reschedule was only confirmed a few hours before he was due to fly over to the States. We thank Chris for being a true professional and understanding the situation. He was as cool as a cucumber early last week when he knew he may be traveling 5500 miles for a rain out and he was quite willing to do whatever we decided.
Unfortunately, Dan Bewley will not be able to attend next weekend. He is already into preseason commitments with his Polish team, to ready himself for his league and world championship campaigns. Dan is extremely disappointed to be missing the event and wanted to let everybody know he plans to be back next time.
Having looked at alternative riders, we have decided the best option is to operate the 'rider replacement' rule to cover Dan's absence. This means that his programmed races will be shared amongst his teammates, and with a very strong world team still in attendance this will give good coverage and a competitive meeting.
Just to be honest with you all, It's been a very stressful and challenging few days on the organizational end of the event. We hope that, despite the change of date and circumstances above that the event is still very well attended. We need you there. It is a blockbuster lineup with the world team, having top quality full-time professional racers in it's mix. They will be pushing USA all the way, and that is what it is all about!
We are promoting this event for the benefit of the American Speedway team, and American Speedway fans. There isn't any other race track like Kern in the country, and the event is very much worth traveling to no matter where you are located. Even from a distance it is certainly several thousand miles closer than going to a GP in Europe.
We are looking forward to a fantastic event this coming Saturday, 17 Feb at 1 PM. Make your plans it's going to be amazing.
Steve Evans (February 11, 2024)
URGENT! USA Vs WORLD RESCHEDULED TO FEBRUARY 17th
Unfortunately with the amount of rain we gave had in the last 24 hours and with more coming in the next 2 days we have made the early call to move our big race to February 17th. Aside from the track itself the pits area and access areas are flooded and by the time the rain stops it will be too late to give you the great event we want.
So plan to be there on the 17th. We are sorry for the change but relieved the weather for next week will be perfect!
Steve Evans (February 6, 2024)
Updated 2024 schedule
(Subject to change based on other tracks etc.)
Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway
Feb 17 - USA World - International Individual
March 16
April 6
May 18
June 22 - AMA NATIONAL (Speedway only)
Sept 14
Oct 12 - AMA U21 Speedway Championship
Nov 2
Dec 7 - AMA / FIM NORTH AMERICA FINAL
Ventura,
Sept 7 AJ Herrera
Bishop, Ridgecrest, Santa Maria possible
Steve Evans (January 28, 2024)
Rescheduled for Sunday January 28, 2024.
Urgent rain postponement Kern.
Unfortunately we had continual overnight rain versus the shower that was forecast around midnight so the track is waterlogged and unfit for action today.
So we will reschedule both the practice and awards, date be confirmed by tomorrow.
I will be contacting everybody who prepaid today and you can either keep it the next time or get an immediate refund.
Steve Evans (January 21, 2024)
Feb 10th 1pm USA V World
Classes running: USA V World (8 man teams), Supporting classes: Division 1 Future Stars, 250 Junior, 150 Mini. All riders by invitation only
Feb 17th start time TBC International Individual
All Divisions feature and no restrictions on entries. D1, D2, D3, Vintage, Juniors, Sidecars
Note team selection for USA V World will be done with 2023 FIM International Competitions and 2023-2026 World Cup / Speedway of Nations teams in mind. It's never easy to select a team of 8 when there are at least double that number of riders who would do a good job at this level and probably 6 or more others rising in the wings. Down the line it would be great to involve other venues and run a series of USA V World events and rotate some of the team to allow more riders to represent USA. I know how much that it means to everyone who gets the opportunity. When we have way more talent than available places there will always be deserving riders who are not selected.
The race on the 17th is there for everyone and those who are not racing on the 10th can come and race against some top international riders. It is also encouraging that there is an increasing number of ambitious USA riders investing in equipment to use overseas in FIM events. If your favorite misses out on the 10th, we are very sorry but there's no way to track a 16 man USA team!
We are looking forward to these great events in February during this amazing international week for American Speedway!
Steve Evans (January 16, 2024)
It was an absolute pleasure yesterday to host the first ever Team@USA international Speedway training camp @kernraceway. We had 14 riders in attendance, including many youngsters who have expressed an interest in representing the USA in international competition in the future. The event consisted of open practice, coaching, team riding drills, and the classroom session after lunch to wrap things up.
We look forward to doing more of these in the future. any riders who want to be involved in future international camps can reach out. Steve Evans Jan 15, 2024.
Steve Evans (January 15, 2024)
Photo by Dale Miller
Speedway Academy
Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway
Sunday 10am-12:30pm January 21, 2024
Kids $75 (rental bikes, skid shoe included as needed).
Adults (2 spots) $175 Inc bike rental
Adults with own bike $125 (4 spots)
Must have motorcycle experience
Venmo @steve-evans-87
Open practice 1245-4pm $50 per person inc 1 mechanic. $10 additional pits personnel.
Steve Evans (January 5, 2024)
Hot Shoe Hall of Fame - January 27, 2024 - Las Vegas
2024 Perris Raceway Schedule
 
2024 Speedway Race schedule is here! I’m happy to have Perris Raceway as part of the regular race season, with our opener in April. Yes it might only be 6, the bosses wanted more, but I want to start with good quality shows and then build from there on. Info on what each event’s theme will be, formats, purses, and much more soon! Mark your calendars! Aaron Fox January 2, 2024.
Very big update regarding practice - by much demand, Perris Raceway will host 5 practice sessions starting in February, leading up to our opening night in April. (Race schedule to be released soon).
Come see the new track shape and preparation! I am personally excited for all riders to try out a new design that will improve skills and create quality racing moving forward.
There will be practice session procedures in place for all classes and everyone will have quality track time!
If there is any questions, you can contact me via Facebook messenger or email at speedway@wtpmotorsports.com.
See you all there very soon! Aaron Fox December 21, 2023
Announcement from Aaron Fox and Perris Raceway
 
| 
