The origins of MotoAmerica can be traced back to the inception of production-based motorcycle road racing in the United States. In 1976, the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) began sanctioning and organizing road racing series, such as the AMA Superbike Championship. Initially, these AMA road racing series were integrated into Grand National events, alongside dirt track and motocross competitions.
Over the subsequent years, the growing popularity of road racing led to its separation from the Grand National Championship, resulting in the creation of a distinct Road Racing Championship for the 1986 season. Shortly thereafter, additional production-based road racing series, including the 750 Supersport and 600 Supersport series, were incorporated into the AMA Road Racing Championship. The various AMA Road Racing Series experienced a period of significant growth and prosperity throughout the 1990s, characterized by high levels of competition, manufacturer support, and fan attendance. Riders emerging from the AMA series frequently advanced to compete in Grand Prix and World Superbike races.
The AMA Road Racing Championship continued under the organization and sanctioning of the AMA until 2008. In that year, Rob Dingman, the CEO of the AMA, announced the sale of the sanctioning, promotional, and management rights of AMA Pro Racing to the Daytona Motorsports Group (DMG). The AMA leadership at the time sought to distance themselves from their racing activities to concentrate on their role as a membership organization and the provision of membership benefits. Dingman stated that the AMA was facing too much controversy as the sanctioning body for the racing series and needed to return to its core values. To facilitate this, the AMA selected the Daytona Motorsports Group, led by Jim France, CEO of NASCAR, and Roger Edmonson, President of the Grand American Road Race Series, to manage all commercial aspects of their racing series.
However, the leadership at DMG proved to be ineffective in operating and marketing the road racing series, a situation exacerbated by the timing of the 2008 financial crisis. Consequently, many long-standing factory teams withdrew from the series for the 2009 season, leading to a decline in sponsors and fan engagement. The number of races per season was reduced by half, from twelve in 2009 to six in 2014, with even fewer receiving television coverage. Despite intermittent factory involvement from BMW and KTM, the number of Superbike entrants per race continued to decline, with only 15 motorcycles competing at Road America in 2014.
Troubled by DMG's management of the road racing series, the KRAVE group was formed. KRAVE is a partnership that includes three-time Grand Prix World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer, Wayne Rainey; former vice president of motorsports operations at the Circuit of The Americas and former managing director of Team Roberts in the Grand Prix World Championship, Chuck Aksland; executive director of the Petersen Automotive Museum, Terry Karges; and energy sector investor and businessman, Richard Varner. In 2013, KRAVE approached the AMA with the intention of purchasing the commercial rights to the road racing series. Following "complicated" negotiations, the AMA reacquired the sanctioning rights to all AMA road racing series from the Daytona Motorsports Group and sold the commercial rights to KRAVE. In 2014, it was announced that MotoAmerica, an affiliate of KRAVE, would be organizing and promoting the road racing series starting in 2015. The classes inherited from DMG at that time included: Superbike, Superstock 1000, Supersport, Superstock 600, and the KTM RC 390 Cup.
For its inaugural season as the series organizer, MotoAmerica, in consultation with the AMA, opted to align its various racing classes closely with those used by the FIM. This strategic decision aimed to simplify the efforts required by manufacturers to compete in multiple series, thereby encouraging their return to North American road racing. The 2015 season featured an expanded calendar with 10 rounds, marking the return of races to many fan-favorite tracks. Crucially, MotoAmerica established television broadcasting agreements with CBS Sports to air the entire season's races. Due to a low number of entrants in the Superbike class, the Stock 1000 class was run concurrently to bolster the grid. Similarly, the Superstock 600 class was contested in the same race as the Supersport class.
The series crowned its first champions in 2015: Cameron Beaubier secured the Superbike championship, Jake Gagne won Superstock 1000, J. D. Beach claimed the Supersport title, Joe Roberts triumphed in Superstock 600, and Gage McAllister won the KTM RC 390 Cup.
In 2018, MotoAmerica undertook a significant restructuring of many of its classes. This move was prompted by the series' growth in entrants, which now allowed for moderately sized grids (16-18 machines, an improvement from as few as 9 in previous seasons) for each class. MotoAmerica recognized that running multiple classes in a single race was confusing for fans, and the rules designed to maintain competitiveness between classes had inadvertently made them too similar. The Superstock 1000 bikes, intended to be less modified and thus slower than Superbike class machines, were frequently competing at the front of the Superbike class at every round. A similar issue existed with the relationship between the Supersport and Superstock 600 classes.
The Superstock 1000 class was replaced by the Stock 1000 class. This new class differed from its predecessor by permitting very minimal modifications from the showroom specifications of the road-legal machines. While lights, indicators, stands, and mirrors were required to be removed and a race fairing could be fitted, the use of expensive replacement engines and certain other parts was prohibited. This ruleset was designed to make the class more accessible and approachable, aiming to attract more riders to 1,000cc motorcycles. The objective of Stock 1000 is to serve as a feeder class to the Superbike class. These rule changes were also intended to encourage existing Superstock 1000 teams, with their highly modified bikes, to transition to the Superbike class.
The Superstock 600 class was also discontinued, with its place on the program being filled by the new Twins Cup class. In contrast to the Stock 1000 series, this is a relatively open class where development and modifications are permitted with a considerable degree of freedom, provided a twin-cylinder machine is used. These machines produce performance levels comparable to the Superstock 600 bikes they replaced, but allow for the use of the wide variety of two-cylinder sport bikes that had gained popularity in club racing. The Supersport class rules were modified to fall somewhere between the specifications of the old Superstock 600 class and the Supersport class, making it easier for existing Superstock 600 teams to step up to Supersport.
The final class change for 2018 was the introduction of the Junior Cup class, replacing the KTM RC 390 Cup. This new class was open to all manufacturers of small-bore sportbikes, rather than being a spec series. Inspired by the success of similar series at the world championship level, this championship was introduced as a new entry-level class with a maximum age limit of 25 years old. All of these new classes now competed in their own distinct race events, bringing greater clarity to the differentiation between each class. With five different races occurring per event instead of the previous three, fans were able to enjoy additional racing action.
In 2019, MotoAmerica brought all television production of its broadcast coverage in-house. This strategic move allowed MotoAmerica to own the rights to all content produced from every race weekend, enabling them to distribute content across a significantly wider range of platforms than previously possible. Streaming options were introduced, including YouTube and MotoAmerica’s own paid streaming service, MotoAmerica Live+. Bringing TV production in-house proved to be a successful decision for MotoAmerica. Combined viewership numbers for the first two rounds in 2020 saw a fourfold increase compared to the previous year, reaching record highs for the organization.
In 2020, it was announced that a new event would take place at the MotoAmerica Superbike Speedfest At Monterey. This invitational event, titled King of the Baggers, allowed highly customized American touring motorcycles to compete in a race. Touring fairings and hard side bags were required as part of the ruleset, but otherwise, these machines were heavily modified for racing. The King of the Baggers invitational proved to be highly popular with fans, leading to its establishment as an official class and its addition to the 2021 calendar as a three-round championship. In the subsequent years, King of the Baggers continued to grow in popularity and has become a staple class in MotoAmerica. As of the 2024 season, the King of the Baggers class has appeared at eight of the 10 rounds of the season, with an additional exhibition race held at a MotoGP event.
Partnering with Royal Enfield, a new exhibition race class called Build.Train.Race was added to the MotoAmerica calendar in 2021. The Build.Train.Race program equips women racers and builders with Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 motorcycles, along with the necessary resources to prepare them for track use. Each year, a select number of women are chosen from an applicant pool to participate in the event. These riders go on to modify their Royal Enfield motorcycles themselves, with support from the Royal Enfield race shop. The riders then receive road racing instruction and training from expert instructors before commencing the season of racing. Riders remain with the program for two years before graduating. As of the 2025 season, there are 12 riders in the program, with six graduating each year. Typically, there are four to six Build.Train.Race exhibition races in a MotoAmerica season.
For the 2025 season, the Junior Cup class was dropped and replaced by the Talent Cup. This new junior class is a spec-racing class in which riders aged 14 to 21 compete on purpose-built Krämer APX-350 MA motorcycles. The shift back to spec racing is intended to align the MotoAmerica junior class with other Talent Cups globally, thereby better preparing young riders for eventual competition at the highest levels of motorsport.
MotoAmerica's premier race class, Superbike showcases top road racers aboard top-of-the-line, highly modified motorcycles capable of speeds approaching 200 miles per hour.
Rider Age Limit: 18 - 55 years old
Motorcycles: BMW S1000RR, Ducati Panigale V4 R, Honda CBR1000RR, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, Suzuki GSX-R1000, Yamaha YZF-R1
A feeder class for Superbike, Stock 1000 gives MotoAmerica riders the opportunity to gain experience aboard 1,000cc motorcycles with an eye toward eventually moving up to Superbike.
Rider Age Limit: 18 - 55 years old
Motorcycles: BMW S1000RR, Honda CBR1000RR, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, Suzuki GSX-R1000, Yamaha YZF-R1
MotoAmerica's middleweight race class, Supersport features the series’ rising stars competing aboard production-based motorcycles.
Rider Age Limit: 16 - 55 years old
Motorcycles: Ducati Panigale V2, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, Suzuki GSX-R750, Yamaha YZF-R6, Honda CBR600RR, Triumph Street Triple RS 765
Putting middleweight, twin-cylinder motorcycles in the spotlight, Twins Cup enables regional and club racers from around the country to step up to the MotoAmerica series and compete on a national level.
Rider Age Limit: 15 - 55
Motorcycles: Aprilia RS 660, Yamaha YZF-R7, Suzuki GSX-8R, Kawasaki Ninja 650, Suzuki SV650
Modified touring motorcycles from Harley Davidson and Indian built for road racing. Motorcycles must feature touring fairings and hard side bags, but otherwise feature aftermarket suspension and highly tuned engines.
Motorcycles: Harley-Davidson Road Glide, Indian Challenger
Minimum Weight: 620 pounds
MotoAmerica's entry-level race class, Talent Cup features the series’ youngest riders competing aboard spec, purpose-built Krämer APX-350 MA motorcycles. Set to mirror other Road to MotoGP Talent Cups around the world, this class is meant to prepare young riders to advance to the upper echelons of motorcycles racing.
Motorcycle Specifications: 350cc, 4-stroke, single cylinder, 55 horsepower
Rider Age Limit: 14 - 21 years old
This class features motorcycles from various disciplines, along with a broad set of rules meant to bring new riders and brands into road racing. The MotoAmerica Championship in this class features 750cc and up, air- or water-cooled, 2 cylinders, 125 horsepower or less, minimum weight of 420 pounds, no bodywork, stock frames, high-bar motorcycles. Electric motorcycles are also eligible for competition.
Minimum Weight: 397 pounds
Engine Configurations:
Air-Cooled Motorcycles: Originally equipped, air-cooled, 2-cylinder, minimum displacement of 750cc, normally aspirated or forced induction. Water-Cooled Motorcycles: Originally equipped, water-cooled, 2-cylinder, minimum displacement of 750cc, normally aspirated. Electric Motorcycles:* Street-legal production motorcycles with single electric motors. No motocross or dual-sport-type electric motorcycles allowed. All electric motorcycles must be pre-approved for competition before the event or season.
(Previously known as Superstock 1000 from 2015–2017)
(Previously known as Superstock 600 from 2015–2017)
(Previously known as KTM RC 390 Cup from 2015–2017)
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