Keep Up With AMA Road Racing Lap Times On-Line

By Kerry Graeber

Kawasaki rider Tony Meiring at a testing session last season at Road Atlanta. (Breeze Photo by Bruce Wilkins)

PICKERINGTON, Ohio - As top AMA road-racing teams take to the track during two pre-season and in-season testing sessions, fans can watch lap times trickle in on www.amaproracing.com with AMA Pro Racing's new and improved @theWire LIVE! technology. Fans can tune in right now for near-live lap times from a three-day test that started today and runs through Thursday, Jan. 23 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

First used during the recent Dunlop Daytona Tire Tests in December, the new lap-viewing technology enables fans to keep track of their favorite riders as they circulate the race track. AMA Pro Racing now uses this new lap-time viewer successfully at each AMA Supercross event to rave reviews. The @theWire LIVE! technology will also be in use at a mid-season team test, July 29-31 at the new Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.

The @theWire LIVE! lap-time viewer comes in two formats, Flash and standard HTML. The Flash version, which updates itself about every 10 seconds, notes when riders have just crossed the finish line, if a rider's most recent time is an improvement from a previous time, tracks a rider's best time, and can explain a rider's status on the track. Both versions will be updated more frequently with lap information and the data will be presented in an easier-to-read format.

This new technology is the latest benefit from AMA Pro Racing's relationship with the Indy Racing League (IRL), which uses the same transponder technology in its open-wheel car racing series.

About AMA Pro Racing - AMA Pro Racing is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its properties include the AMA Supercross Championship, the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championship, the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship and the AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championship. Nearly 2 million race fans attended AMA Pro Racing events during the 2002 season. For more information about AMA Pro Racing, visit www.amaproracing.com.