Dillon Van Way Competing in Both the Rally America and the XTRM AMA Pro Supermoto Championships

Louisiana native currently leading the 2WD Class in the Rally America series
 
CARENCRO, La. (March 16, 2009) – Seventeen year-old Dillon Van Way is adding two more wheels to his racing resume, participating in this year’s Rally America Championship for the first time. This athlete has raced motocross, and most recently the XTRM AMA Supermoto Championship last season. With two rounds in the books, Van Way is leading the Two-Wheel Drive (2WD) Class in the Rally America Championship. He plans to continue to race both Supermoto and rally.

 

Rally is no stranger to the motorcycle world as Travis Pastrana has been competing in the series for a number of years. Both rally and Supermoto have been featured during the ESPN-produced Summer X Games for the past three years. Rally racing, as defined by Rally America, features real cars racing against the clock on closed-off sections of real roads that are usually unpaved and unforgiving. Events can last several days and cover hundreds of miles through rain, snow, day or night. This extreme test of skill, speed and endurance makes rally racing fast growing in North America. The three classes are Open, Super Production and 2WD. Open is the premier class. The 2WD Class is akin to the Lites Class in motorcycle racing where it’s up-and-coming pros using more cost-effective equipment.

A 2002 Ford Focus is Van Way’s four-wheel equipment of choice with co-driver Joshua Knott, also of Carencro, La. Van Way’s first Rally America race was this season’s opening round, the Sno*Drift in Atlanta, Mich. on January 30-31, where they placed third in the 2WD Class. At the second round, the 100 Acre Wood, in Salem, Mo., Van Way and Knott finished second. Van Way is now leading the driver standings in the 2WD Class with 31 points. He is also tied for 12th in the overall series standings.

 

Van Way is racing with number 600 in both the Rally America and XTRM AMA Pro Supermoto series. He said, “It’s been really cool to race rally cars this year. I didn’t know quite what to expect. We’ve learned a lot racing in the snow and back roads in Michigan and Missouri. The rally atmosphere is very fan-friendly and I like how fans can get up close to the action and at the service stops without even buying tickets!”

 

Last year, Van Way began racing in the XTRM AMA Pro Supermoto Championship. Riding an independently-supported KTM250SX-F, he finished 13th in the 250cc Lites Class in the six-round series. Van Way qualified for the ESPN-produced 2008 Navy Moto X World Championships in San Diego, Calif. for the Supermoto competition. He crashed on the Supercross-style dirt section during his heat race which ended his day, though he gained much experience competing against premier class athletes for the first time.

 

Van Way will join many other riders anticipating the start of AMA Supermoto this Sunday, March 22 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. The Supermoto opening round is held in conjunction with AMA Pro Road Racing round two. To find out more, visit www.xtrm.com/supermoto.

 

Van Way added, “Right now I am leaning towards focusing on rally when schedules overlap. But that is all dependent on the standings and how other things are going as to what will actually happen this year. I am just looking forward to racing a lot this year, on two and four wheels.”

 

Van Way’s next rally outing will be the Olympus Rally in Olympia, Wash. on April 18-19. To learn more about the series, visit www.rally-america.com.

 
About Dillon Van Way

Dillon Van Way of Carencro, La. is a multi-faceted action sports athlete participating in both the Rally America Championship and the XTRM AMA Pro Supermoto Championship. The nine-round Rally America series has multi-day events that feature real cars racing against the clock on closed-off sections of real roads that are usually unpaved and unforgiving. Seventeen year-old Van Way is competing for the first time with a 2002 Ford Focus with co-driver Joshua Knott, also of Carencro, La., in the Two-Wheel Drive (2WD) Class. The five-round AMA Supermoto series provides fans unique action as the racers take specialized motocross bikes on 70 percent asphalt and 30 percent dirt courses with jumps. Van Way is competing for the second consecutive year in the 250cc Lites Class on a KTM.

 

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