Press Release

Action on the Track Spices Up Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP’s Return to...

James Stewart: “I Had Good Luck in Vancouver Last year, and I Plan on Going There This Weekend to Repeat That Performance”

AURORA, Ill. (December 5, 2006) – Yamaha’s Chad Reed put an early jolt into the Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP with a season-opening victory last week in Toronto, setting the stage for what will be another exciting race at Vancouver’s B.C. Place Stadium this Saturday December. 9.

Kawasaki’s James Stewart, who went down hard after colliding with Honda’s Travis Preston, announced late on Tuesday that he plans on racing in Vancouver. Stewart won Vancouver last year and has been cleared by his doctor to compete this weekend.

“I had good luck in Vancouver last year, and I plan on going there this weekend to repeat that performance,” said Stewart. “My MRI came ok, so I am planning on being ready for this weekend.”

In what figured to be a three-man battle in Toronto, it was the consistency and steadiness of Reed that paid off as he gained the early momentum heading into Vancouver. Reed took the lead early in the main event and overcame separate challenges from his main rivals, Suzuki’s Ricky Carmichael and Stewart, the defending Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP champion.

I’m motivated,” said Reed. “I’ve had two years that I would like to forget, but I think that they’ve been two of the most important years of my life. I’ve learned so much from them, and I am so happy that I have a race team around me that is so supportive and fun to be around. So, as the season goes on, I will approach each race with a positive attitude.”

Carmichael’s challenge came in the early part of the race, but a crash on lap three dropped him out of early contention. Reed held claim of the lead but would soon come under pressure from Stewart as the two began battling for the top spot, with the lead changing several times.

“Overall, it was a great weekend for me, despite the crash,” said Carmichael. “I’m disappointed that I didn’t give myself a chance to win the race.  But, at this level, to come back from as far as I did is something I am very proud of. I’m just a fighter; I’m going to go down swinging.”

The biggest moment of the night, and potentially of the season, was when Stewart flew off the track while in the lead. With Reed slipping by, Stewart attempted to re-enter the track and was hit by Preston, who was a lapper and had not seen Stewart behind the landing of the finish-line jump. The crash not only stripped Stewart of any chance of winning in Toronto, forcing him to finish in third place.  

This year mark’s the third time that Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP has visited Vancouver and a return to the scene of Stewart’s runaway victory in 2005. After earning a hard fought victory in last season’s opener in Toronto, Stewart turned up the heat on Carmichael the following week with a wire-to-wire at B.C. Place Stadium.

The early-season battle in Canada would set the stage for what turned out to be one of the closest battles in supercross history. The Stewart/Carmichael battle went down to the season finale in Las Vegas with Stewart walking away with his first Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP title.

The entire Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP season will be broadcast on CBS and SPEED. The Supercross one-hour show from Vancouver is scheduled to air on SPEED, Sunday, Dec. 10 at 6 p.m. (E.S.T.). An additional Supercross Lites one-hour show is slated for SPEED, Friday, Dec. 15 at 12 noon (E.S.T.).

For more information about the Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP/Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series, please log on to www.supercrossonline.com

About Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP™/Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series

Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP, produced and promoted by Live Nation is a 17-round global off-road motorcycle stadium racing circuit. Riders must compete in the international rounds to be eligible to win the world championship. In 2006-2007, the 17-event Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP will be comprised of two international events and 15 of the 16 events that are conducted in major cities throughout the United States as a part of the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series.  Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series is a 16-event series solely conducted in the United States.  The other Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series event held in Daytona Beach, Fla., is independently produced by the International Speedway Corporation and is not a part of the Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP. An Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series rider will be crowned as the national champion for the series of events conducted in the United States only. 

The FIM, Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme, is the body that globally governs motorcycle sport at the world level. Among other matters, the FIM groups together 94 affiliated National Federations relating to the sport of motorcycle racing. AMA Pro Racing is the National Federation representative that sanctions motorcycle-racing events in the United States. Dorna Off Road S.L. is an internationally recognized sports management group established in 1988 with an emphasis on major international motor sports events.  Dorna is headquartered in Madrid, Spain with branch offices in Barcelona, London and Tokyo. In addition to its involvement with Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP, Dorna manages the rights to MotoGP. For more information on Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP/ Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series, log on to www.supercrossonline.com.

Live Nation is a leading live event and venue management company focused on creating superior experiences for artists, performers, corporations and fans.  Live Nation owns, operates and/or has booking rights for 153 venues worldwide and produced more than 29,500 events in 2005.  Live Nation operates more than 60 websites globally.  Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol “LYV.”  For more information regarding Live Nation and its businesses, please visit the company’s website at www.livenation.com.

About AMA Pro Racing
AMA Pro Racing is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its properties include the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series, the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF, the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship and the AMA Supermoto Championship presented by Parts Unlimited. For more information about AMA Pro Racing, visit www.amaproracing.com.

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