NOTICES AND UPDATES

 May 29, 2020

Dear LRRS Riders,

We posted a video on Facebook Wednesday night, and if you get a chance it would be great for you to watch it. Some things are just better communicated in person. Please check the Loudon Road Race Series Facebook page and take a look at the video if you get a moment, it’s about 8 minutes long. Here are the basics of what was communicated:

· We’re sorry about the delay in communication about the 2020 LRRS schedule. Things have been changing constantly and we wanted to give good information one time instead of making multiple announcements and updates.
 

· Thanks to the hard work of Matt Goslant and NHMS we have a solid plan for the season. If it were not for all the efforts of the NHMS staff we might not have had a season in 2020.
 

· First and Foremost – this season has presented some unique challenges for both the series and the speedway. There are some surprising similarities to the situation now and the start of LRRS’s predecessor AAMRR some 40+ years ago. After a lot of conversation with the leadership at NHMS we realized that be best course of action was for us (John Grush and Eric Wood) to take ownership of LRRS. The current economic climate will present us with some challenges in the next couple years, but we’re confident that with the right plan of action and the support of the riders in LRRS that we can grow the series and ensure road racing will be in New England for a long time to come (the preservation of our sport has always been our #1 goal).
 

· On top of everyone’s mind – what is our 2020 schedule going to look like? There are more details to follow, but here’s what we have to start:
 

o The state of NH set limits for the number of participants that was wellbelow a typical LRRS weekend, and also mandated that there was no camping or hotels for out of state riders. This left us with no choice but to postpone the June event.

o We’ve been working closely with Kevin Elliot of CCS, and after discussion we agreed that we are going to postpone our joint series venture to 2021 and will not be traveling to NJMP on July 4th weekend. We greatly appreciate Kevin and his efforts, and look forward to a strong partnership for the future.

o The first LRRS event of 2020 will now replace the scheduled NJMP event on July 4th & 5th. Penguin will run a two-day school on July 2nd and 3rd, with racer practice available on both days. We can’t wait to finally get the season started.

o We spent a lot of time talking with the whole advisory board and we appreciate all the feedback from everyone as we went through this process. We’ll recognize those people at the first event for their efforts.

o There will be 5 LRRS events in 2020, and after discussing the concept with several riders and officials we’re going to have a special schedule this season to give the championships for 2020 real meaning. The Loudon Classic on August 28, 29 and 30 will be a 3-Day event at which we will run TWIN SPRINTS. That’s right, a full slate of races run twice in three days. For this weekend only, GT races will the same price as a sprint race, but they will be 12 laps long. This setup has worked will for both AHRMA and certain special CCS events for years. In spite of all the economic turmoil, we are excited to announce that there will still be $7000 in purse money offered at this event in premier classes. The exact schedule and details will be released in June.

o This twin sprint gets us to a total of 6 contested races. In order to get us back to “7” events, the last LRRS date in October will pay DOUBLE POINTS. 7 races ensure that if you crash one weekend, you can still win a championship if you will all the rest. This setup will also ensure that nearly every championship will be decided in October, which will make all of the championships competitive right to the end. This has been the existing practice with CCS clubs for years, and many of us have witnessed this first hand when we have gone to Homestead, FL in December.
 

· Some basic updates for LRRS 2020
 

o Registration for 2020 events will go through the same portal that it always has. We’re working on an all new system for 2021 that will modernize the whole registration and check in system. You can expect a new level of service when it comes to things like rider number requests. This is a club again and we’re going to all work together with a three-tiered focus on fair and safe competition, growing the sport, and fun!

o As we looked at the financial ramifications of running LRRS, we realized that in order to remain solvent that LRRS would need to move in line with CCS when it comes to registration fees and pit passes. Entries for 2020 will be $65 for sprint races and $90 for for GT races. All racers will pay a gate fee, which will remain at $25 for the weekend.

o For post entries, the prices are going to go down – especially for riders who enter multiple races. There used to be a $15 post entry fee per entry. Going forward, we are going to charge a flat $30 post entry fee. That means if you enter 3 classes, your post entry fee is only $10 per race. If you enter more, the per race fee goes down even more
 

o For new riders, we are going to continue the practice of half price entries your first weekend, as well as for free transponder rentals for your first three races. We’re excited to continue to watch the progress of the new and younger riders from LRRS. Our home-grown stars like Ben Gloddy and Teagg Hobbs will be at Moto America all season long, and there are many others who will be joining the series for select rounds. It’s great to have people to cheer for!

We expect to announce the full schedule for 2020 by the end of next week. There are a few details that need to be ironed out before we can confirm the dates outside of the season opener and the Loudon Classic.
 

We’re excited to move LRRS into a new era where it’s truly like a club again. The atmosphere and the people at the racetrack are a huge part of why we love to come to LRRS. We’ve got many of our lifelong friends here. We’ve worked really hard to make this plan for 2020 one that makes the racetrack a place that you really want to be. We look forward to seeing everyone in July, and as we move through the season and try out these exciting new programs we will absolutely welcome feedback from everyone.
 

Keep an eye out next week for more information, and thanks for being a part of LRRS.

Sincerely, 

John Grush
Eric Wood
Co-Executive Directors, Loudon Road Race Series

 LRRS Family,

Riders - are you ready to fire up those bikes that you worked on all winter? We're ready to hear them roar as we get back home to the track and our LRRS family.

Click Link below for the schedule of our opening round on June 20 & 21. With the Loudon Classic having been moved to August, this event will feature the full slate of LRRS classes plus the ASRA Team Challenge, three CCS "Classic" classes (bikes made in 2006 or earlier), and the Moto Girl GT class. This weekend will be championship points paying event for three groups (LRRS, CCS Atlantic, and CCS Mid-Atlantic) so it should be a ton of fun! To help you get all tuned up and ready to go, the Penguin School will be running a two-day school on the Thursday and Friday before this event.

CLICK HERE for this events Schedule

The remaining championship rounds for 2020 are listed below. The 98th Loudon Classic will be run as a two-day event on August 29-30 and we anticipate the return of both AFT and the vendor midway as we continue the longest-running motorcycle race in America.

July 3-4 at NJMP (sign up with CCS directly)

August 1-2 at NHMS

August 29-30 (98th Annual Loudon Classic)

September 19-20 at NHMS

October 3-4 at NHMS

We're working hard to make sure that we kick the season off strong, and will be communicating with all of you as the opening event approaches to help you prepare for any procedural changes that might be required for this year as a result of the virus. Helmets make great face masks - let's bring on the season!!

LRRS Race Series Crew

We hope you are all doing well, and we wanted to give everyone a quick update on a few items pertaining to LRRS.

1) Anne Marie is no longer with NHMS. She has accepted a new role at the Town of Loudon and we wish her all the best going forward. It is a big role to fill, but rest assured that we will move forward with a new face (or faces) to fulfill all of her duties (you may still see her helping at the first two rounds of LRRS). Separate from the change with Anne Marie, there was also a large restructuring across all the speedway properties owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports. Our staff has gotten smaller overall, but we still plan to provide the same level of service that you have come to expect from NHMS.

2) Our opening round is slated to be the third weekend in June. We had hoped to be able to start the LRRS season in mid-May, but with the large reduction in staff coupled with the fact that the entire staff is returning to the track a mere 10 days (we hope) before the first event, we did not feel that we would have the resources properly prepare the speedway itself for an event like LRRS. As many of you know this is not like a simple track rental, preparing the track properly for motorcycles is something that cannot be done halfway. There is always maintenance done between seasons, and we've lost many weeks of valuable time. In addition, we have a large number of riders who come from states that still have very high infection rates. June looks to be as close to a sure thing as we can expect right now.

As for the Classic itself, we are waiting for the final word from the Laconia Motorcycle Association on the decision about the date of this year's motorcycle rally. There has been a lot of discussion about moving it to August. If the June date ends up remaining the same then we will kick off our season with the running of the 97th Loudon Classic. If the Association moves the rally to August then the 97th Loudon classic will be run on August 29th, and our June 20-21 date will just become our season opener round #1.

3) With respect to garage fees, there were three garages that were paid for the entire year and those riders will get a pro-rated refund in the next few weeks. For everyone else who paid a deposit for the first half of the season, payment #2 will be reduced on a pro-rated basis.

4) We are actively working on plans to keep everyone safe when our season starts. We are considering putting measures in place to do some very basic screening upon entering the speedway. There will be efforts made concerning registration, riders meetings, and other group gatherings to help with social distancing. You can also expect some changes to the foodservice during the course of the weekend. If any of you have any concerns or suggestions at all, please don't hesitate to reach out to Eric Wood, John Grush, or myself.

Take care and we sincerely look forward to seeing you all soon.

Matt 

Just a heads up for all of our riders - the two May events at NHMS have been cancelled. While we're "away" NHMS is planning a repave of turns 10-12, so Loudon's roughest section of track should be all resurfaced when we get back in June. That's something we've been waiting to experience for several years now!!
We're waiting to see what happens for the Loudon Classic, but either way we look forward to being back on track in June. If the Classic moves to August, we'll still be running but our Penguin school dates may moved by one day. More news to follow - stay tuned!!

Loudon Road Race Series
Statement from David McGrath, executive vice president, and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway, on Loudon Road Race Series and Granite State Legends Cars Road Course Series schedule updates:
“During this time of uncertainty due to COVID-19, the health, safety, and well-being of our competitors, officials, staff members, and fans is of the utmost importance to us. Due to these unprecedented circumstances, the May 2-3 and May 16-17 Loudon Road Race Series events have been canceled. With this change, round one of the Loudon Road Race Series is tentatively set for June 20-21. The date for the 97th Annual Loudon Classic will be determined after the Laconia Motorcycle Week Association meeting later this month.
In addition, the May 2-3 and May 16-17 Granite State Legends Cars Road Course Series events have been postponed and will be rescheduled at a later date. At this time, the May 9-10 Granite State Legends Cars Road Course Series and Oval Series events are still on schedule to bring great racing and entertainment to our fans.
We are monitoring this rapidly evolving situation closely, and we are staying in constant contact with state and local public health officials on the most up-to-date facts. Schedule changes will be posted to our event schedule on our website, and if there are any major changes to our events, we will immediately post updates on our website and social channels.