PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association is pleased to welcome support from Wellard Group Holdings for the U.S. national team’s effort at the International Six Days Enduro in Sardinia, Italy, Sept. 30-Oct. 5. Wellard will also be the title sponsor of a U.S. club team at the event.

“Racing for the ISDE World Trophy is one of the biggest financial and logistical commitments in the sport,” said AMA Off-Road Racing Manager Chuck Weir. “Wellard’s backing helps provide some of the crucial resources that we need to support our racers at this world championship event.”

In addition to buying multiple team jerseys for each U.S. national team rider at the ISDE, the riders on the Wellard Club Team will receive direct financial support to help cover their expenses. Competitors who are interested in riding for the Wellard team must qualify through the U.S. ISDE qualifier program and must pre-register with Wellard here: www.wellard.com.au/589.

Wellard Managing Director Mauro Balzarini has been involved with off-road racing for many years and was a multi-time national enduro champion in his earlier riding career. Balzarini has competed in six ISDEs himself.

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — Mark Blackwell, a pioneering racer in American motocross, a six-time AMA championship race team manager and a well-respected executive in the motorcycle industry, will be recognized as an AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Legend on Friday, Oct. 18, in Las Vegas, Nev.

Blackwell, an AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer inducted in 2000, will be honored alongside the class of 2013 as part of the AMA Legends Weekend, hosted by the American Motorcyclist Association, on Oct. 18-19, at the Green Valley Ranch Resort, Spa and Casino.

“Not only did Mark Blackwell rise to the top to become the 1971 American 500cc motocross champion, but he also raced internationally at a time when the Europeans dominated the sport,” said Jeffrey V. Heininger, chairman of the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, which oversees the Hall of Fame. “His grit, a win in Switzerland, and a podium finish in Germany earned him fans worldwide.

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association is pleased to make the 2013 International Six Days Enduro fund-raising shirts available for purchase. Proceeds from the shirts support the U.S. effort in the ISDE in Sardinia, Italy, Sept. 30-Oct. 5.

“Competing in the ISDE is a major logistical effort, and it’s very expensive on both a rider and team level,” said AMA Off-Road Manager Chuck Weir, who also serves as the team’s jury delegate to the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme for the event. “All fans who would like to be part of the effort to get our best riders to this historic event are encouraged to purchase a 2013 fund-raising shirt and back our run at the world title.”

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — A “Fuel for Thought” lobbying day to educate federal lawmakers about the need for independent research into the possible harmful effects of E15 fuel on motorcycle engines is the focus of the American Motorcyclist Association’s “Freedom Friday” on April 19.

The AMA “Fuel for Thought” lobbying day will be held Wednesday, June 19, in Washington, D.C.

E15 is a gasoline formulation that contains up to 15 percent ethanol by volume, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hasn’t approved its use in motorcycles or all-terrain vehicles. The EPA has approved its use in 2001-and-new light-duty vehicles, which include cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty passenger vehicles, however.

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — American Motorcyclist Association member Chris Latham of Greencastle, Ind., has one more reason to hit the trails this year. The 46-year-old Latham won the grand prize for participating in the 2012 AMA Husqvarna National Dual Sport Trail Riding Series: a 2013 Husqvarna TE449 from series sponsor Husqvarna North America.

The annual AMA prize drawing, conducted by the independent auditing and accounting firm of Plante & Moran of Columbus, Ohio, included participants in all events on the national dual-sport calendar.

As OHV enthusiasts prepare public comments due April 8 for the Eldorado National Forest SEIS, long time recreation advocates have reacted to the latest development in this almost never-ending travel planning and litigation saga.

“We hope the Eldorado is finally moving toward defensible authorization of historical access on these treasured high elevation trails,” said Don Amador, BlueRibbon Coalition Western Representative.  Pro-recreation intervenors including the California Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs, California Enduro Riders Association, American Motorcyclist Association District 36, and BlueRibbon Coalition have participated in all aspects of the planning process and earlier litigation starting back in 2002.

The groups were generally pleased with the May, 2011 decision of the federal court for the Eastern District of California that rejected the majority of challenges brought against the Forest by preservationist groups lead by the Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation.

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association, which is the premier advocate for motorcyclists’ freedoms in the country, honored 59 current and former federal lawmakers on Feb. 28 for their support of motorcyclists during the just-completed 112th Congress.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and former Reps. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) and Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) topped the list of those honored. They were singled out for AMA Government Relations Department “Hero” awards for their extraordinary efforts to support motorcyclists and motorcycling.

They were particularly praised for their successful efforts to save the Recreational Trails Program from extinction, as well as to exempt kids’ dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles from the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which had banned the sale of those vehicles.

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association expressed concern to a U.S. House subcommittee about possible damage to motorcycle and all-terrain vehicle engines caused by the inadvertent use of E15 when the new fuel becomes widely available.

In testimony to the House Subcommittee on the Environment during a hearing on “Mid-Level Ethanol Blends: Consumer and Technical Research Needs” on Feb. 26, Wayne Allard, AMA vice president for government relations, said that motorcycles and ATVs should be part of any scientific study into the effects of E15 on engines to ensure that the new fuel blend won’t damage those engines.

He also cautioned that E15 could lower fuel efficiency and possibly cause premature engine failure for motorcycles and ATVs.

E15 is a new fuel blend of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline that the EPA has approved for use in 2001-and-newer passenger vehicles. The blend isn’t approved for use in motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, boats, lawn mowers and other engines, and may even damage them and void warranties.

E10, which is commonly found at gas stations, contains 10 percent ethanol. E0 fuel has no ethanol. Ethanol is grain alcohol produced from crops such as corn that is mixed with gasoline to produce an ethanol-gasoline blend motor fuel.

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — Former U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt is wrong to urge President Obama to use executive powers to close off public land, the American Motorcyclist Association said.

In a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 5, Babbitt, who served as Interior secretary under President Bill Clinton, said the current administration should use the Antiquities Act and other powers to protect public land from development.

But Wayne Allard, a former U.S. representative and U.S. senator from Colorado who now serves as the AMA vice president for government relations, said such actions would bypass the people’s representatives in Congress. He called the Babbitt comments disappointing.

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association is elevating one of its most-successful and popular off-road amateur racing events to national championship status. Starting in 2013, the AMA Kenda Big Sky Amateur National Off-Road Championship, presented by KLIM, will crown amateur national off-road racing champions in a wide range of classes on Aug. 24-25 at Montana’s Big Sky Resort.

“In much the same way the AMA Dirt Track Grand Championships and the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch award national titles in those disciplines, the AMA Kenda Big Sky Amateur National Off-Road Championship, presented by KLIM, will recognize the best amateur off-road riders in the country,” said AMA Off-Road Racing Manager Chuck Weir. “Riders will come from a range of backgrounds — enduro, hare scrambles, EnduroCross, cross country and desert racing — to battle for bragging rights on the national stage.”

The first-place finishers in every class will receive an AMA national No. 1 plate, and the top-three riders in each class will be invited to the annual AMA Championship Banquet. Classes will be run across a range of skill-, age- and motorcycle-based categories.