Successful test held for Sturgis TT Race

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - To combine the tradition of the Sturgis Rally with American Flat Track racing, the Sturgis Tourist Trophy race will take place at this year’s rally despite pushback. To prepare for the new event, there was a test of the course Tuesday morning.

AMA Pro Racing and AFT Events, in collaboration with the City of Sturgis, conducted a successful test of the street course for the upcoming Sturgis TT Race.

“Testing went fantastic. Bryan Smith, our 2016 grand national champion, and our director of flat track said that there was great grip, the streets looked really well, and we did a lot of work here in the bank parking lot and worked on the flow for where the dirt would go, so overall it was a fantastic test, and we are going to have a very safe race track and fantastic racing for the fans to watch,” Cameron Gray, the director of sales and partnerships for AMA Pro Racing said.

Months ago, Sturgis voters overwhelmingly voted against the city’s agreement with the AMA to host the race. However, the city and AMA Pro Racing have been working together to make some adjustments and have reached an agreement.

“Everybody’s just been great to work with now; we were on the same page and were all working together, so it’s going to be an awesome event. It’s our first year, so we’re going to work on the bugs, but we are going to plan to come back for many years to come,” said Gray.

According to the Census, more than 500 thousand people attend the Sturgis Rally every year. Testing the street course is important to ensure the safety and quality of the event.

“First of all, we want to make sure we have the safest course, not only for our riders but also our fans, and we want to make sure they are seeing the best race in the world. We want to make sure it flows really well and that all of the streets layout very well,” Gray said.

The inaugural Sturgis TT will take place on Sunday, August 11, as Round 13 of the Progressive American Flat Track series.

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