Bike week in Du Quoin: DTGC returns for fifth year
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[It's hard to believe, but the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Sports Dirt Track Grand National Championships will celebrate a special anniversay with another trip to Perry County this weekend.
The 33rd annual event begins with early afternoon practice sessions Saturday and runs until next Friday at the historic Du Quoin State Fairgrounds.
Racers will be challenged by the short track, TT, half-mile and world famous one-mile clay oval during the week.
A combined total of nearly 4,000 entries were received during the event's first four years in Southern Illinois. In 2010, as many as 500 riders have signed close to 1,000 pre-entry forms.
"The Du Quoin State Fairgrounds offers an ideal location for this event," said AMA Dirt Track Manager Ken Saillant. "It can easily accommodate all four of our dirt-track disciplines and provides ample camping space and a park-like setting for the hundreds of families that will call this area home for the week. Of course, at the heart of it all is the world-class Du Quoin Magic Mile. As one of the most unique and storied tracks in dirt-track racing history, the Mile alone has been a draw for the youth and amateur racers who attend this event."
AMA Sports offers 21 National Championship classes for riders ages 4 and older, including mini-bikes.
The AMA Horizon Award will again be handed out, climaxing the season-long series. Given to the best of the best in each championship event, the Horizon is the AMA's most prestigious honor.
Other awards include championship of each class of racing (TT, 1/2 mile and mile) with Grand Championships based on finishes in each division. Two featured awards are the Vet/Senior Dirt Tracker of the Year and Youth Dirt Tracker of the Year.
Following its first four days on the short and TT tracks, riders tackle the all-weather stone and limestone surface on the half-mile circuit., , which trains some of the world's fastest Grand Circuit Harness horses 51 weeks out of the year. The rebuilt TT layout inside the half-mile. TT racing includes a series of right hand turns and jumps.
The two days of racing (July 23 with July 24 as a rain date) are conducted back on the Magic Mile should again produce plenty of speed and excitement. Riders reach well over 100 MPH through the corners and run virtually side-by-side the entire way.
Admission and parking are again covered in one daily price of just $10 per person, which includes pit admissio.
Plenty of food, drink and souvenirs will be on sale inside the grounds. Action runs from early morning until dusk each day.
"That price is for the entire day and gets fans a pass to see the stars up close and personal," Saillant said. "That's still the best deal around."
Bringing an estimated 5,000 visitors to Du Quoin everyday, the event pumps plenty of badly-needed dollars into the local economy.
While most racing teams camp inside the fairgrounds, fans quickly fill the hotels and motels around Du Quoin, Pinckneyville, Benton and Carbondale. Some stay as far away as Mount Vernon, Sparta and Marion,
eating establishments, fuel stops, retail stores and speciality shops enjoy very profitable weeks.
"We are very happy the the facility, great tracks and all the great people to work with here," Saillant said. "Norm Hill and his group at the fairgrounds are outstanding. The town has really embraced the event. It's always a pleasure to come to Du Quoin. It's hard to believe this will be our fifth year in Du Quoin."
BBRP (Brian Billings Racing Products). www. Flattrack.com, Dust Control, Inc. and Tech-Care Suspension Service serve as primary sponsors for the event.
Contestants, fans and AMA personel began arriving in Du Quoin Thursday.