AMA Pro Racing and Vance & Hines have announced the launch of the new AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series, a spec-bike five race championship featuring specially modified Harley-Davidson XR1200 motorcycles.

This exciting new series will provide loyal Harley-Davidson owners, dealers and enthusiasts a chance to join the action at selected AMA Pro Road Racing weekends throughout the country.

As the presenting sponsor, Vance & Hines will also serve as the official race kit supplier for the class. The kit will consist of a Vance & Hines XR1200 exhaust system, a Fuelpak fuel management system, race bodywork including number plate, single seat tail section and belly pan, 17-inch front wheel with matching front fender, steering damper, oil cooler relocator and race decal package. The cost for the complete kit will be $US3500.

“We have racing in our DNA, Harley-Davidson has racing in their DNA and we are truly thrilled to bring Vance & Hines and Harley-Davidson back into AMA Pro Racing,” Terry Vance, a prolific champion as both rider and team owner, said of the new series. “The XR1200 has proven to be an exciting platform for spec racing in Europe and this class will be a perfect cost-effective platform to showcase new talent on a national stage. Many of the finest motorcycle racers all over the world got their start in the AMA Supertwins class of the 1990s.”

As in all AMA Pro Road Racing series, Dunlop will provide the spec tire for the class and Sunoco will fuel the racers with their Sunoco 260 GTX fuel. In addition to the Vance & Hines supplied kit parts, teams will be allowed to upgrade their suspension, hand and foot controls, brake components and instrumentation.

AMA Pro Racing chief operating officer David Atlas welcomed the new series.

“Adding another element to our events with a series of this caliber will be a great benefit to our sport,” he said. “The specification of the XR1200 package will put the premium on the rider’s ability and will provide a great new class of racing that has ties to the past.”

Vance & Hines is also pleased to announce that the XR1200 Series will feature a $5000 purse payout at each of the five rounds, $2500 going to the race winner, $1000 to the runner-up and $750 for third. Fourth and fifth place finishers will receive $500 and $250 respectively.

For the 2010 season, the AMA Pro Racing Vance & Hines XR1200 Series will race at five rounds of the AMA Pro Road Racing Championship. The first race will be just north of Harley-Davidson’s Milwaukee headquarters at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. Next up will be the classic Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, moving on to Virginia International Raceway and New Jersey Motorsports Park. The season finale will be at Barber Motorsports Park.