AMA Outdoor TV Coverage announcement!

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Television coverage on ESPN2 for the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championship will take a big step forward in 2002. The big news is the air date schedule has been compressed so most of the races air within six days of the actual event, a huge improvement from previous years where there was up to a three-week delay. The announcing team for 2002 is former AMA Motocross champion David Bailey, Racer X Illustrated’s Davey Coombs and noted freestyle motocross announcer Cameron Steele.

The AMA U.S. Motocross Championship celebrates its 30th anniversary this season. Honda’s Ricky Carmichael will attempt to defend his title in the 250 class, while Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Mike Brown will do the same in the 125 class. Both classes will receive separate one-hour shows on ESPN2.

“We’re excited about the improvements in the motocross broadcasts this year,” said John Farris, AMA Pro Racing’s vice president of commercial development. “We are reaching a vast audience with ESPN2’s over 75 million households and we’re confident that our television programming will help to facilitate the continued growth of motocross.”

Chet Burks Productions will produce the programs. Chet Burks has experience producing hundreds of motorsports television shows including the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship, the AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championship, “Bike Week”, “Motorcyclist”, World Superbike and Grand Prix for U.S. distribution and ARCA, all which air on Speed Channel.

The broadcast will benefit from the vast knowledge of its broadcast crew. Bailey is a four-time AMA National Motocross and Supercross champion and a member of the AMA’s Motorcycle Hall of Fame. He is in his 10th year of television broadcasting. Coombs comes from the first family of motocross in America. He’s been involved in the promotion of the sport his entire life. Coombs founded and still oversees Racer X Illustrated, one of the industry’s leading magazine that covers the personalities and events of the motorcycle racing community, with an emphasis on motocross. Steele is a former racer, turned racing announcer. He’s best known for his television work in freestyle motocross. Steele will show race fans a first-hand view of the national motocross circuits by doing a Suzuki Track Lap feature at each race with a video cam attached to his helmet. The shows will also feature Honda Tech Tips to give everyday riders a change to see how the pros bike’s are built and maintained.

The 2002 broadcast schedule kicks off on Saturday, May 18 at 3 p.m. Eastern with the showing of the opening 250 round from Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino. Consult your local listing for the broadcast times in your area.