1.
Motorcycle racing
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Motorcycle racing is the motorcycle sport of racing motorcycles. Major genres include road racing and off road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing, other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and land speed record trials. The FIM classifies motorcycle racing in the four main categories. Each category has several sub categories, Road racing is the sport of racing motorcycles on hard surfaces resembling roads, usually paved with tarmac. Races can take place either on purpose-built racing circuits or on closed public roads, historically, road racing meant a course on closed public road. This was once commonplace but currently only a few such circuits have survived, races take place on publics roads which have been temporarily closed to the public by legal orders from the local legislature. Two championships exist, the first is the International Road Racing Championship, the latter accounts for the majority of road races that take place each season, with an award for the highest placed rider. Prominent road races include the Isle of Man TT, North West 200, ireland has many road racing circuits still in use. Other countries with road races are the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Grand Prix motorcycle racing refers to the premier category of motorcycle road racing. This class is restricted by rider age, with an upper limit of 25 for newly signed riders and wild card entries. Moto2, Introduced by Dorna Sports, the rights holder of the competition. Prior to that season, the class was 250 cc with two-stroke engines. Moto2 races in the 2010 season allowed both engine types, from 2011 on, only the four-stroke Moto2 machines were allowed, motoGP, is the current term for the highest class of GP racing. The class was contested with prototype machines with varying displacement and engine type over the years, originally contested by large displacement four stroke machines in the early years it eventually switched to 500 cc two strokes. In 2002990 cc four-stroke bikes were allowed to compete alongside the 500 cc two strokes and then replaced them in 2003. 2007 saw a reduction to 800 cc four stroke engines to slow things down a bit before finally settling on 1000 cc four strokes in 2012. Grand prix motorcycles are prototype machines not based on any production motorcycle, superbike racing is the category of motorcycle road racing that employs modified production motorcycles. Superbike racing motorcycles must have four engines of between 800 cc and 1200 cc for twins, and between 750 cc and 1000 cc for four cylinder machines
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Honda
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Honda Motor Co. Ltd. is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles, aircraft, motorcycles, and power equipment. Honda became the second-largest Japanese automobile manufacturer in 2001, Honda was the eighth largest automobile manufacturer in the world behind General Motors, Volkswagen Group, Toyota, Hyundai Motor Group, Ford, Nissan, and PSA Peugeot Citroën in 2011. Honda was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to release a luxury brand, Acura. Aside from their automobile and motorcycle businesses, Honda also manufactures garden equipment, marine engines, personal watercraft and power generators. Since 1986, Honda has been involved with artificial intelligence/robotics research and they have also ventured into aerospace with the establishment of GE Honda Aero Engines in 2004 and the Honda HA-420 HondaJet, which began production in 2012. Honda has three joint-ventures in China, in 2013, Honda invested about 5. 7% of its revenues in research and development. Also in 2013, Honda became the first Japanese automaker to be a net exporter from the United States, exporting 108,705 Honda and Acura models, throughout his life, Hondas founder, Soichiro Honda had an interest in automobiles. He worked as a mechanic at the Art Shokai garage, where he tuned cars, in 1937, with financing from his acquaintance Kato Shichirō, Honda founded Tōkai Seiki to make piston rings working out of the Art Shokai garage. After initial failures, Tōkai Seiki won a contract to supply piston rings to Toyota, Honda also aided the war effort by assisting other companies in automating the production of military aircraft propellers. The relationships Honda cultivated with personnel at Toyota, Nakajima Aircraft Company, with a staff of 12 men working in a 16 m2 shack, they built and sold improvised motorized bicycles, using a supply of 500 two-stroke 50 cc Tohatsu war surplus radio generator engines. When the engines ran out, Honda began building their own copy of the Tohatsu engine and this was the Honda A-Type, nicknamed the Bata Bata for the sound the engine made. In 1949, the Honda Technical Research Institute was liquidated for ¥1,000,000, or about US$5,000 today, at about the same time Honda hired engineer Kihachiro Kawashima, and Takeo Fujisawa who provided indispensable business and marketing expertise to complement Soichiro Hondas technical bent. The close partnership between Soichiro Honda and Fujisawa lasted until they stepped down together in October 1973, the first complete motorcycle, with both the frame and engine made by Honda, was the 1949 D-Type, the first Honda to go by the name Dream. Honda Motor Company grew in a time to become the worlds largest manufacturer of motorcycles by 1964. The first production automobile from Honda was the T360 mini pick-up truck, powered by a small 356-cc straight-4 gasoline engine, it was classified under the cheaper Kei car tax bracket. The first production car from Honda was the S500 sports car and its chain-driven rear wheels pointed to Hondas motorcycle origins. Over the next few decades, Honda worked to expand its line and expanded operations. In 1986, Honda introduced the successful Acura brand to the American market in an attempt to ground in the luxury vehicle market
4.
KTM
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KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG is an Austrian motorcycle manufacturer owned by CROSS Industries AG and Bajaj Auto Limited. KTM was formed in 1981 but traces its foundation as early as in 1934, in 1992 the company was spun off from its parent company KTM when it ran into financial troubles. KTM was split into four companies, all of which shared the same KTM branding, however, KTM-Sportmotorcycle is most commonly associated with the KTM brand, because it still continues the flagship business of its parent company. In 1934 an Austrian engineer Johann Trunkenpolz set up a metal working, in 1937 he started selling DKW motorcycles and Opel cars the following year. His shop was known as Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, but the name was unregistered, during the Second World War his wife took care of the business which grew mainly of diesel engine repairs. After the war, demand for repair works fell sharply and Trunkenpolz started thinking about producing his own motorcycles, the prototype of first motorcycle, the R100 was produced in 1951. All of the components of the motorcycle were produced in house, in 1953, businessman Ernst Kronreif became a sizable shareholder of the company which was then renamed and registered as Kronreif & Trunkenpolz Mattighofen. KTM started serial production of R100 in 1954, with just 20 employees, motorcycles were built at the rate of three per day. The company’s first title was secured shortly thereafter with the 1954 Austrian 125 national championship, KTM first made an appearance at the International Six Days Trials in 1956 where Egon Dornauer secured a gold medal. Racing continued to be a ground for production technology, but next in line was its first scooter. It started providing a team for the ISDE in ’64. As the company continued to expand, the workforce totaled 400 in 1971, in 1955 Tourist 125cc model was developed. In 1957 KTM built the first sports motorcycle Trophy 125cc, KTMs first moped, called Mecky was launched in 1957, followed by Ponny I in 1960 and Ponny II in 1962. The 1960s saw the beginning of the bicycle production, beside, KTM was also able to produce motorcycles for the racing industry. Two years later in 1982 Hans Trunkenpolz also died of a heart attack and its name was changed back to Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen. At that time, KTM had about 180 employees and a turnover of €3. 5m, in 1988, US subsidiary KTM North America Inc. was founded in Lorain, Ohio. International business then amounted to 72% of the company turnover, in 1990, it was renamed KTM Motorfahrzeugbau AG. Scooter and moped turnover sank rapidly, and production had to be halted in 1982, Erich Trunkenpolz died in 1989 and in 1991 KTM applied for insolvency
5.
Suzuki
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In 2014, Suzuki was thought to be the ninth biggest automaker by production worldwide. In addition, motorcycle is the third largest in the sales volume, outboard motor. In 1909, Michio Suzuki founded the Suzuki Loom Works in the small seacoast village of Hamamatsu, business boomed as Suzuki built weaving looms for Japans giant silk industry. In 1929, Michio Suzuki invented a new type of weaving machine, the companys first 30 years focused on the development and production of these machines. Despite the success of his looms, Suzuki believed that his company would benefit from diversification, based on consumer demand, he decided that building a small car would be the most practical new venture. The project began in 1937, and within two years Suzuki had completed several compact prototype cars and these first Suzuki motor vehicles were powered by a then-innovative, liquid-cooled, four-stroke, four-cylinder engine. It had a cast aluminum crankcase and gearbox and generated 13 horsepower from a displacement of less than 800cc, with the onset of World War II, production plans for Suzukis new vehicles were halted when the government declared civilian passenger cars a non-essential commodity. At the conclusion of the war, Suzuki went back to producing looms, Loom production was given a boost when the U. S. government approved the shipping of cotton to Japan. Suzukis fortunes brightened as orders began to increase from domestic textile manufacturers, but the joy was short-lived as the cotton market collapsed in 1951. Faced with this challenge, Suzuki returned to the production of motor vehicles. After the war, the Japanese had a great need for affordable, reliable personal transportation, a number of firms began offering clip-on gas-powered engines that could be attached to the typical bicycle. Suzukis first two-wheeled vehicle was a bicycle fitted with a motor called, designed to be inexpensive and simple to build and maintain, the 1952 Power Free had a 36 cc, one horsepower, two-stroke engine. The new double-sprocket gear system enabled the rider to either pedal with the engine assisting, pedal without engine assist, or simply disconnect the pedals, the patent office of the new democratic government granted Suzuki a financial subsidy to continue research in motorcycle engineering. By 1954, Suzuki was producing 6,000 motorcycles per month and had changed its name to Suzuki Motor Co. Ltd. Following the success of its first motorcycles, Suzuki created a more successful automobile. The Suzulight sold with front-wheel drive, four-wheel independent suspension and rack-and-pinion steering, Volkswagen held a 19. 9% non-controlling shareholding in Suzuki between 2009 and 2015. An international arbitration court ordered Volkswagen to sell the back to Suzuki. Suzuki paid $3. 8bn to complete the stock buy-back in September 2015, Michio Suzuki was intent on making better, more user-friendly looms and, for 30 years his focus was on the development of these machines
6.
Yamaha Motor Company
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Yamaha Motor Company Limited is a Japanese manufacturer of motorcycles, marine products such as boats and outboard motors, and other motorized products. The company was established in 1955 upon separation from Yamaha Corporation, the company conducts development, production and marketing operations through 109 consolidated subsidiaries as of 2012. Led by Genichi Kawakami, the company’s first president, Yamaha Motor began production of its first product, Yamahas initial product was a 125cc two-cycle, single cylinder motorcycle, the YA-1, which was a copy of the German DKW RT125. Yamaha began competing internationally in 1956 when they entered the Catalina Grand Prix, again with the YA-1, the YA-1 was followed by the YA-2 of 1957, another 125cc two stroke, but with significantly improved frame and suspension. The YD-1 of 1957 was a 250cc two-stroke twin cylinder motorcycle, resembling the YA-2, a performance version of this bike, the YDS-1 housed the 250cc two-stroke twin in a double downtube cradle frame and offered the first five-speed transmission in a Japanese motorcycle. This period also saw Yamaha offer its first outboard marine engine, by 1963 Yamahas dedication to both the two-stroke engine and racing paid off with their first victory in international competition, at the Belgium GP, where they won the 250cc class. Success in sales was even more impressive, and Yamaha set up the first of its subsidiaries in this period beginning with Thailand in 1964. 1965 saw the release of a 305cc two-stroke twin, the flagship of the companies lineup and it featured a separate oil supply which directly injected oil into the gasoline prior to combustion. In 1967 a new larger displacement model was added to the range, in 1968 Yamaha launched their first four-stroke motorcycle, the XS-1. Not until 1976 would Yamaha answer the other Japanese brands with a four stroke of their own. The XS-750 a 750cc triple cylinder machine with shaft drive was introduced almost seven years after Hondas breakthrough bike. Yamahas first four-cylinder model, the XS-1100 followed in 1978, again with shaft drive, despite being heavier and more touring oriented than its rivals it produced an impressive string of victories in endurance racing. The 1970s also saw some of the first dedicated off-road bikes for off-road racing, Yamaha was an early innovator in dirt-bike technology, and introduced the first single-shock rear suspension, the trademarked Monoshock of 1973. It appeared in production on the 1974 Yamaha YZ-250, a model which has continued in production, with updates, until 2015, making it Yamahas longest continuous model. Yamaha continued racing throughout the 1960s and 1970s with increasing success in several formats, the decade of the 1970s was capped by the XT500 winning the first Paris-Dakar Rally in 1979. By 1980 the combination of consumer preference and environmental regulation made four strokes increasingly popular, suzuki ended production of their GT two stroke series, including the flagship water-cooled two-stroke 750cc GT-750 in 1977. Kawasaki, who had success throughout the 1970s with their two-stroke triples of 250cc, 350cc, 500cc and 750cc ended production of road-going two strokes in 1980. Yamaha bucked this trend and continued to refine and sell two-strokes for the street into the 1980s and these bikes were performance oriented, water-cooled twin cylinder machines, designed to achieve excellent performance taking advantage of the lower weight of two strokes
7.
Motocross
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Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom, Motocross was first evolved in the U. K. from motorcycle trials competitions, such as the Auto-Cycle Clubss first quarterly trial in 1909 and the Scottish Six Days Trial that began in 1912. The first known scramble race took place at Camberley, Surrey in 1924, during the 1930s, the sport grew in popularity, especially in Britain where teams from the Birmingham Small Arms Company, Norton, Matchless, Rudge, and AJS competed in the events. Off-road bikes from that era differed little from those used on the street, the intense competition over rugged terrain led to technical improvements in motorcycles. The period after World War II was dominated by BSA which had become the largest motorcycle company in the world, BSA riders dominated international competitions throughout the 1940s. In 1952, the FIM, motorcyclings international governing body, created an individual European Championship using a 500 cc engine displacement formula, in 1957 it was upgraded to World Championship status. In 1962, a 250 cc world championship was created and it was in the smaller 250 cc category that companies with two-stroke motorcycles came into their own. Companies such as Husqvarna from Sweden, CZ from the former Czechoslovakia and Greeves from England, became popular due to their lightness, stars of the day included BSA works riders Jeff Smith and Arthur Lampkin, with Dave Bickers, Joe Johnson and Norman Brown on Greeves. By the 1960s, advancements in engine technology meant that the heavier. Riders from Belgium and Sweden began to dominate the sport during this period, the following year Hallman was joined by other motocross stars including Roger DeCoster, Joël Robert, and Dave Bickers. They dominated the event placing their lightweight two-strokes into the top six finishing positions, Motocross began to grow in popularity in the United States during this period, which fueled an explosive growth in the sport. By the late 1960s, Japanese motorcycle companies began challenging the European factories for supremacy in the motocross world, Suzuki claimed the first world championship for a Japanese factory when Joël Robert won the 1970250 cc crown. The first stadium motocross event was held in 1972 at the Los Angeles Coliseum, in 1975, a 125 cc world championship was introduced. European riders continued to dominate throughout the 1970s but, by the 1980s, American riders had caught up. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Japanese motorcycle manufacturers presided over a period in motocross technology. The typical two-stroke air-cooled, twin-shock rear suspension gave way to machines that were water-cooled and fitted with single-shock absorber rear suspension. By 2003, increasingly stringent environmental laws in California forced some manufacturers to develop environmentally friendly four-stroke technology, by 2004, all the major manufacturers have begun competing with four-stroke machines. European firms also experienced a resurgence with Husqvarna, Husaberg, the sport evolved with sub-disciplines such as stadium events known as supercross and arenacross held in indoor arenas
8.
Types of motorcycles
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There are many systems for classifying types of motorcycles, describing how the motorcycles are put to use, or the designers intent, or some combination of the two. Six main categories are recognized, cruiser, sport, touring, standard, dual-purpose. Sometimes sport touring motorcycles are recognized as a seventh category, strong lines are sometimes drawn between motorcycles and their smaller cousins, mopeds, scooters, and underbones, but other classification schemes include these as types of motorcycles. There is no system for classifying all types of motorcycles. There are also informal classifications or nicknames used by manufacturers, riders, street motorcycles are motorcycles designed for being ridden on paved roads. They have smooth tires with a tread pattern and engines generally in the 125 cc. Most are capable of speeds up to 100 mph, and many of speeds in excess of 125 mph, standards, also called naked bikes or roadsters, are versatile, general-purpose street motorcycles. They are recognized primarily by their upright riding position, partway between the reclining posture of the cruisers and the forward leaning sport bikes. Footpegs are below the rider and handlebars are high enough to not force the rider to reach far forward, because of their flexibility, lower costs and their engines of moderate output, standards are particularly suited to motorcycle beginners. Standards usually do not come with fairings or windscreens, or if they have them, standard is often a synonym for naked bike, a term that became popular in the 1990s in response to the proliferation of fully faired sport bikes. The standard seemed to have disappeared, fueling nostalgia for the return of the Universal Japanese Motorcycle, which were admired for their simplicity, quality, and versatility. Muscle bike is a nickname for a type, derived from either a standard or sport bike design. Roadster is equivalent to standard or naked, cruisers are styled after American machines from the 1930s to the early 1960s, such as those made by Harley-Davidson, Indian, and Excelsior-Henderson. Harley-Davidsons largely define the category, and large-displacement V-twin engines are the norm, although other engine configurations. Their engines are tuned for torque, making them less demanding to ride because it is not necessary to shift as frequently to accelerate or maintain control. The riding position places the feet forward and the hands are up relatively high, cruisers have limited cornering ability due to a lack of ground clearance. Choppers are a type of cruiser, so called because they are a chopped, or cut-down, choppers are usually custom projects that result in a bike modified to suit the owners ideals, and, as such, are a source of pride and accomplishment. Stereotypically, a chopper may have raked-out forks, small fuel tanks, choppers were popularised in the Peter Fonda film Easy Rider
9.
Race track
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A race track is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals. A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses, racetracks are also used in the study of animal locomotion. Some motorsport tracks are called speedways, a racetrack is a permanent facility or building. Racecourse is a term for a horse racing track, found in countries such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, Hong Kong. Race tracks built for bicycles are known as velodromes, circuit is a common alternate term for racetrack, given the circuit configuration of most race tracks, allowing races to occur over several laps. A race course, as opposed to a racecourse, is a term for non-permanent tracks for sports, particularly running, water sports, road racing. Many sports usually held on racetracks also can occur on temporary tracks, there is some evidence of racetracks being developed in several ancient civilizations. The most developed ancient racetracks were the hippodromes of the Ancient Greeks, both of these structures were designed for horse and chariot racing. The stadium of the Circus Maximus in Ancient Rome could hold 200,000 spectators, racing facilities existed during the Middle Ages, and there are records of a public racecourse being opened at Newmarket in London in 1174. In 1780 the Earl of Derby created a course on his estate at Epsom. Racecourses in the British Isles are based on grass, known as turf tracks, in the United States, the race tracks are dirt. With the advent of the automobile in the late twentieth century. The earliest tracks were modified horse racing courses, racing automobiles in such facilities began in September 1896, at Narragansett Park in Cranston, Rhode Island. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was opened in August 1909, beginning in the early 1900s, motorcycle races were run on high, banked, wooden race tracks called board tracks. During the 1920s, many of the races on the AAA Championship circuit were run on board tracks. Modern racetracks are designed with safety being paramount, following incidents of spectator. These often involve run off areas, barriers, and high fencing, several racetracks are incorporated into larger venues or complexes, incorporating golf courses, museums, hotels, and conference centres. Some racetracks are small enough to be contained indoors, for such as motocross, cycling
10.
Daytona International Speedway
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Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, in addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, USCC, SCCA, and Motocross. The tracks 180-acre infield includes the 29-acre Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing, the speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation. The track was built in 1959 by NASCAR founder William Bill France and his banked design permitted higher speeds and gave fans a better view of the cars. Lights were installed around the track in 1998, and today it is the third-largest single lit outdoor sports facility, the speedway has been renovated three times, with the infield renovated in 2004 and the track repaved in 1978 and 2010. On January 22,2013, the track unveiled artist depictions of a renovated speedway, on July 5,2013, ground was broken on the project that removed backstretch seating and completely redevelop the frontstretch seating. The renovation to the speedway was constructed by Design-Builder Barton Malow Company in partnership with Rossetti Architects, after the renovations were completed, the tracks grandstands include 101,000 permanent seats with the ability to increase permanent seating to 125,000. The project was finished before the start of Speedweeks in 2016, NASCAR founder William France Sr. began planning for the track in 1953 as a way to promote the series, which at the time was racing on the Daytona Beach Road Course. France met with Daytona Beach engineer Charles Moneypenny to discuss his plans for the speedway and he wanted the track to have the highest banking possible to allow the cars to reach high speeds and to give fans a better view of the cars on track. Moneypenny traveled to Detroit, Michigan to visit the Ford Proving Grounds which had a high-speed test track with banked corners, Ford shared their engineering reports of the track with Moneypenny, providing the needed details of how to transition the pavement from a flat straightaway to a banked corner. France took the plans to the Daytona Beach city commission, who supported his idea, the city commission agreed to lease the 447-acre parcel of land adjacent to Daytona Beach Municipal Airport to Frances corporation for $10,000 a year over a 50-year period. France then began working on building funding for the project and found support from a Texas oil millionaire, Murchison loaned France $600,000 along with the construction equipment necessary to build the track. France was also able to secure funding from Pepsi-Cola, General Motors designer Harley Earl, ground broke on construction of the 2. 5-mile speedway on November 25,1957. To build the high banking, crews had to excavate over a million yards of soil from the tracks infield. 22 tons of lime mortar had to be brought in to form the tracks binding base, because of the extreme degree of banking, Moneypenny had to come up with a way to pave the incline. He connected the paving equipment to bulldozers anchored at the top of the banking and this would allow the paving equipment to pave the banking without slipping or rolling down the incline. Moneypenny subsequently patented his method and later designed Talladega Superspeedway. By December 1958, France had begun to run out of money, the first practice run on the new track began on February 6,1959
Jason Anderson
Mickael Pichon
Chad Reed
Grant Langston
Pierre Karsmakers
