The biggest and most important show in motorcycling, EICMA, is going on in Milan this week. Ducati have got in early, with an Apple-style product launch on stage in a theatre setting.

The chances to race a national mile track as an amateur are very limited, but now is your chance to

RACE THE SACRAMENTO MILE!

... and it happens the day after the GNC National. This is a dream set-up. Do a race school on Friday, watch the National on Saturday and race on Sunday.

You need an AMA licence, $40 or so.
Good leathers and modern Snell-approved helmet
You must pre-enter - through California Flat Track Association.

Above and below. Qualifying streamlining. #44 Brandon Robinson finished fourth in the main. #7 Sammy Halbert's comparatively so-so results continued. He came seventh, losing a place to Brad Baker on the run to the line. The race he was nailed on to win, Lima, ended early when his bike broke.
#16 Young gun Wyatt Maguire made the main, coming in 14th.
Coolbeth, #2, had another great start, but faded to finish in no man's land in fifth, away from the leading four, but more than four seconds ahead of sixth.
I'm really interested in Jake Johnson and the Lloyd's Brothers' Ramspur team. This year Jake has run an XR750, Ducati 1000 and, above, a Kawasaki 650. Plus he runs a Honda on the short tracks and TTs. Who else, at the very highest level, runs four different makes of bike in one season (all in the same team's colours)?

The full main event. The video is nearly 50 minutes, but the actual race is much shorter. You can skip the interviews at the end if you're tight for time. G

These photos came in ages ago, but I was away, so I never got around to posting them. Still worth a quick flick through. This is the Sacramento Mile, from back on 27 July.
Bryan Smith #42 won, starting a rush of wins for Kawasakis. We have two great features lined up for SB15 about Kawasaki twins.
Brad Baker, #12, was fourth on the XR750

From qualifying.
#2 Coolbeth made the main on the factory H-D. #49 Chad Cose didn't make it through the semis. Veteran rider, Dan Ingram #31, DNF'd in the semi.

Johnny Lewis #10, transferred straight to the main on his Latus Triumph and came 15th, one place behind Mikey Martin's Triumph. #59 Willie McCoy was 10th in the main.

Sammy Halbert was on the comeback trail after an injury and operation over the winter. He came fifth, but the season would turn sour a few days later when he crashed at a non-GNC race at Sturgis.
Coolbeth #2, Robert Pearson #27, Jake Johnson #5 (on one his last rides for Zanotti), Mikey Martin #91.
In The main, there were 9 x XR750, 6 x Kawasaki, 2 x Triumph, 1 x Ducati.
Close finish. First to Sammy Halbert in fifth was just 0.223 seconds.
1. Smith; 2. Mees; 3. Robinson.
1. Kaw; 2. H-D; 3. Kaw.

All photos courtesy of AMA Pro Racing.

This is a short report from Patrick of the Sang Froid Riding Club on his trip from Portland to Sacramento for the GNC Mile race earlier this year. Patrick makes the Broke Bone patches we sell.
I just realized I never got back to you about the Sacramento Mile. That Mile was some of the best motorcycle racing I've ever seen, for a number of reasons. An extra $50 or so (not much) lets you go anywhere on the infield; you can stand at the entrance of turn one when the freight train roars by, get blasted with a mixture of dirt, rubber, and race fuel. 
The crowd was enthusiastic and the stands keep them grouped close, which amplifies the excitement. The last couple laps of the Expert main I was up in the stands, and we were on our feet, everyone cheering like crazy. Great stuff. The Pro main, where Shanya Texter won, was equally as impressive.
The pits are open too (all day if you have a pit pass, after the races otherwise), so you can walk up and shoot the bull with the tuners and riders. 
The track's also open for walking, both before and after the races. So in a nutshell - an absolute blast, I'd go to another in a heartbeat.
The ride down was outstanding too, the RC51 ran like a top and returned with a knackered rear tire - perfect excuse for big burnouts at the local bar at homecoming.

Below, The Broke Bone patch. The idea is you sew it on your riding kit where you've broken a bone in an accident. It's a badge of honour. Evel cleared us out, a while back, but we've restocked.

Sammy Halbert came fifth. His brother Jethro, made it through the semis to finish 11th.
UPDATE: Sammy and Cory Texter (Shayna's brother) are complaining about the restrictors the XR's have to use on Instagram.
Jared Mees, 3rd in the Main. He leads the combined GNC title.
Briar Bauman, from Sideburn 10, didn't make the Main.
 Jared Mees (9) and Jake Johnson (1) have been head to head in the twins races all year. Jake won the Dash for Cash, J-Rod was second. Jake came second in the Main.

We have a great, in-depth story on Jake's Zanotti XR750 and what makes it so competitive, in Sideburn 11.
 Brandon Robinson, who came to race us in the UK when he was 16, is now on the Werner Springsteen Kawasaki and came fourth (career best, in the twins class, I think).
 I love it when the bikes run two different wheels. This is Mikey Avila.
Another view of the winner's Howerton Kawasaki.
YEAH! After bashing himself up at the Springfield TT, Mikey Martin showed his potential with a 9th in the main on the Bonneville Performance Triumph. We also have a great story on this bike, in Sideburn 11, written by the man who built the bike,  Bill Gately.
51 is Steve Murray on the KTM in the heats. He made the main and came 15th. In the main, won by a Kawasaki, were three Kawasakis, one KTM, one Ducati, one Triumph and 12 H-D XR750s.

Shayna Texter won her first Pro Singles Mile on Saturday night (after winning the Knoxville Half-Mile last year). I wonder how she will do when moves up to the twins.
Read about her in Sideburn 5. G