Following six successful years at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, years that have seen AMD's World Championship of Custom Bike Building become established and respected as a leading showcase for innovative custom motorcycle design and engineering, the 9th annual World Championship at Sturgis this August (5th thru 8th) will be the last to be staged at the rally.
From next year's 10th annual, the World Championship of Custom Bike Building will debut at BIG BIKE EUROPE, at Essen in Germany (May 10th thru 12th 2013) and thereafter be staged annually at BIG BIKE EUROPE every May.
Slated as the all new 'headquarters expo' for the custom parts, accessory, workshop, tuning and performance industry, BIG BIKE EUROPE will conjoin the World and European Championships.
So far four 'Team USA' qualification places are confirmed and funded for the 2013 10th annual AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building at the new Big Bike Europe parts and accessories industry expo in Germany in May next year
Instead of qualifying European Championship and international World Championship affiliate event winners going to America to compete in the World Championship, BIG BIKE EUROPE and the World Championship program will instead be offering qualifying American custom bike builders the opportunity to travel to Europe to compete internationally as part of a 'TEAM USA' concept being headed up by respected custom motorcycle industry veteran Bob Kay and the Biker Pros team.
As a first 'TEAM USA' announcement BIG BIKE EUROPE and the AMD World Championship program are confirming that the top three highest placed domestic US based competing builders in the FreeStyle Class at this year's Sturgis World Championship will win automatic qualification to participate at the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building at BIG BIKE EUROPE in Germany.
In further AMD World Championship program news this month, it has now been confirmed that Biker Pros will be operating a two-day AMD World Championship affiliate custom bike show at the Harley-Davidson Museum in downtown Milwaukee on the Labor Day holiday weekend (August 31st thru September 1st) followed by Harley-Davidson's traditional one-day Ride-In Custom Bike Show on Sunday September 2nd.
The AMD affiliate show will feature $7,000 in FreeStyle Class prize money (with trophies and prizes down to 5th place) courtesy of Harley-Davidson.
In addition, BIG BIKE EUROPE and the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building are announcing that the highest placed domestic US based competitor in the FreeStyle Class at Milwaukee will also be awarded automatic qualification to compete at the 2013 10th annual World Championship at BIG BIKE EUROPE in May next year as a member of 'TEAM USA'.
Commenting on the new direction the AMD World Championship program is taking, AMD publisher and founder Robin Bradley said: "Sturgis has served us well down the years and we'd especially like to thank Harley-Davidson for their support in helping us to be able to stage the World Championship at the rally.
"However, the news about the AMD affiliate custom bike competition at the Harley-Davidson Museum sees our relationship with Harley taking a new and exciting direction. I have always maintained that if there were just one, and one only, better place for AMD to be able to be showcasing custom motorcycle design and engineering excellence in the United States than at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, then Milwaukee, the mother-lode of our industry, would be it."
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OF CUSTOM BIKE BUILDING
www.amdchampionship.com
