RENO, NV (March 24, 2024) — This May the Stadium Grand Prix will be held at the outdoor arena, the same venue the Reno Rodeo uses. It’s a partnership between two long time friends.
Paul Zielger is a co-owner of Reno Motorsports and co-founder of the MRANN Series that stages motorcycle off-road events.
Tina Honea has been around motorcycles for a long time and even competed in MRANN. She’s a local realtor, race announcer and her husband Reece is a Virginia Grand Prix winner’
Asked how the idea came about Zielger said,” We always go to the Reno Rodeo, Tina and I do and the Virginia City Grand Prix. We’re always like, ‘why is there not an event in Reno,’ in this great arena we have. We’ve talked about it for the last couple of years and finally we did something about it.”
They contacted Mike Mierras, a former MRANN racer, then had a meeting with him and the RSCVA at the Livestock Events Center. The result was renting the rodeo arena for a week to have the event this year.
“I’ve heard they had a race in 1994 and before that at a county fair. Before that in the late 70’s and early 80’s they would have events here.
Honea added, “The Stadium Grand Prix is a reflection of our community, bringing our local community together with the Motorcycle racing community as well.”
Then Ziegler said, “The whole idea is to have like a Rodeo type atmosphere event but with motorcycles, that’s our goal. We want to be like the Reno Rodeo, they’re our idol. Where the Reno Rodeo has all this stuff, we have a non-profit so hopefully we can have something like the kids doing rodeos for the kids racing.”
He explained the course goes in and out of the arena so it will have a GP element in the event. It will be outside and not indoor where they do Arenacross.
Asked about the event Honea said, “All the classes from professional all the way back to beginner. We’re going to name our classes different so we’re going to have Class 1, Class 2, Class 3.
“How that’s going to work is that Class 1 is probably your Expert/Intermediate, Class 3 is your Beginners and they’re going to qualify for that night show depending on their daytime lap times. And that’s how they are going to qualify for the night so that will be exciting.“
They also are planning to have some interesting main events plus classes for about everyone.
“We’re hopefully going to have like really competitive main events. We’ll have a Stacyc race, 50’s,65’s, 85’s, Women, and then we have some expedition races, Adventure Bikes, Dual Cylinder or Street Legal. We also have three-wheelers but have to be a traditional three wheeler can’t be a kit and there will have to be at least eight entries to make that class happen,” she said.
Asked about the schedule Ziegler said, “We’re going to have some surprise events, some entertainment. The events are going to be a little bit shorter like the Rodeo. We’ll have a main show Friday and Saturday night from 7 till 10. And on Thursday we’ll have qualifying and practice and a kick-off party band on Thursday night. Like from 7 to 9. We have a band signed for that event.”
Then he continued, “The response has been over whelming, we’ve had all the dealers in Reno are all behind it, that’s what is making it happen. The dealers is where we’ll be selling tickets and I think we’ll have a list of seven local businesses or six that are going to be selling tickets for this event.”
Both Honea and Ziegler are optimistic and looking forward to this event. They hope to make an annual event, something the motorcycle racing community will look forward to being a part of.
They are still looking for vendors to help with the event. So if one is interested and needs more information please go to www.info@stadiumgp.com.
All competitor registration is on line and not at the gate the day of the event. Those wishing to compete in this event please sign up at, www.stadiumgp.com.
OTHER RACING NEWS:
• This Tuesday, starting at 6:30 p.m. Trucks & Tacos of Northern Nevada will meet at Cielito Lindo. The address is 3687 Kings Row in Reno.
• Davey’s American Racing is found on Face Book. His focus is on western oval tracks as well as national series.
He recently started his broadcasts so to check Face Book around 6 p.m. Wednesday.
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SPONSOR LIST:
• If you enjoyed this article please “like,” and share it as widely as possible. Comments are welcome.
Subscribers have articles posted to their inbox as soon as they are up on the site.
We now have six very appreciated sponsors supporting this site. Please patronize them as they support your sport and help nvracingnews continue. And let them know you heard about them through this site.
• Our newest sponsor is State Farm agent Kelby Schoorl, who was a racer in his younger days. He has some supplemental insurance that racers might be interested in checking out.
There is medical that covers visits to the ER, ambulance rides and if a person has to stay in a hospital. In addition trailers as well as tools and tools in shops can be covered with additional policies.
If Kelby isn’t available the other guys at his office will be very happy to explain what they can offer both to racers and those enjoying motorized recreation.
Office hours are from 9 until 5: 30 Monday through Friday, appointments are needed on Saturday. The phone number is 775-827-2255 or at his website, www.kelby@insuringreno.com.
• One of our sponsors is General Transmission and Power Train Specialists owned by former motorcycle racer Pete Attashian. The shop is located at 890 Gentry Way.
The shop services older and new transmissions and now has a section for high performance units and those used in towing. Phone number is 775-786-5888 and the shop’s website is www.generaltransmissionreno.com.
Two of our sponsors are first class motorcycle shops located in Reno.
• Our first sponsor is Reno Motorsports (RMS). Not only do they have about anything a rider might want or need and the store also has a full service shop.
Their location is at 964 Terminal Way, by the intersection with Mill Street. Store’s phone number is 775-322-1499 and the site is, www.rms-renomotorsports.com.
• The next shop is Moto-Source located at 3180 Mill Street. Once again they are a full service shop plus the showroom has about any thing a rider might need or want.
The phone number is 775-856-3855 and the website is,www.moto-source.com.
• Concours Body Shop, located at 250 Telegraph Street in Reno, is another sponsor. The shop does quality collision repair for cars and trucks.
Owner Brian Saul is a car enthusiast himself and is committed to continuing the shop’s reputation of quality work. Phone number is 775-329-4557 and the website is, www.concoursbodyshop.net.
• Hungry, want a great place to eat, then try PJ&CO for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and it’s a great place to watch your favorite sports. Wednesday evenings, starting around 5 p.m. is Bike Night, good time to meet fellow riders and have a great dinner.
The location is 1590 South Wells Avenue, just north of the round about. Phone number is 775-323-6366 and their website is www.pjandco.net.
Have a business targeted toward motorsports or car enthusiasts? This site is a great way to expose your services to those communities. Sponsorships are very reasonable and one can contact us either through the comment section of this site or on our Face Book page.
