Biggest race of the year at MMP keeps everyone from hoteliers to cops in high gear

Racing fans and businesses will be in top gear this weekend as the HANNspree Superbike World Championship rolls into Miller Motorsports Park. The race, which is MMP’s biggest of the year, is expected to be viewed by a worldwide audience of 120 million viewers in 175 countries.

Roughly 20,000 of those spectators will be at the track from Friday through Sunday, joining 1,000 drivers and crew members already in Tooele preparing for the races, according to John Gardner, media manager at MMP.

Before the first checkered flag even falls, the event has already resulted in a surge in business for local hotels and restaurants.

“We have been completely booked for this weekend since December 2008,” said Moriah Hooper, front desk clerk at Best Western Inn Tooele. “Whenever there is a weekend event at Miller Motorsports Park we are full.”

The Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites are also booked up for the races, primarily with crew members, according to Carrie Cushman, general manager.

“Most of our customers for the race are crew members that come in early, as opposed to fans that stay for the weekend,” Cushman said.

Applebees is bracing for a rush of race fans and crew members, based on last year’s Superbike races.

“Last year we were very busy during the races,” said Applebees manager Mike Osterud. “A lot of our business comes from crew members staying at the Holiday Inn. Our biggest problem last year was explaining Utah’s liquor laws to people from out of the country.”

Sostanza, Tooele’s newest fine-dining restaurant, wants to distribute flyers at the races to help race goers find their new place on Tooele’s Main Street, according to co-owner Teri Ellsworth.

Tracks Brewing Company is sponsoring two events this weekend in conjunction with the Superbike races to draw in fans. The first is a motorcycle helmet auction that will be a fundraiser for Biker’s Against Child Abuse.

“BACA gets a professional artist to decorate the helmets and then we auction them off,” said Tracks owner Dayne Applegate.

The second event is the appearance of the Corona race team at Tracks on Saturday night to sign autographs.

The Tooele County Chamber of Commerce will be doing live broadcasts from Denny’s with the Miller Group’s KFAN1320 AM radio during the Superbike races.

“We have several tickets to the races that we will be giving away on air,” said Debbie Winn, executive director of the Tooele County Chamber of Commerce. “We will also be doing spot adds inviting race goers to come in to Tooele to shop.”

MMP will pay for three Tooele County Sheriff’s Office deputies and three Utah Highway Patrol officers to be on site to provide security for the event.

“They will patrol the motorsports park, the parking lot, and nearby roads, and respond to any calls for emergency services,” said Tooele County Sheriff Frank Park.

Superbike fans were well behaved last year, Park said.

“We have had very few problems with the bike races in the past,” Park said. “The people are good and with the races not all starting or ending at the same time we do not have the problem with traffic flow like with some other events.”

Superbike is a boon to the county overall, according to Tooele County Commissioner Bruce Clegg.

“We are really excited to have the Superbike race here in Tooele County,” said Clegg. “It is a positive thing for the county, and it brings a lot of people here to the county that help our businesses, as well as the huge television audience that will see Tooele County.”

Tim Gillie: tgillie@tooeletranscript.com