3 Damn Good First Person/Opinion Articles on the Future of Roadracing in the US

[Randy]

I gotta admit, when I first heard of the sale of AMA Pro Racing to DMG, I was very excited. I knew the pockets were deep and the business sense was there. What I didn't expect is that they would try to alienate the current fan base and current race participants/factories in the process.

From a manager of a privateer team

From a club racer/fan

From a moto-journalist

 

[Stephen]

The timing for all this is REALLY bad. The economy is in the worst condition since the Great Depression. Thousands of small businesses are failing every day due to the high cost of doing business and eliminating profit margins to bare minimums or none at all. Big business are reeling in their expenses, and sponsorships are declining. NASCAR is hurting badly, in a couple of fronts... sponsors, human relations and declining fan base. Just open any financial publication and the info is on front page.

Motorcycle racing has played second fiddle to car racing all throughout history. I don't see that changing. DMG may have a business plan to try to change that, however we can see, by reading all the comments by principles actually involved in the racing, that the plan is flawed in many ways.

I have a suspicious feeling that "THEY" wouldn't mind getting rid of all foreign competition and just have a Harley/Buell (red, white and blue ONLY) series. I suspect that DMG knows all too well that their most fanatic fan base (car & motorcycle) is mostly "redneck" folk... midwestern-southern population. A John Deer motorcycle would probably be the winning solution! :blink:

All this might be mute if the economy was booming.

 

[Randy]

They may be banking on some of this, Stephen. DMG may go to major potential sponsors and say 'I understand you can't spend $20M on your NASCAR sponsorship program - here's an alternative - major title sponsorship for a motorcycle race team for < $1M'

 

[GunMD]

All three are great articles. Thanks for posting. There are more than a few good points to note in their opinions.

 

[Auburn]

Read them the other day also. I really like the fact the John Ulrich will not shy away from issues and will publish commentary like those three. I am hoping he will comment in the near future from his point of view especially since he is on the AMA board of directors still.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

The timing for all this is REALLY bad. The economy is in the worst condition since the Great Depression.

yada, yada, yada...

Motorcycle racing has historically flourished in times of economic hardship -- it's not just a sport for rich playboys.

Motorcycle racing has played second fiddle to car racing all throughout history.

Are you sure about that? I think, in the early days of motorsport, motorcycle racing enjoyed far more popularity. Car racing, while sometimes a bigger spectacle, took place at far fewer venues.

I have a suspicious feeling that "THEY" wouldn't mind getting rid of all foreign competition and just have a Harley/Buell (red, white and blue ONLY) series. I suspect that DMG knows all too well that their most fanatic fan base (car & motorcycle) is mostly "redneck" folk... midwestern-southern population.

If it were close racing and no one was blatantly cheating -- might work?

Motorcycle racing has been a very exciting form of motorsport -- almost regardless of engine size. For years, I was totally enraptured by Grand Prix motorcycle racing when the fastest bikes had engine sizes of 250cc, 350cc, and 500cc.

Americans do tend to be "hung-up" on engine size ("size matters", "bigger is better"). :blink: I tend to agree with those who want the Daytona 200 to be an FX race -- if Buell/H-D made their engine even bigger their FX bike would be even slower and even more unreliable.

The engine-size hang-up (1000cc Superbike) does seem like a insurmountable hurdle -- as long as Americans continue to be so 'number conscious' about engine size. Maybe, $5/$6/$7+... gas will moderate that attitude somewhat?

Things change...., and DMG is doing the changing -- I wish them luck. Some of the things they've said, like: "...Attending a race and not knowing who's going to win beforehand." -- strike a responsive chord with me.

 

[feejer222]

"the announcement that Mid-Ohio, VIR, Road Atlanta, and Infineon are now going to be rain events "

Can you explain this one for me please Randy? It's taken from the first article and the guy goes on to complain about racing in the rain, have I got the wrong end of the stick?

The article from the club racer makes a good point about losing the superbike class. It's madness. How will you develope riders to go to world level? They will not only be in at the deep end when they get a world ride but will also have to learn a bigger bike. That means that they will only ever be considered for world supersports and have to wait maybe another 2 years before getting into the superbike class.

The UK racing is structured as follows:

Superbike: Usually 2 man teams fielded by big sponsors. Very tricked up bikes and the races that everyone goes to see. World class riders.

Superbike cup: Run at the same time as the superbike race differentiated by different coloured plates. One man low cost efforts for those who can compete with the big boys but are on a tight budget. Quite often they beat the riders in the main race and can finish top fifteen on a good day.

Superstock: Stock 1000cc bikes with strict rules on changes. Largely standard bikes. This is the main feeder class for the superbikes.

Supersport: 600's on similar rules to the superbikes.

Junior superstocks: 600's on the same rules as superstocks.

It seems your series will be considerably watered down. I doubt that this is a good thing for your racing both from world competition and spectator/sponsorship viewpoints. It's a shame that it's happening, I don't know a lot about it, but it looks wrong to me.

 

[tstaff]

Things change...., and DMG is doing the changing -- I wish them luck. Some of the things they've said, like: "...Attending a race and not knowing who's going to win beforehand." -- strike a responsive chord with me.

Gunny that!

Nobody likes change, but its coming.

Roadracing in the US may go backwards for a couple of years.

They need to improve the product they are selling, put the fans first & stop catering to the factory's & their riders.

 

[tstaff]

"the announcement that Mid-Ohio, VIR, Road Atlanta, and Infineon are now going to be rain events "Can you explain this one for me please Randy? It's taken from the first article and the guy goes on to complain about racing in the rain, have I got the wrong end of the stick?

If the British fans would see the racetracks that our professional riders refuse to race on, they wouldn't stop laughing for a week, I'm not sure how Neil Hodgson keeps a straight face.

 

[Stephen]

Gunny that!Nobody likes change, but its coming.

Roadracing in the US may go backwards for a couple of years.

They need to improve the product they are selling, put the fans first & stop catering to the factory's & their riders.

Isn't this a "What comes first, the chicken or the egg" thing?

 

[tstaff]

Isn't this a "What comes first, the chicken or the egg" thing?

It is, but from a fan that has stood around & stared at a dry racetrack at Mid-Ohio while the "professionals" play games with the AMA on more than one occasion, something needs to change.

I don't remember Kevin, Wayne, Bubba, Fred, Doug, & countless others "Not" racing in the rain, even before multimillions have been spent in safety improvements at M-O.

The inmates can't run the asylum!

I hope DMG is a step in the right direction.

 

[Kaelaria]

All this might be mute if the economy was booming.

Moot.

 

[Randy]

"the announcement that Mid-Ohio, VIR, Road Atlanta, and Infineon are now going to be rain events "Can you explain this one for me please Randy? It's taken from the first article and the guy goes on to complain about racing in the rain, have I got the wrong end of the stick?

Nope. Not the wrong end of the stick. Those tracks have spots that have minimal runoff areas and, in the rain, makes it that much more dangerous. Additionally, with Mid Ohio, there are various track surfaces with very inconsistent adhesion in the wet.

The article from the club racer makes a good point about losing the superbike class. It's madness. How will you develope riders to go to world level? They will not only be in at the deep end when they get a world ride but will also have to learn a bigger bike. That means that they will only ever be considered for world supersports and have to wait maybe another 2 years before getting into the superbike class.

The new regime is not interested in being a development program. They want racers to become brands and stick around.

The UK racing is structured as follows:
Superbike: Usually 2 man teams fielded by big sponsors. Very tricked up bikes and the races that everyone goes to see. World class riders.

Superbike cup: Run at the same time as the superbike race differentiated by different coloured plates. One man low cost efforts for those who can compete with the big boys but are on a tight budget. Quite often they beat the riders in the main race and can finish top fifteen on a good day.

Superstock: Stock 1000cc bikes with strict rules on changes. Largely standard bikes. This is the main feeder class for the superbikes.

Supersport: 600's on similar rules to the superbikes.

Junior superstocks: 600's on the same rules as superstocks.

It seems your series will be considerably watered down. I doubt that this is a good thing for your racing both from world competition and spectator/sponsorship viewpoints. It's a shame that it's happening, I don't know a lot about it, but it looks wrong to me.

There are many programs around the world that have a better setup than what they are proposing. I'm not a big fan of what they're talking about doing to the sport I love.