Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

It has been stated on this site that AMA Pro-racing has turned down a Clear Channel Entertainment Motor Sports sanctioned/promoted SuperMoto race scheduled for Saturday, October 4 at Del Mar, California. The AMA also turned down a $25,000 sanction fee. I understand the Del Mar event is in its fourth year with Mike Kidd, with a six year history prior to that. The Del Mar race also has a $15,000 purse, and will pay $3000 to win.

AMA Pro Racing has now announced to run a round of its SuperMoto Series in Columbus, Ohio on October 5. Which is surprising, as the AMA was against holding the race on that day. The AMA wanted to hold the race on October 4, as this would allow the AMA to hold the Hall of Fame inductee program in Pickerington the next day without any conflicts. But the promoter saw a better opportunity to make money on Sunday and went ahead with their plans. Ideas of holding the race on Saturday or under the lights Saturday night were considered, but again Sunday was the day pushed by the promoter. To my knowledge no purse has been announced.

To quote Roadracingworld.com: “Two rounds of the inaugural AMA SuperMoto Series have fallen off the schedule: Colorado [which was subsequently run without AMA sanction] and Atlanta. Two of the promised six races in the 2003 AMA Series have been held, and a season finale has been scheduled for Las Vegas, but the remaining events have not been confirmed or announced.”

With these basic facts, my question to AMA/Pro-Racing and everyone else involved in the series is this: Why? Why turn down a event from what appears to be a legitimate promoter with a purse, only to pick up a race the DAY OF your Hall of Fame event? Why, in a series that needs legitimacy and support, would you turn down ANY good opportunity to get your 3 races in before the season ender in Las Vegas? Why further ruin an already dismal start to what could have been a great series? Why not salvage some respect?

I don’t have all the answers, but here’s what I would do. Pick up phone and call Mike Kidd. Get the Del Mar race and sanction it. I’d see if I could award double championship points for the races, to make up for the races that have failed. Make the racers want to be there. Better yet, run two races a la superbike if possible for the fans. The event would be a bright spot in an already dim season.

Then I’d move the Columbus race two or three weeks after the Del Mar event. There is NOTHING wrong with saying ‘we need to think for the better of the series and do what’s right for the sport’. This gives the AMA/the promoter time to crank up the PR machine. Racing in Ohio on Oct. 25th? Hey, it’s not all that bad. And you now have ‘The SuperMoto Halloween Showdown’ to me. Double the points, run two races. Get a purse together. Promote the heck out of it. What if Farrow H-D gets hung up over moving the date? Honda, KTM and Cycra have interests in Ohio and are right up the road, so get their names on it. The Hall of Fame event? The AMA was reluctant to grant a Sunday race in the first place. The supermoto race is just an add-on. A good one, but it could be a great one unto itself.

And while you are at it, while all this is going on, get on the phone before the Vegas race and put an event on at the LA Coliseum in November. Can’t do it there? Find someplace that can. Hmmmmm. Multi-tasking? You bet your @ss it is. And while you are at it, think 2004, baby. You wanna blow some lids? Incorporate your arenacross and supercross series with some supermotard action on the schedule. Wouldn’t that be great! A supercross/arenacross event, with a Motard race the next/previous day after the dozers worked all night. One ticket, two days for action. That, race fans, would rock. Think of who would be there to race. Think how long the season would could be. I mean, has ANYONE put any thought in the potential of tapping into this promotion-wise? Or am I just cuckoo-cuckoo for cocoa puffs [R] here?

I’m speaking as a concerned Supermoto fan, and a motorcycle enthusiast. I want to see what’s good for the sport and what’s good for the fans. I’m frustrated by the lack of thought put into this series. I’m frustrated by the somewhat unrealistic expectations everyone has placed on this series. Hey AMA, you have 3 weeks to change the plans. That’s plenty of time.

Here’s one last question to ponder: Where do you think McGrath and the big names will be racing that October weekend? Think about it.

Pete Cline
Columbus, Ohio