From a press release issued by Zoom Motorsports:

BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK WILL NOT HOST A MOTO GP FOR 2005

(Birmingham, AL)- Zoom Motorsports, the exclusive event promoter for the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, announced today that Birmingham will not be the site of the United States Grand Prix in 2005. Gene Hallman, President and CEO of Zoom, notified Moto GP rights holder Dorna this week that the Barber Motorsports Park should no longer be considered for a 2005 date. “Dorna has been very patient with us. We have worked together for months trying to finalize a 2005 Moto GP for the Barber Motorsports Park,” said Hallman. “We will continue to work on a possible future Moto GP for the Barber Motorsports Park.”

Many considered the Barber Motorsports Park the premier site to host a Grand Prix in the United States. Moto GP attracts millions of spectators to its events annually and reaches hundreds of millions of viewers in more than 200 countries through television broadcasts.

Zoom Motorsports researched other Moto GP events and found that most promoters received public sector funding. Due to the sanctioning fee and race expenses, Zoom Motorsports felt strongly that it needed a certain level of guaranteed public sector funding prior to assuming the financial risk of hosting a Moto GP. “While we had some success in our public sector fund raising efforts, we fell short of our overall goals,” said Hallman. “Public sector funding is projected to represent less than one-third of the overall race revenues. We were requesting the funds come from the economic development and tourism budgets,” added Hallman.

In the interim, Zoom Motorsports will continue to host events that have been held at the Barber Motorsports Park and have proven successful such as the American Motorcycle Association Chevrolet Superbike Championship and the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series for 2005. Zoom is actively pursuing other events for the Barber Motorsports Park. The Convention and Visitors Bureau of Birmingham expects the 2004 economic impact of the Barber Motorsports Park to exceed $100 million.