Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

New wording in the Terms And Conditions Of AMA Pro Racing License paperwork threatens riders’ commercial rights worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to insiders who are in an uproar over the language.

Part 3 of the Terms And Conditions of AMA Pro Racing License paperwork for 2002, which all riders must sign to get a Pro License, reads, in part:

“3. Production and Promotion Rights:… I also agree that AMA Pro Racing may use an image of me and/or my equipment, inclusive of my competition number and bike color to produce officially licensed merchandise. Such officially licensed merchandise shall be sold through normal distribution points, including, but not limited to, on-site sales at AMA Pro Racing sanctioned events, and online sales.”

Opponents of the new language say that it would give the AMA the right to sell rider image rights now being sold by riders or their agents, and also state that riders do not have the right to authorize reproduction of team graphics and paint schemes on merchandise produced and sold by third parties.

According to informed sources, merchandise deals pay some riders more than their racing contract fees, and, in the case of the Universal Studios tie-ins with American Honda’s Superbike team, produce millions in revenue.

Riders should protect themselves by crossing out and initialing the offending language in section 3 of the 2002 Terms And Conditions Of AMA Pro Racing License form, and seek competent legal counsel if AMA Pro Racing refuses to issue them a license, the sources say.

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA Pro Racing has agreed to turn promotion of the official AMA Supercross Series over to a Chicago-based concert promotor with no known national motorcycle motorsports experience, Jam Productions.

The deal, which takes effect in 2003, ends 27 years of AMA Supercross promoted by Clear Channel Motor Sports, previously known as SFX Motor Sports and PACE Motor Sports.

Clear Channel Motorsports will continue to promote its own Supercross Series without AMA sanction, and will compete against the new AMA Series.

According to sources close to Clear Channel, the company already has contracts with stadiums that host the existing Supercross Series, through 2004. A Supercross to be held January 4, 2003 is already contracted at Anaheim Stadium, for example.

PACE Motorsports first promoted an AMA National in 1967, 34 years ago, and first promoted an AMA Supercross in 1974. PACE Motor Sports became a division of SFX known as SFX Motor Sports, when SFX purchased PACE, and in turn was purchased by Clear Channel.

In recent years the Supercross Series has grown exponentially, with PACE/SFX/Clear Channel executives giving credit to the company’s effective promotions while AMA Pro Racing CEO Scott Hollingsworth has dismissed the firm’s role in building the series.

Hollingsworth’s view of the company has taken on what seems to be an increasingly personal dimension recently, and he has been barely able to contain his disdain in discussions with third parties mentioning SFX/Clear Channel.

The ability of Jam Productions to effectively compete against Clear Channel in Supercross is unknown.

It’s also unknown where the factory Supercross teams will run, although an AMA Trustee who oversees his company’s racing programs said last week that he will send his team to the series with the best promotion, venues and exposure, regardless of sanction.

AMA Pro Racing Chairman Mark Tuttle, a retired Harley-Davidson employee, has stated that the AMA Pro Racing Board of Directors voted to make the change from Clear Channel to Jam Productions “without dissension”; since Honda Vice President Ray Blank is on the Pro Racing Board, that implies American Honda support for the radical change.

Hollingsworth has claimed to have manufacturer support for the move, and is confident that the manufacturers will go with the AMA to the new series. Any agreement involving manufacturer representatives and AMA officials made prior to the new deal being made could raise anti-trust questions.


In a letter sent to stadiums and other facilities and dated November 5, Hollingsworth wrote:

Dear Facility Manager;

This letter is to notify you that AMA Pro Racing, sanctioning body for the AMA EA Sports Supercross series, has entered in an agreement with JamSports, a division of Chicago-based Jam Productions, for the exclusive promotion of AMA Supercross events for the 2003-2009 seasons.

Since 1997, event promotion for AMA Supercross has been managed by PACE/SFX/Clear Channel Entertainment under a long-term commercial development agreement with AMA Pro Racing. That agreement expires at the end of the upcoming 2002 season. AMA Supercross events previously held at your facility and those scheduled for the 2002 season, if any, were organized under this agreement.

AMA Pro Racing hereby authorizes JamSports and/or Jam Productions to negotiate with your facility, on an exclusive basis, regarding the organization and production of future AMA Supercross events.

AMA Pro Racing represents more than 75 years of racing history as the premiere sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Our veious Championships enjoy support from major manufacturers including Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, KTM, Husqvarna, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Buell and others. The stars of motorcycle sport are made by winning AMA Championships–we look forward to making more history at your facility.

Should you have any questions regarding this matter please contact me at 614-856-1900.

Best regards,

Scott Hollingsworth
Chief Executive Officer
AMA Pro Racing

Loudon is off the tentative 2002 AMA Superbike National schedule, which has been shortened up to run from March into August, as follows:

3/10, Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida

4/7, California Speedway, Fontana, California

5/5, Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma, California

5/19, Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia

6/2, Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain, Colorado

6/9, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin

6/30, Brainerd International Raceway, Brainerd, Minnesota

7/14, Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, California

7/28, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio

8/11, Virginia International Raceway, Alton, Virginia

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA Pro Racing is poised to announce increases in Superbike purses, which the organization claims justify and prove the worth of CEO Scott Hollingsworth’s policies and negotiations with race promoters, insiders say.

The announcement of the larger Superbike purses was supposed to be tied in with release of the 2002 schedule today or tomorrow. But instead, AMA Pro Racing’s Ron Barrick released the schedule in advance of the announcement, to selected media outlets.

Roadracingworld.com was not one of the websites given the information by Barrick, but obtained a tentative schedule by other means.

The last holdouts in the sometimes contentious 2002 race sanction contract negotiations are Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Brainerd International Raceway.

Versions of the sanction contract have been flying back-and-forth between AMA Pro Racing headquarters and Mid-Ohio.

Hollingsworth and staff demanded greatly increased sanction fees for 2002 road races.

AMA Pro Racing is using the same approach in negotiations with AMA Supercross promoter Clear Channel Motor Sports. In those negotiations, AMA is demanding all sponsor rights, signage rights and TV rights, as well as an almost-doubled sanction fee, according to sources close to the negotiations.

According to one current AMA Trustee, if those negotiations–now being held for the 2003 season–fail, the AMA plans to hold its own Supercross Series in competition with the existing series, which has the best stadiums locked up in long-term deals. AMA Pro Racing is betting on the manufacturers sending their factory Supercross teams to the AMA Series instead of the Clear Channel Series, but, the Trustee said, this time the AMA cannot count on that happening.

Some AMA promoters are also worried that Clear Channel could retaliate against such a move by scheduling Freestyle Motocross competitions against AMA Outdoor Motocross Nationals in various markets, virtually killing attendance at those races.

From a press release issued by the AMA, with no explanation of the nomination process or who does the nominating:


BOSTROM NOMINATED FOR 2001 AMA/SPEEDVISION
PRO ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

PICKERINGTON, Ohio — AMA Pro Racing and Speedvision are happy to announce the first of the 2001 nominees for the annual AMA/Speedvision Pro Athlete of the Year Award. The AMA/Speedvision Pro Athlete of the Year Award was created to honor the racer judged to have had the most successful racing season in all of AMA professional racing. The first nominee for 2001 is Eric Bostrom.

Eric Bostrom completed his most successful year of road racing to date. The 24-year-old Northern California native who now lives in Las Vegas and Temecula, Calif., won the 2001 Pro Honda Oils 600 SuperSport Championship. At several events this past season Bostrom dominated 600 SuperSport races in a way that is rarely seen in this highly-competitive category of racing. Bostrom earned seven podium finishes in 600 SuperSport this year, including three wins. He moved from 18th to seventh on the all-time winners list for the series with five-career victories. His championship gave Kawasaki its second 600 SuperSport title.

In addition to a championship-winning year in 600 SuperSport, Bostrom had another excellent season in the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship, winning two races and finishing second in that series. Bostrom also proved his talent on the world stage by qualifying on the front row at the U.S. round of the World Superbike Championships and finishing a solid fifth in both races.

“It’s great to be nominated for Athlete of the Year,” said Bostrom, a nine-year professional rider, who was the Ricky Graham Dirt Track Rookie of the Year in 1993. “To be considered among the best in all of motorcycle racing in America is a real honor.”

This marks Bostrom”s first nomination for Pro Athlete of the Year. His brother Ben was nominated in 1998 after winning that year’s AMA Superbike title.

The Pro Athlete of the Year Award has a rich tradition dating back to 1938 when the first Daytona 200 winner Ed Kretz was voted the AMA”s most popular rider. Other nominees will be announced in coming weeks.

The 2001 AMA/Speedvision Pro Athlete of the Year will be announced during the 27th annual AMA Pro Racing Champions Awards Banquet Dec. 7, 2001, at the luxurious Desert Springs Marriott Resort & Spa in Palm Springs. To purchase tickets to the awards banquet, contact AMA Pro Racing at (614) 856-1900.

Disputing racer Vincent Haskovec’s claim that he didn’t make any money racing with WSMC, the organization’s Operations Manager Kenny Kopecky pointed out:

“RE: Haskovec and our F-1 races, in January thru March 2001 races he finished 1st, 1st and 2nd respectively. Total race pre-entry fees for those 3 races were $210 paid to WSMC. He was paid $2500 in cash awards by WSMC for those three finishes, not including any manufacturer contingency awards.”

ALong with the information on the Haskovec controversy, Kopecky also sent two press releases, one pointing out that two chances remain to get into the WSMC Toyota Truck Drawing Entry Program by running in the WSMC F-1 races November 18 and December 16, and another pointing out that the November 18 WSMC Roadracing World 125cc GP race will pay double purse thanks to additional sponsorship from VJB Spectrum Motorsports and WSMC.

This year’s top WSMC cash purse earner is Chuck Graves at $9705 (Haskovec is fourth at $4945) and Graves also tops the all-time WSMC cash purse list at $82,350 (Haskovec is third on the list at $19,715).

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

A line of text from the 2002 AMA Pro Racing license package–not included in our post detailing a new furor over rider merchandising rights–restricts what the organization will do with rider images, Vice President Commercial Development John Farris, Jr. said in an e-mail to Roadracingworld.com.

In his e-mail, Farris, wrote, “Your website post from 11/5…is inaccurate and misleading as you selected only a portion of the language included in the 2002 AMA Pro Racing License application. The last sentence of the portion of the section and the portion of the paragraph you selected for posting states; ‘The design of such merchandise shall focus on the respective AMA U.S. Championship Series.’

“This is a critically important distinction that is very defining and limiting in the scope of any AMA Pro Racing series merchandising efforts.

“A clarification of this would be beneficial to your readers.

“John C. Farris, Jr.
“Vice-President Commercial Development
“AMA Pro Racing”

Agents representing several riders competing in AMA Pro events have claimed that the new language would allow AMA Pro Racing to assign image and name rights without riders getting any money from what are potentially lucrative deals.

Despite Farris’ assurances, there is no guarantee that merchandise designs AMA Pro Racing officials consider to be “focus(ing) on the respective AMA U.S. Championship Series” would not unfairly exploit–without compensation–a rider’s name or image, or the image and graphics of racebikes owned and fielded by his or her team.

GPtech has moved from Florida to Michigan. The new mail address is:
GPtech
P.O. Box 325
Richland, MI 49083

The new shipping address is:
GPtech
15694 Northwood Ln.
Hickory Corners, MI 49060

The new phone and FAX numbers are:
phone, (616) 671-4915
FAX, (616) 671-4916

A message from a reader (and racer) reacting to our coverage of the 2002 AMA Number debacle:

It appears that the AMA has also reassigned my number 97 in both the 600 and 750 SS classes. This after receiving my 2002 license renewal.

This whole number thing further illustrates the basic lack of competence this organization shows time and time again. Thanks for all of your efforts.

Garth A. Cloyd

Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The 2001 MRA Board of Directors election is all about change in the Colorado-based club, and the focus is on the battle for Vice President of Rules and Tech.

Long-time MRA racer and sponsor Jay Sherritt is running for the position and blasted the status quo in the October issue of the MRA newsletter, which carried election information and ballots.

In his statement, Sherritt said, “…if, for example, it were to turn out that a rule was inadvertently changed because I didn’t know of a supplement to the rulebook, and if I found that various officers and board members had offered a false explanation to members to justify the change, instead of huddling and trying to find a way to conceal the truth and intentionally exclude members who know better, I will go to the members with the truth first, and then, once the playing field has been leveled, reintroduce the topic and invite those who are opposed to speak their piece. I will not tolerate club officers, board members or their family members racing motorcycles that do not meet class suitability requirements. Board members have an appearance of undue influence over racing decisions, and therefore they must be held to a higher standard…”

Charges aside, change is guaranteed in the MRA election since most current Board members are not running for relection. Non-incumbent Jay Sherritt is running against non-incumbent Bart McKiernan, while non-incumbents Leah Sherritt (Jay’s wife) and Andrew Drattlo are running for President. Non-incumbents Mark Schellinger and Ricky Orlando are running for New Rider Director, and non-incumbents Gina Fallon, CPA Marc Levin and Doug Lyle are running for Secretary, Treasurer and Track Marshall, respectively.

Official ballots must be received by the MRA by November 13 to be counted.