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AMA NEW SCHEDULE

Jesus, JU supports the sport more than most I know and that's one of the reasons you don't see him diversifying beyond the journalist niche his publication occupies. However, his editorial is true to the facts; that when there wasn't an avenue to fill certain holes, he did so. Note that the air fence fund was a complete not-for-profit venture which still persists to this day with no enrichment and very little celebrity for its originator….we just go to tracks and as pros, get the use of the RRW air fence find.

Here is an opportune time to recognize another important guy who did the same thing for the AFM. Few remember that Alex Florea was instrumental in the air fence fund for the AFM being developed, as well…yet he doesn't really bring it up, if ever.

JU's core competency is journalism and RRW publication. He's not wanting to do a series for any reasons other than keeping road racing alive in the US, and mind you, that is the core of his business. Without RR, his publication will have to change (and readership shrink) and his racing teams will disband. That's what this move is about, as we see Jordan leave and several others threaten to leave. The problem is simple: less than 10 or so televised rounds mean not enough national exposure for headline team sponsors to justify the investment in US based professional racing. The AMA's missteps in securing TV coverage last season were about the final straw for a declining series that the AMA has some fault and the position of our economy has some fault. These teams have high fixed costs and can't operate without a minimum sponsor budget whose dollars have consistently been fixed to around 10-12 minimum televised rounds. They can't drop down to a 6 round (AFM) budget and make it all work and that's most likely where JU's fear and effort comes from, to save the status of professional racing in the USA. I don't think John wants to run any sort of racing series/ program, it's just that without something else to make up for the lost rounds, it's a massive problem in 2014.

I've always thought JU was a good guy, albeit, very blunt and confident and not afraid to piss away opportunities and relationships to do what he feels is the correct path. In truth, I think the guy operates in a world where many people promise the world, bullshit the fans and marketplace and and either aren't able or aren't willing to live up to their words…and JU seems to revel in calling people in our industry out for that stuff. I base all of this on his reputation (intimidating) in dealing with him my first year as the AFM President. As it's turned out and I've learned, he prefers the reputation, but he's always been straight up and great to the AFM. I just hope it continues for all time as he's a wealth of knowledge and history on the entirety of RR in the USA.

Now back to the regular show: MORE televised professional racing in the USA. That sounds like a pretty darn good thing to me!
 
Problem is JU was not just complicit in, but actively participated In driving the factories away. The guy turned his rag into a driver for he wanted as a team owner. His conflict of interest was HUGE and his rag and site became an arm of pro DMG bullshit. He completely participated in destroying Road racing in the country, which is ironic considering how much he helped build it.

JU is someone for whom I will never, ever support, in any facet, in any way.
 
i dont think this Triple Crown is a band-aid for AMA. the only people its helping are the racing teams and their sponsors. someone else running any TELEVISED Pro series is a good stepping stone to REPLACE DMG. given that JU seems to be putting this together a lot faster than anything DMG has done in recent years, it seems that everyone is more willing to work w/ him than DMG. so maybe he'll have 4 races in 2015 and 10 in 2016 and DMG will be gone.
 
stangmx13 said:
i dont think that is true at all. IIRC, most of the articles written that blame the fans for not showing up etc, were op-eds written by other people.......
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That seems either a bit naive, or hopelessly romantic about Mr. John, consider he and his family are the editors and publishers of said magazine. He could have cut that off, or written a counter editorial. I don't remember such a piece. If there is one, I would like to see it.

This DMG fiasco has annoyed me since day one, and I have repeatedly said it was going to fail. Rather than focusing on all the past mistakes and hypocrisies of the last couple of years, though, I would really like to hear some NEW ideas. If anyone has any, please share them.
 
clutchslip said:
That seems either a bit naive, or hopelessly romantic about Mr. John, consider he and his family are the editors and publishers of said magazine. He could have cut that off, or written a counter editorial. I don't remember such a piece. If there is one, I would like to see it.

This DMG fiasco has annoyed me since day one, and I have repeatedly said it was going to fail. Rather than focusing on all the past mistakes and hypocrisies of the last couple of years, though, I would really like to hear some NEW ideas. If anyone has any, please share them.
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This really is past new ideas for them. I mean here's a new idea... pull the plug and someone will give birth to a new baby with a new name and a brand new start. That's about it.

Btw Alex why did you delete your post you big puss? I knew I should have quoted it.

I can only imagine the wheels are turning for some here on the west coast. There are TWO huge opportunities for a local club. One being WSBK Laguna and the other is hosting a PRO WEEKEND. Will it happen??? I think there will be no better time for it.
 
one issue resounds locally for promoting both road racing & flat track at the Pro level,
an issue which is usually overlooked in chats & elsewhere:

how to get many more paying butts in seats at Pro events?

putting on a race is pretty straightforward, as the well-run clubs demonstrate monthly -
making a profit while putting on a race.........

for example, The Springfield Mile is THE iconic dirt track event, run twice annually, successfully staged by the Illinois M/C Dealers Assn for many decades

it's also long been a natural fit to run a short track or TT on the Sat nite before the Mile - after decades of doing so, the Assn recently made these events non-National races, because attendance didn't cover costs

if they can't get it done in the heartland.........
 
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oh - I liked afmotorsports' post [found in my email] & support his re-posting for others to see
 
sidewazzz said:
This really is past new ideas for them.
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From DMG, I expect very little. It is people, just like you, that I want to hear from. And you already contributed. Tanx.

And let's hope that firstbuell posts up afmotorsports' post, since that seems to be approved. We need more afmotorsports, and Holeshot, (and others) posting here in the civilian section, in my never humble opinion.
 
clutchslip said:
That seems either a bit naive, or hopelessly romantic about Mr. John, consider he and his family are the editors and publishers of said magazine. He could have cut that off, or written a counter editorial. I don't remember such a piece. If there is one, I would like to see it.

This DMG fiasco has annoyed me since day one, and I have repeatedly said it was going to fail. Rather than focusing on all the past mistakes and hypocrisies of the last couple of years, though, I would really like to hear some NEW ideas. If anyone has any, please share them.
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wouldnt u rather read a publication that presents a lot of different opinions instead of just sticking to one agenda? ya, JU could have written a counter editorial. but as i said in my prev post, he seems to hold his tongue quite a bit.

my opinion of JU has slowly changed over the years and itll probably keep changing depending on how the next few years w/ TripleCrown and DMG go. but either way, he now doing SOMETHING to try to improve American RR, something that i am incapable of, and i think thats awesome.
 
boom ?

Pegram to race Foremost-backed EBR in 2014 AMA Pro Superbike Championship

".....We thrive on the learning experience of running different brands of motorcycles and can’t wait for the 2014 season".....announced team principal and rider Larry Pegram.....

"The unique EBR motorcycle and its story will add even more interest for the AMA race fans and the followers of our Superbike Family reality show on Velocity.”.....


.....“2014 is a watershed year for EBR motorcycle racing,” said EBR Founder Erik Buell.

“After two exciting seasons in AMA SuperBike, the factory EBR team of Geoff May and Aaron Yates, sponsored by Hero MotoCorp and AMSOIL have committed to race our American superbikes in the 2014 World Superbike series international competition. This is the first time an American brand will compete on this world-class level.

But it left a big gap for us to fill in AMA Pro SuperBike. Now, being able to simultaneously compete in the United States with a team of Pegram Racing’s caliber is just great. I could not have imagined a better way to move ahead in the US, and it speaks clearly to the potential Larry sees in our motorcycles.”....."


http://www.roadracingworld.com/news...d-ebr-in-2014-ama-pro-superbike-championship/
 
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just came here to post that, not surprised u beat me to it firstbuell.

im glad someone picked up the EBR to run it in AMA this year. itd be silly to not have the American superbike running in our national series.
 
Jake Holden gets a ride!

TPL Racing/Ducati Omaha/Desmo Veloce to race AMA Pro Superbike with Jake Holden

".....As it sits right now we will be at Daytona. I’m positive of that..... Will we do the whole series? If it’s a five[-round] series, the likelihood is we could pull that off.

If it expands to where we do the Superbike Triple Crown series then we need more sponsorship.....

.....They’re [Ducati] not giving people access to Corse parts like they used to.....And usually with some of those Corse parts, if you want the radiator you’ve got to buy the $7500 of other crap you have to have to make the radiator work. So we’re just building our own radiators, and after we build our own we’re going to have radiators to sell.

We’re building everything because we can’t afford to buy it. We’re building our own fairings. Everything we’re building we have the mold to make more, and Richard has the machine shop. So anything we build out of metal we’re going to market....."


http://www.roadracingworld.com/news...e-to-race-ama-pro-superbike-with-jake-holden/
 
nail, meet hammer.

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news...e-current-state-of-ama-pro-flat-track-racing/

someone over at WERA said that this same thing could be said about a lot of pro racing series, and its def true of the ones that arent doing so hot. companies that can act as both sanction-er and promoter (Dorna) seem to function better than those that fully farm out the promotions (AMA, InFront?). at this point, i feel that AMA/DMG still thinks that stupid rule tweaks will make the fans magically appear, that their promoters will have such an easy time selling the improved product. ya, that aint gonna happen. Flat Track may or may not be doing better than RR, but this suggestion could improve things for both.
 
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Saw that on the Lloyd Brothers Facebook page last week. Extremely well written critique with not an ounce of rant. He's spot on most of his criticism.
 
Roger Hayden to Yoshimura Suzuki AMA Pro Superbike

"..... I got the chance to ride the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 last year and the test went really good. I was fast on the bike and worked well with the team. I have to thank Suzuki and Yoshimura for making this happen.

I’m really looking forward to the 2014 season. Daytona can’t come soon enough....."


http://www.roadracingworld.com/news...k-on-yoshimura-suzuki-ama-pro-superbike-team/
 
moar AMA Pro road racing details from "Cycle World"

National championship institutes single-bike rule for three of its four classes

".....Reducing out-of-pocket expenses is at the heart of this new rule. “True cost containment must limit the amount of hardware that teams are purchasing and toting around the country,” said AMA Pro Senior Director of Competition David McGrath.

“There are no appreciable cost savings found in permitting a complete back-up bike or second rolling chassis, as teams will still feel the need to carry around three bikes’ worth of components at any given time.”....."


http://www.cycleworld.com/2014/01/31/ama-pro-road-racing-update-part-2/
 
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