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Posted by T3 on March 15, 2008, 4:16 pm
> From http://www.amadirectlink.com/news/2008/transcript.asp
>
> "I think that itÕs important that we find a way to move to true
> professionalism here. IÕll give you an example. I donÕt think that one
> rider, one bike, a guy getting in a van and going somewhere to race for
> prize money is professional racing. In other words, the old division
> used to be, if you made a little more money than you spent, or if you
> had the potential to make more money than you spent, that was
> professional racing. Professional racing is when you leave home and
> your bills are paid for by a sponsor, and youÕre representing a
> company."
>
> Seems to me this is half the SB grid and a bulk of the SS and FX grids.
>
> With no TV rights, (Speed? Umm..no), and with what TV we do have is
> basically focused on the top 5 or 6 riders in the race, so the also
> rans never have any camera time. Add to that there's simply little room
> on the bike to show of a corporate logo. At least you can see the TIDE
> logo from across the track in NASCAR, doesn't matter what place the
> driver is in, and the yellows keep them all bunched up for photo ops as
> well.
>
> So, where does DMG expect to get these companies that want to sponsor
> these riders? What's in it for them? And where have they been all these
> years? Waiting for the factories to get out and hogging all the camera
> time?
>
> At the same time, we have Duhamels line about "not all of the AMA-PRO
> license racers are here to race".
> http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=31735
>
> That talks to the same kind of thing. Duhamels vision of racing is
> clearly different from the lower end of the spectrum racers. Granted,
> he gets paid to have a different kind of vision. And I don't think that
> Duhamel was referring to up and coming Johnny Rock Pages of the world,
> but more likely the long term veterans of the privateer paddock, who
> never place well, and will never place well, and they're not
> perceptively trying to place well. But they race anyway, cuz they like
> the race. (How many of the short end of the grid went and lost 15 lbs
> over the break like Mladin, Spies, the Bostroms, etc. The front line
> are all ghosts this year.)
>
> There are certainly SOME of these riders in the paddock. Complacent
> racers, for lack of a better term. Hobbyist racers who happen to be
> able to qualify in SB and can afford to play.
>
> So, I'm just curious where DMG plans on getting all of this money. I
> guess it's working out in MOTO-ST, which I think will most likely be
> merged with AMA next year and from which lessons will be applied to
> AMA. (Combined AMA and Grand Am "challenges" here we come!)
I dunno about that Will, I'd imagine they'd be brought into the AMA
fold, but it's unclear as whether part of SB, (which I doubt) or (more
likely) as an endurance series of their own, though I wouldn't rule out
a joint weekend "sometime(s), somewhere".. ;-)
>
> Changes are in the wind folks...be interesting to see how this shakes out.
We'll prolly get bits and pieces, or try to figure out what specific
direction they'll take by who's hired and what Corps. they may link
with, but I doubt we'll get the big picture for a while, though somehow
I get the feeling it'll end up resembling something like a stockier
WSB, sans Ducati rules, spec tires and all...
>
> Oh, and Mladin is done. If he's contracted through '09, he'll stay, but
> he won't race in a series that hurts his bike so that others can catch
> up, that's in the wind too.
And we might be surprised exactly how that happens too..
Check this out, this guy could've just asked us, as most of his
manifesto has been "discussed" here at one time, or another...
http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ama-sbk-advice-to-dmg-2009-manifesto/
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