So What's it Gonna Be (US Roadracing)?

I keep hearing/seeing little quips on tv, online, and on fb about an upcoming announcement. Obviously nobody in the know will be able to say anything, but it's still fun to speculate.

Is somebody buying out DMG or will there be a brand new series? Is WERA Pro going bigtime? Is JU going to run a full series?

 

Which rumor do you want to hear? The Rainey buying AMA pro? The Rainey/ Dorna series that competes with AMA pro? The WERA pro series (that one ain't a rumor)?

These have been going on for a year and a half to two years now.

 

Yeah, but it's crunch time now. When the CEO of Dorna is dropping hints on national TV, you know it's getting serious.

 

All it takes is cash and metric f@ck ton of it.

 

Ha ha! Bruton Smith is still under the radar with his takeover plans!

 

Something is going to happen....

The current situation is unacceptable to everybody involved.

http://www.foxsports.com/motor/stor...sses-future-of-motogp-in-america-video-081014

 

AMA Pro sold to a new ownership group. Fresh start. Rebuilding process to commence.

At least that's my guess. Who wants to put a fiver on it?

 

I just asked David Emmet on twitter about it and he said the only hold up they are having is DMG suing them. Just like was talked about it the race thread. So I don't think that's what's happening lol

 

I suspect a farm league, not quite competing with DMG but sort of a step between club and professional racing, i.e. USGPRU. class structure of moto3 type bikes and moto2 type bikes. Unfortunately I think that the scenario actually would put it more in competition with WERA than the AMA/DMG.

 

Dorna pulls sanction from AMA and gives it to WERA

 

Pretty sure I didn't see David at Indy today.

 

That could be a good guess, because he worded his reply as DMG holds the rights to sbk racing in the us...

 

The only issue I see with a full on GP spec series (like in Spain) is who's going to ride them and where are the bikes going to come from? Those Moto2 and Moto3 bikes have got to cost a bunch more than built up 600's. And even if there were 25-30 teams per class willing to pay for them, would the chassis manufacturers be able to support that many more teams?

I think an American version of BSB is more likely than an American version of CEV.

 

Any change would have to be better then what's currently going on. Professional roadracing has become a joke in this county, and it's a damn shame.

 

Well iv been wrong before. I guess it comes down to how big of a pain in the ass and how much money the series is losing DMG. Or if dorna is willing to over pay.

 

How in the world would the work? There isn't enough money to keep a superbike series alive. How would bikes that are even more expensive keep a series alive?

 

I remember reading an interview with Alberto Puig about the Asia Talent Cup which he is in charge of. He was saying that for that championship, all of the riders are using the most basic of Honda's moto3 bike. Their bikes don't have any of the upgrades that are staples throughout the Moto3 paddock. This keeps the series cost effective and the 'cream rises to the top'.

Hondas Moto3 bike starts around $30k. That's easily spent building a competitive R6, so it's really not that farfetched. I'd assume that if Dorna was behind this, a similar model would be used. Just a guess, but we're all speculating right?

 

I could very easily see in the short term Dorna subsidizing quite a bit. Moving one to two year old bikes from the CEV to the US would be pretty straight forward. As competitive as the CEV reportedly is there has to be a pretty high turn over in equipment. That means there must be an abundance of good, maybe not competitive equipment available for
purchase. Get the equipment here, make an attractive purse and the grids will start to fill.

I don't think Dorna is interested in building a Superbike series, they want a farm league to produce American talent on par with Spanish and Italian talent to increase the viewership and the television rights in the US. They have the model in the CEV and the problem is replicating it here. Equipment is the easy part as there is a surplus and with a market there will be those who step in to fill the void. Attracting talent will be a function of purse and opportunity. Attaching the Dorna/FIM label will ensure the latter.

 

F'n phone just deleted a huge long winded reply! Short version: Dorna have the ability to open doors on an international level. They have a great deal of credibility and influence. Making their series attractive is a matter of purses and opportunity. For a rider, guaranteeing a ride in the CEV for the champion is a huge incentive. For a team the increased exposure and potential subsidies would be a strong draw. Dorna also has a lot of connections in the racing world to make deals happen. Brands like Repsol would love and have been trying for years to really crack the US market.

Given the choice between investing in running a season of DMG or a Dorna backed American CEV, I suspect that quite a few teams would joing the upstart.

 

Don't fall into the trap of expecting magic and miracles from DORNA's 'involvement' (which will be more like a watchful eye). Didn't we learn this already from the NASCAR/DMG chapter.

This isn't going to be fixed overnight. It's being talked about as a long term solution. The next 3-5 years are going to be a slow steady climb out of the basement.