Q: Roger, will this transaction affect the Moto-ST series that the Grand Am currently sanctions?
EDMONDSON: Yes, it will. Moto-ST was designed to fill a niche that wasn’t being filled by the AMA’s programs back when we conceived of it, and that was racing for two-cylinder motorcycles, and it was racing for teams and multi-rider racing. And that racing will continue. One of the things we’ve done there was, we took some of the – you know, it’s funny. When I went in and started Grand Am, I took some of the ideas that we had from motorcycle racing, we applied them to the sportscar side. For example, the sighting lap and the two-wave start, that’s all a standard part of Grand Am sportscar racing now. Well, when we started Moto-ST, we took some of the things that had been applicable and worked well in sportscar racing to motorcycle racing.
For example, two-way radios. There’s no rule changes planned for 2008, but I can assure you right now that two-way radios will be part of this sport in the future. It is such an incredible tool for everybody involved that we’ve got to do it. And we’re proving that it can be done safely and beneficially in Moto-ST.
Another thing that we’ve done with Moto-ST, we’ve run several of those events in conjunction with the sportscar races, with the Daytona Prototypes. And this gives people who may be coming to an event with the idea to see one property and one type of racing, it cross-pollinates and helps by letting them see the motorcycle racing. And the best example is VIR. Last year, we had the Moto-ST race on Sunday morning, the Daytona Prototype race on Sunday afternoon, and our spectator crowd was up significantly. And it was also interesting to see the vendors and the other people who responded to that mixture. So Moto-ST will definitely have a place, and it’s our intention to work with our promoters to see what place it has on the national weekends.
But we’re getting way ahead of our self. Again, I’m certainly happy to answer questions of this type if this is where you all want to go, but I want to remind you, this is the AMA’s announcement, and this is not just a new beginning for a sanctioning body group, but it’s also the beginning of an AMA that’s going to have the ability to be all it can be. I feel guilty nobody’s asking Rob any questions right now.
DINGMAN: I don’t feel guilty at all, Roger (laughter).
Q: Roger, how long is the Live Nation agreement for, and would you guys be interested in it once it expires, if it does expire?
EDMONDSON: Well, the Live Nation agreement is through 2019, and I probably won’t be on active duty by that time, all right?
But it is an agreement with the AMA. And you have to understand, we’re not acquiring the AMA. We’re in the process, as part of this, acquiring Paradama, either through stock or through the assets or both. And until the most recent contract, Paradama did hold the rights to Supercross, but for whatever reasons that I’m not familiar with, that now is an AMA property. They couldn’t properly sell it to us when they’ve already licensed it to somebody else. The AMA has an obligation now to Live Nation, and by contract, Live Nation has some obligations to the AMA. We will certainly meet with the Live Nation folks in person in the near future, and suggest to them that it might be appropriate to take the AMA out of the picture, and create a new contract. And I’ll give you just one simple reason for that. The AMA is a not-for-profit membership organization. It’s a huge club whose main mission on the racing side is going to provide activity for the members. Live Nation’s a for-profit racing organization, trying to hold races that are entertaining and sell tickets. Well, so are we. So it could be that two Protestants might get along better than one Protestant and one Hindu, you know what I’m saying? And so I think that trying to come up with a contract that puts motorsports professionals together, doing things directly with each other, will be more beneficial than having to through the AMA in the middle. And I’m confident that Rob would be more than happy to step aside and eliminate that liability to the AMA if he can.
Q: Roger, the AMA committee passed Superbike rules for 2009. Do you plan to honor them, or do you have a vision for what the roadrace program will look like in 2009?
EDMONDSON: I do not plan to blindly honor those rules. I do not. I need to review them. I haven’t even read them. It might turn out they’re the best set of rules in the world, and if they are, we’ll adopt them. But I don’t think we can know that until we get a little bit more time on the ground. I think it’s going to be important that we, again, talk to the stakeholders, the teams and the manufacturers, and get their read on it. Our vision for Superbike may turn out to be different than that set of rules, and if it is, we’ll adopt our vision and go from there. But again, we need to make sure that we do so understanding the issues and the unintended consequences of any decisions we take.
