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Will Superbike Achieve Supercross Prosperity in the Hands of an Independent Promoter?

New AMA CEO Robert Dingman surprised many when he admitted publicly that the AMA did not have the resources necessary to promote the series and announced that he is attempting to sell off the commercial rights of its professional racing properties.

Supercross already has a professional promoter and, in spite of a controversial and even violent past, is, by comparison to AMA professional road racing, is an example of efficient management.

AMA Supercross was developed by a long line of innovative promoters, especially Mike Goodwin, now currently serving two consecutive life sentences for the murder of his former partner, the legendary Mickey Thompson and his wife.

The turbulent history of AMA Supercross has been riddled not just with bullets (note that the AMA was in no way involved in the Thompson murders), but with complicated legal maneuverings, controversy, and strife -- a chapter of intrigue that resulted from the AMA selling SX rights to Clear Channel Communications, then to Jam Productions, and finally assigning them back to Clear Channel, but only after litigation including a complicated episode in 2002 and 2003 in which Dorna, Clear Channel Entertainment, and the FIM were accused by then AMA CEO Scott Hollingsworth of attempting to hijack the AMA Championship.

This statement by Hollingsworth in an 'interview' posted on the AMA's own site in 2003 indicates just how nasty the relationship with the FIM, Clear Channel, and Dorna had become and just how hostile things can become when a sanctioning body sells rights to a promoter:

Scott Hollingsworth: The complaint that we've filed asks the court to order Clear Channel to live up to the terms of the Supercross Sanctioning Agreement we signed with them in March. That contract specifically states that AMA Pro Racing will be the sole sanctioning body for all events in the AMA Supercross Series. In recent weeks, it's become obvious that Clear Channel has also sanctioned these races through the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and is now billing the AMA Supercross Series, with the addition of a couple of smaller races in Europe, as the Supercross World Championship.

We have asked the court for a preliminary injunction against Clear Channel primarily to prevent it from having FIM sanctions, FIM rules, and FIM officials involved with the races that are part of the AMA Supercross Series.

What difference does it make whose name is on the races?

Hollingsworth: It makes a big difference, for several reasons. First, the AMA and AMA Pro Racing have spent 28 years building this series into the premier Supercross championship in the world, just as our motocross and Superbike Series have risen to premier status worldwide. To have the FIM take over a series that we've invested so much money, time, and effort in simply isn't fair. The FIM and its various contract partners that have come and gone have tried repeatedly over the years to establish their own World Supercross Championship, and have failed to produce a series worthy of that name. But that doesn't mean the FIM should be allowed to take our series.

Another big problem is what this could mean for American riders, teams, and fans. Currently, our fans know they're going to see the best Supercross competition on earth, week after week, in stadiums across the United States. That's the series we've built. If the FIM is going to try to turn that into a world championship, it's likely to mean fewer chances for American fans to see the stars of the sport, along with enormous logistical problems for American

teams and riders. We have always been supportive of the international development of motocross and supercross, but in a cooperative fashion, not a predatory one.

Frankly, we have concerns about the competence of the FIM to manage a world-level supercross series. The FIM has established a contract with Dorna Offroad to handle its motocross and supercross events, but as I've mentioned, that combination has failed completely to create a competitive supercross series. And its grand prix motocross championship has never been in a weaker state.

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Somehow the series went ahead as a two championships in one… the AMA SX series which everyone understands and a kind of World Championship on the quiet that opened in 2003-2004 with opening rounds in Seville, Spain (a mud-bath of a race), and Arnham, Holland, but for the 2004-2005 season the 'World' consisted in two Canadian rounds to start the season before melting into the traditional AMA schedule.

Fast forward to the final weeks of 2007 and we find all that resolved as the AMA and the FIM have buried their differences and combined forces to create a 'World Championship' that is as international as Major League Baseball's World Series (which also has Canadian participation). Compare this FIM press release jointly issued by the AMA with the situation in 2003:

The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) are pleased to announce the Monster Energy® AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship. The 2008 championship, for the first time ever, will combine both the AMA sanctioned Supercross Series and the FIM sanctioned World Supercross GP programs into a single, consolidated championship and will crown one supercross champion.

Since 2002, the AMA Supercross Series and the FIM World Supercross GP have run together at stadiums across the United States, with two separate titles awarded at the series finale each year in Las Vegas, NV. Beginning in 2008, these programs will now be combined, with all of the races counting towards one single world championship.

In 2008, Monster Energy® AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, will include one race outside the United States when the championship returns to the Rogers Centre, in Toronto, ON, on March 29th. The remaining 16 rounds will be conducted at stadiums across the United States. For 2009, Monster Energy® AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, will again include two races outside the United States.

"We are pleased to be able to work together with the FIM to create the consolidated Monster Energy® AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship," said Rob Dingman, AMA President and CEO. "The consolidated series maintains the strong foundation and tradition of AMA Supercross and at the same time internationalizes the championship with select races at stadiums outside the United States. To make the transition as seamless as possible for the teams, riders and support staff, the championship will only include one international race in 2008, in Toronto, however, the program may include a second international race in 2009 and beyond."

Mentioned nowhere in all this is the name of the commercial rights holders, Live Nation, the Clear Channel Entertainment spinoff company that, as of December 21, 2005, has taken over the music (they manage Madonna), theater, and motorsports properties that Clear Channel Entertainment handled, leaving the mother company, Clear Channel Communications, to concentrate on billboards and radio stations.

With peace in our time on the Supercross front apparently, the AMA now turns its attention to finding promoters for the remaining pro racing properties.