We stand on the edge of the most controversial and seismic change that AMA roadracing has seen in decades. Daytona Motor Group purchased the AMA roadrace series and will do away with Superbikes as we know them, labeling them 600cc "Daytona Superbikes" instead, and adding control tires and fuel as well. 600 Supersport and Superstock will be gone, although the latter not at the hands of DMG. Superbikes, or what have been known as Superbikes for thirty years, will now be called "Literbikes".

A It's such a difficult issue to unwind, from an OEM perspective, because we see things differently than a promoter will. From a presentation standpoint, I (a) understand what they want to do; (b) think that they may very well be able to build a show; (c) think it could be a fine presentation of motorcycling to the general public. Subsets of that are, I think, are where the discussion really starts. My feeling ... I've got only the presentation that was made at Barber, DMG's presented a motorcycle show. A motorcycle show that I think is made to present to the general public. Not necessarily to the motorcycle enthusiast.

For many years, we have presented motorcycle racing first and foremost based on what a motorcycle enthusiast wants, and we have used our racing programs to focus the presentation of our products to that enthusiast. We, OEMs, race for brand. In racing for brand, we support presentation formats that give all of the OEMs some place to play. And we support rules accordingly, to be able to allow some of the smaller players in - whether they're Ducatis or Buells or whatever. But we have focused on the motorcycle enthusiast, and we have presented what we believe the motorcycle enthusiast wants to see. And I think that the current, soon-to-be-changed, AMA Pro Racing Rules do that.

In presentation to the general public, the other 95% of the people that are out there, DMG is taking a different approach. To the general public, I think you could race almost any kind of motorcycle, and you could attract an audience. Since the universe is so much larger, DMG may be very successful with this approach. But to cut to the chase, what I don't see in the DMG proposal is a place for OEMs. And the analogy that I have felt growing is that I look at today's AMA racing, and I see the NASCAR of old, where it was brand versus brand. It was Ford versus Chevy. It was Smokey Yunick and Pontiacs. That was brand. And then somewhere - the 80s or the 90s or whatever, I don't know what it is, I don't follow NASCAR that closely - NASCAR changed to a focus on driver. When the focus is on the racer, that is different. Certainly, the position that OEMs take in NASCAR is much different today than it was in the 60s and the 70s. That difference, I think, is the difference we're looking at here now, where subordinate to racer and sponsor. And for a sanctioning body, that may very well be the best course to take. Because the rider and his sponsors will supersede brand, every time, in that scenario. That's it in a nutshell.

So I see everywhere in racing that the premier class is the biggest, the baddest, the one that everybody knows is probably the toughest to control in a racing situation. I think that's the one everybody wants to see. I think the customer has spoken. I don't really understand when I hear folks say, "Let's let the customer decide." I somehow don't think that, given the option, the customer is going to decide on the smaller displacement bike. Nor do I think that they're going to choose the MotoST format. If a customer has an opportunity to see high-performance sport bikes at their speed and their movement on the track, versus MotoST, I think we're going to have the same problem that we had back in the days of Battle of the Twins. Makes you feel that it's time to get a beer. If the race is three hours long, I would think that that would be a great opportunity for Anheuser-Busch, one long beer break for the crowd.

The OEMs want a strong AMA. We need a strong AMA. If it wasn't for the Government Relations Department, you wouldn't even hear any press releases on how different entities are slamming motorcycling in different parts of the country. On-road, off-road, noise, pollution, whatever. So we want a big, powerful AMA. Is the separation from racing good? I think that if there had not been such a powerful internal core group of staff controllers within the AMA, that pretty much would not do the bidding of the President or the Board, short of that, with a strong Youngblood-class President, racing still could have had a part in the AMA.