The news emanating from the DMG/AMA vs the manufacturers schism seems to be growing worse by the day. Last week the manufacturers announced through the MIC that they were mulling over issuing an RFP for someone to start a rival series that they could race in. Since then, well-placed sources have it that Suzuki, Honda and now perhaps Kawasaki will drop out of the series after the Fall Laguna Seca round.

Both Honda and Suzuki are threatening to pull all support from the DMG Superbike series if they are not given WSBK-style rules for the 1000cc class.

"All support" means, presumably, that the factory teams would be gone, and so would their support spending, meaning they would no longer sponsor events, offer contingency, support privateers/satellite teams or buy TV commercials. DMG could quite easily self-support their own television package, support events and the like but what they can't do is homologate motorcycles.

The most recent draft of the 1000CC DMG Superbike rules I have seen states that all motorcycles will be homologated by each respective manufacturer wishing to race the class. All machines eligible for participation in American Superbike must be approved by AMA Pro Racing and homologated by the manufacturer.

If Suzuki, Honda and perhaps Kawasaki leave AMA Roadracing to start their own series that's one thing, but if they also refuse to homologate motorcycles for the classes, that is quite another.

There doesn't seem to be any middle ground. Suzuki and Honda want WSBK-style rules and Kawasaki seems to be leaning towards that viewpoint. The rules issued by DMG are more Superstock than Superbike. Yamaha reportedly is ready to race with the DMG rules, but if they are the only Japanese manufacturer that homologates motorcycles for the 1000cc class, then the grid may look more like 1977 than 2009.

Yamaha dominated US racing for a period in the 1970s when Honda and others left the series.