In your email, you stated that you are seeking:
All written proposals to the AMA regarding the sale of the AMA Superbike series
All internal records relating to the AMA's consideration, analysis, and reasoning regarding the various proposals
All written agreements with DMG regarding the sale, operation, and/or any other pertinent terms and records relating to the sale of the AMA Superbike series

In your email, you assert that your "reasonable purpose is in assuring the proper disposition of membership assets for the benefit of AMA's interests, where those are (1) the AMA membership, and (2) the preservation and promotion of motorcycle racing in America, as AMA's slogan is to wit, 'Rights. Riding. Racing.'"

The AMA Board of Directors spent a considerable amount of time and analysis in determining what was in the best interest of the AMA and its members with respect to its professional racing activities. The conclusion was that the AMA was in a "no win" position. The AMA was losing money on these activities and saw that in order to compete with other present and potential professional racing series, it would be necessary to spend even more of the AMA's money. Selling sponsorship, negotiating TV arrangements, as well as, the cost of administering, sanctioning, organizing and putting on all of the professional racing events was not something that the AMA felt could be done on an economic basis. As it turned out, the economic downturn would have made it even more difficult.

Based upon this analysis, the AMA sent out a series of requests for proposals (RFPs) to attempt to sell all or a portion of its pro racing activities. Those RFPs were subject to specific confidentiality agreements and the whole process, for obvious reasons, required complete confidentiality on the part of the AMA and on the part of other parties. The result of this exhaustive process was ultimately an agreement with DMG, which was embodied in a detailed purchase agreement, and which was also subject to a confidentiality agreement.

The AMA believes that its decisions were proper, and that it is totally appropriate and necessary for the AMA's analysis, consideration and ultimately its agreements to be subject to confidentiality provisions in order to protect the AMA and the ultimate purchasers so that this financial and operationally detailed information does not become public.

The AMA Board of Directors (your elected representatives, which includes many astute businessmen as well as AMA District representatives) agreed to the confidentiality provisions because of this very competitive environment in the professional racing/entertainment business. As you might imagine, the last thing the Board of Directors wanted to do was to jeopardize the proceeds of the DMG sale and bring about the collapse of the new AMA Pro Racing. The AMA continues to believe that public disclosure of this information would undermine AMA Pro Racing and cause substantial damage to the AMA.

When we remind members such as yourself that their elected board representatives -- acting on behalf of the AMA membership -- intentionally made the terms of the contract confidential to, in your words, assure "the proper disposition of membership assets for the benefit of AMA's interests," they understand. And we trust this will be the case with your inquiry as well.

Please know that there are some in the motorcycling community who are not pleased with the sale of AMA Pro Racing to DMG, and they advocate (or encourage others to advocate) for further disclosure. Considering the competitive marketplace noted above, their motives warrant prudent scrutiny by all AMA members.

That said, we can tell you the following about the sale of AMA Pro Racing. First, the sale is a multimillion-dollar contract over a number of years. Second, it is a complex contract involving numerous pro racing disciplines, many of which are contracted to other companies for their series' promotion and management. (A good example would be MX Sports running the outdoor motocross series.) Third, it guarantees that all AMA Pro Racing competitors must be AMA members, which means their annual dues will continue to flow into the AMA. Finally, the awarding of Number 1 plates remains with the AMA.

Furthermore, the sale removes a huge resource drain from the AMA, which was staggering when you factor in personnel, equipment, travel expenses, vendors, etc. As a result, the DMG sale allowed the AMA to rededicate more resources to core member programs, namely: advocacy and government relations activities, member benefits, and improvements to AMA amateur racing programs and the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum.

The DMG sale also provided the AMA with the financial stability to permit the Board to create three separate $1 million endowments to strengthen 1) amateur racing programs, 2) the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, and 3) AMA government relations activities to protect riders rights. All of these programs are vital to the future of the AMA.

You may also be interested to know that, since the sale of AMA Pro Racing, the AMA has increased the number of AMA member benefit partners by nearly 300 percent, and created an industry-leading, free AMA Roadside Assistance program for our members that sign up for auto-renewal or opt for a three-year membership. More than 27,000 AMA members have taken advantage of free AMA Roadside Assistance since the program's announcement in February. With more than 30 benefits and more on the way, this is proof positive of what the AMA is capable of achieving for all of its members.

If you would like to listen to an open, frank and in-depth presentation of the efforts undertaken by Rob Dingman and the Board of Directors to refocus the AMA on service to its members, here is a link to a speech that Rob Dingman gave at AMA Congress last fall: http://www.amadirectlink.com/congress/dingmanspeech.asp.

To stay informed, American Motorcyclist magazine and AmericanMotorcyclist.com are an ongoing source for information about changes and new programs at the AMA, including positive benefits that you can expect now and in the future.

Thank you again for contacting the AMA.