Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126278
o By Jim Gianatsis . . •.. • • _ • ~, . _ S~ I SS • ~ ~. • ~ ~ C~ • 20 .(t .. ,,_ . 1 • I' There's a new proposal before the American Motorcyclist Association's Professional Motocross Board. It's a plan to do away with the present system of three National Championship classes--125cc. 250cc and Open -- and the three National Champions that go with it. Instead, there will be one series of National races and one National Championship. The proposal is finding a lot of support, and in one form or another, AMA Professional Motocross Manager Mike DiPrete hopes to have a new :~:r;,~. in effect for the 1978 racing The reasons for having just one · National Championship series are numerous. Tops on the list is the purpose of making professional motocross easier for the general public and the . news media to understand . By doing .tha t , professional motocross will be easier to promote and easier to sell. The result is that everyone involved will benefit from it. Riders and promoters will earn more money, and the spectators will see better racing at better race tracks. The present system with three National Championships adds to the confusion of professional motocross in America . Pro MX already has champions for other events like the Florida Winter·AMA, Supercross, and TransAMA Series. By narrowing the National Championship down to just one series, all the top riders in America will finally be racing against each other on the same outdoor tracks to find out who is the best. Outdoor motocross. the National Championship in particular, is in serious trouble due to the fall -off of spectator attendance, although the AMA , race promoters and the motorcycling p ress would have us think differently . Other than a few special tracks like Himgtown and Unadilla where spectators come for the occasion along with the racing, average turnout for an outdoor National Championship motocross is 2 ,000 to 4,000 spec· tators. Part of the reason is that spectators like the convenience and spectacle of stadium racing: Also, not all the top riders in the country show up are asking for 250cc and Open class for a National race, especially when bikes. These are the older, bigger two National classes or World Chamriders , who do well on larger pionship race dates conflict, running displacement bikes. What they'd like on the same weekend . Why drive 2-4 to do with the 125cc bikes is let them hours to see a 125cc Nation:'l when all provide the Su pport class show at your favorite heros are racing at the Nationals so the younger, less ex Carlsbad, GP on the other side of the perienced riders will have their own country? class to race in . Because of conflicting race dates But making the 125cc class a and the difficulty of making any proving ground for new riders isn't too money • promoting an outdoor realistic, There's not enough money in National , the AMA has a very difficult the Support class that an independent job finding good promoters. That's rider could afford to go to more than why this year we've been subjected to one or . two races. And. for the major Nationals held way out in the country, hours from any major metropolitan Japanese manufacturers, the 125cc motocross bikes are big sellers. If area . When only two thousand spectators show up it's no wonder the 125cc bikes lost their National status promoters never ho ld another and were no longer raced by the factory teams, sales of motocross and dirt National. Part of the reason is that bikes would probably suffer as a result. most promoters don't know how to promote a race -- and the AMA cerThe fina l argument for the 125cc tainly isn't helping them in that class is that if someone is goi ng to be respect -- but that's a subject for crowned National Champion .. the . another article . best rider in America .. he should be The only question under debate able to prove himself <;>n all three sizes regarding next year's revised National of bikes . This would be much fairer Championshi p is what class or classes for all riders concerned; little riders like Honda's Warren Reid would have to use . Prescn tlv, t he riders with the biggest voice in A:\lA decision making just as fair a chance at the Champion -