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/127375
ca n r ide the bik e. You 've got to find th e po int where th e power del ivered is manageab le for enough rid ers to encourage sponso rs to back a large enoug h nu mber of teams to p ro vide full grids. The vita l th ing here is havin g engines. The best th ing th at ever happend to Formu la One racing wa s th e Co sw onh e n gine a n d if Yamaha a re say ing they ca n p ro vide moto rs a nd if o the r ma nufacturers ar e prepared to b ui ld co m para b le motors th en th is looks lik e th e logi cal so lution. Wh y do so me thing tha t the tea ms a nd most o f th e facto rie s don 't wa nt if yo u have a so lu tio n that a lm os t everybody wa nt s? Your experience with th e FIM must have been a frustrating one : . • It 's been like dea lin g wi th the o ld C.S.I. back in Form u la One racing before the '80s. You fin d a lo t of so me times wellmean in g pe ople wi th very little kn o wledge. T he n there a re a lo t o f people wh o use th e federation to ga in so me respect , cr edibility or power or recognitio n bu t w it h no int erest in how th ey do it o r what it does to the spo rt. Just a couple more q ues tions about th e TV rights and title sp onsorsh ip contra ct. If the bidding had been left open ' for another 24 hours would yo u ha ve matched th e $30 million off er from Doma? No . Do yo u th in k that Doma ha s made a bad deal ? Yes. If th e FI M came to me today a nd sa id, wou ld you bid 25% less than Dom a for th e sa me package w hich in cl u des tit le sponsorshi p, publicity on the podium. jrack signage a n d q uite a lot o f o the r th in gs, I would say, " No , I'm n o t in teres ted, " because I don't believe th a t the FIM ca n deliver to Doma what ha s bee n promised . I th ink they shou ld ha ve sp lit up com p letely the quest io ns o f television rights and marketi n g. If yo u try to o verla p th em there will be so man y th in gs happe n in g wi thi n th e television aspect tha t th is ' wi ll greatly restri ct th e television covera ge. If I o wned the mar keting rights a nd th e T V rig h ts, it wo u ld be ver y ea sy for me to say to a televi sion co m pany , " I' ll do a dea l wit h yo u o n advert isin g time a nd g ive yo u excl u sivity." T his is exac tly wha t happened wi th th e ten n is a t Wimbledon wh en a German co m pa ny held bo th th e T V a nd mar keting rights. which limited th e cov erage o f Wi m bl edon. T h e two th ings must be kept sepa ra te o r TV co verage is go ing 10 suffer a n d th is is exactly wh a t th e learns are a fra id o f because th eir sponsors m ust see an inc rease in co verage in o rder to contin ue to invest in racing. When th a t covera ge begi ns to decrea se, the sponsors wi ll lea ve a nd see k 10 be associated with ac ti vities ' lh a t a re g iven grea ter TV co verage. ***** I wo u ld say the message is clear. Bern ie Ecc les to ne feels, r igh t ly or wrong ly, th at he ha s bee n duped by the FIM an d as a ma n n ot used to lo sin g, he no lo n ger feels a ny ob ligat io n toward t h e FIM a n d would entert a in an y proposal made to h im for TV ri gh ts if a pa rallel road raci n g ch a m p io n sh ip were to be crea ted by the leading 500cc a nd 250cc team s. Bernie Ecclestone says th at during hi s four yea rs as a motorcycle racer, he u su all y eithe r won or crashe d . Perhaps we will have to wa it unti l th e end o f th e 1992 season to determin e which o f th ese two results will su m up h is four yea rs as o wner o f excl usive T V ri ghts for the FIM Road Racin g World Champio ns hip. O f even mo re interest will be the effec t th a t Mr. Ecclestone 's eventua l win or crash will ha ve had o n th e sport and th e Fl M. £N 24..1fo¢t' HOfLINE 1-900-HOT-4-SUPEBCBOSS (1-900-468-4787) Hear it from "The Voice of S upercross," Larry Maiers • Race Results • "Throttle for the Gold" and (6 ern E astern time after each race) "Spills, Chills &Thrills" Videos • Ticket Info • Fan Club Information •S upercross Schedule •Amateur &S upercross Info • Motocros tats sS From the producers of SUPERCROSS SROjPACE. SUPERSPORTS. MTEG $2.00 first minute and $1.00 each add'!. minute SEETBEBEST TWO-WHEEL ACTION INTBE NATION! 31