Cycle News

VOL. 52 ISSUE 36 SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 P109 household names like Bobby Garrison (22nd), Justin Soule (24th), Dennis Stapleton (27th), Kyle Phoenix (30th) and David Gassin (32nd) comprising half of the Americans competing in the 450 class and the 250s equally devoid of star power, the place was like a ghost town for specta- tors. In 2011 it was even worse, with only five Americans (Chris- tian Craig, Weston Peick, Sean Borkenhagen, Dennis Stapleton and Mike Sleeter) making it to the gate in the premier class. Spectator attendance was again anemic and to no one's surprise, it was announced that Glen Helen was off the FIM calen- dar for 2012. To the delight of SoCal fans, Feldkamp and MX Sports settled their differences and it was announced that the track was again part of the AMA National Championship for 2014 and beyond. Giuseppe Luongo is the head of Youthstream, longtime pro- moters of FIM World Champion- ship Motocross. I could go on a rant here and talk about no purse money, exorbitant team entry fees and tracks that look like a cross between Rawhide Cycle Park and Deadman's Point on a bad hair day, but I digress. To say that Mr. Luongo is crafty would be an understate- ment. He reshaped the business model by somehow convincing the riders that they didn't need purse money, while at the same time jacking up the entry fees exponentially. He promised that he was investing all of that money—their money—back into the infrastructure, which would attract more and better spon- sors. He assured their teams that with improved infrastructure, better hospitality and louder techno music would come big- ger and better TV deals and more impressions. To bean counters, more impressions equals Return on Investment. It's impossible to quantify that, but in the end the factories want to race and Luongo's is the only game in Euro-town. Word on the street is that Luongo's, er, Youthstream's, sanctioning fees can range anywhere from a bottle of wine, all the way up to $750k, depend- ing on the country. Many of the fly-away races, such as Qatar and Thailand, are subsidized by their respective governments to promote tourism, or whatever. These would be the big fish. I had heard that going into the 2011 event, Glen Helen's fee was in the neighborhood of $350k. It's been awhile and I'm getting old, but I think that's close. When all was said and done, I do not know exactly how much Bud Feldkamp lost on those GPs a few years ago, but I did hear him mention a pretty big number while we were talking and watch- ing the place empty out in 2011. I also recall some talk about cer- tain parties not fulfilling their end of pre-race marketing and a few other kicks-in-the-nuts that prob- ably added to his woes. I never brought it up when I've seen him since then, but perhaps some reparations were made by Lu- ongo, or maybe he made Bud an offer he couldn't refuse to host this year's event. Either that, or Bud's memory has a shelf life of about three years. No, I think the real reason that the USGP is coming to Glen Hel- en in two weeks is because Dr. Bud Feldkamp is a hard-core, lifetime fan of motocross, who loves to bring Europe's best to our shores for us to appreciate. The 2017 Motocross of Nations will also be at Glen Helen, but don't wait until then to come out. On September 20, in the hills above Devore, the best riders in the world will be hauling ass on the gnarliest, most spectacular track in the world, fighting for world championship points! I cannot wait to see Cooper Webb getting ready for the MXoN on a 450, Cairoli's return and the awesome skills of Romain Febvre, the new World champ! I want to feel the ground shake when Jeremy Martin flat-lands his 250 Yamaha and I want to get the autographs of some of my European heroes. Now get up off your couch and go buy some tickets! See you there! CN

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