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/728976
VOL. 53 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 P109 live streaming sorted out a week after its first round at the U.S. GP at the Circuit of the Americas for round two at Road Atlanta, the series' first stand-alone event. Everyone looked at year one as a work in progress, and although frustrating at times, the new series was able to make im- provements, and pretty quickly. There were no major tech or race direction dramas, outside of the timing and scoring, which got sorted out. For the first time in memory, it was the most posi- tive atmosphere that I had ever seen in the paddock. In year two, the biggest move forward was a live TV package with beIN Sports. The nega- tive—it wasn't part of your basic cable package. The positive—it was on the same channel as MotoGP and World Superbike. So if you loved road racing, finally it was all on the same channel. It was like the good ol' Speedvision days. In fact, I can't really remember when the last time AMA Superbike racing had an average of six hours of live coverage except then. It would be hard to find someone who would argue it wasn't the best TV package the sport has seen in many years. I personally miss the acces- sibility of live streaming that FansChoice.tv offered, but it turns out I was just not hip with what kids are doing these days. In addition to the beIN Sports Connect app, there are a host of apps and subscriptions avail- able that allow you to access the races away from your home TV and DVR. So again, there's progress being made. The series crowd numbers have grown by 30 per- cent, not a staggering amount but a steady improvement that the series needs. And more importantly, the racing in the su- perbike class has been some of the best the championship has seen in a while with three guys— Josh Hayes, Cameron Beaubier, Roger Hayden—going at it. A little further back with the race within a race, the Superstock 1000 class has been a brawl all year long. In 2017, the series makes the jump to moving closer in line with World Superbike tech rules. While some worry about the costs, I still think that standard- ization will prove to reap the ben- efits of OEM interest. And to add to the progress in year three, there's talk of expanding the series to 10 events from nine. In spite of its steady progress, at some point MotoAmerica faces the danger that the hon- eymoon is over. In a sport that, at the moment, is held together by die-hard purists, it's important for both sides to keep a healthy relationship alive. After being around the AMA Superbike paddock over the last 13 seasons, it's been a weird rollercoaster ride—the twilight of the golden years of superbike racing, the disman- tling of it, the attempt to rebuild it, and now the new attempt to rebuild it from the ashes. Throughout that whole time, through three different owners, there was no time where there was a feeling that everyone was together for a common goal of moving the series forward like now, and that is the most encouraging bit. During the rough years, there were many that felt that the series had to hit rock bottom to grow again. A terrifying concept that met reality. So yes, the honeymoon is nearly over, but for the first time in a long time it's a relationship that all parties are working at nurturing. Hopefully history doesn't repeat itself. It's looking good so far. CN