VOL. 53 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 P83
W
ayne Rainey has seen just
about every side of motor-
cycle racing. As a three-
time MotoGP World Champion,
former team owner and now head
of the KRAVE Group that controls
MotoAmerica with partners Chuck
Aksland, Richard Varner and Terry
Karges, Rainey has helped breathe
life back into a failing American
road racing championship that saw
factory teams disappear, sponsors
leaving in droves and riders no lon-
ger considering racing in the U.S. a
viable career option.
Now two years into his tenure,
Rainey is pleased with the progress
that's been made—a former World
Champion, Toni Elias, now wants to
call this championship home, there's
renewed interest from manufacturers
other than Suzuki and Yamaha, and
the KTM RC Cup is doing what was
expected of it in providing a platform
for the next generation of American
racers to shine.
"People didn't really know what
to expect when my name was at-
tached to this," Rainey says of the
MotoAmerica project. "When we
announced this thing there were
some big manufacturers sitting on
the side. They were going to watch
how this thing unveiled and how
it would go, race-to-race. I think
by the sixth race of last year, one
(manufacturer) contacted us and
said, 'this looks good. We like what
you're doing.' People just didn't
know. That's just how fresh we are
and how new we are."
