By David Swarts If past experience is any indication it may be days before we get to speak directly to anybody in charge over at the new, Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC)-organized United States Super Bike (USSB) Series. Although MIC boasts in its press release about “regularly working with national media,” every attempt I have ever made to speak to someone at MIC over the past few years has resulted in being transferred to a “media hotline” voicemail system. Only a small percentage of those calls were ever returned, none quicker than days later. And the same thing is happening today. When I tried to contact MIC President Tim Buche and new USSB Managing Director Ty van Hooydonk, before and after today’s USSB announcement, I was transferred to the “news media line for USSB.” Messages left more than two hours ago had yet to be returned at post time. During my 12-year career in motorcycle road racing I have had easy, direct communication with every top official with every racing organization (not to mention racers and race teams) I have ever covered. Apparently MIC/DTM/USSB has a different policy on working with the media. New USSB Managing Director van Hooydonk has no credible operational experience in professional motorcycle road racing (or in motorcycle road racing of any type), but he’s a former moto-journalist and long-time professional public relations operative. Which means, he ought to know better.