Members of a new group that represents the tracks that host professional motorcycle road racing in the United States plan to meet with Daytona Motorsports Group principal Roger Edmondson later this month to discuss DMG’s plans for the 2009 season. Alan Wilson, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager for Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, told Roadracing World that the meeting between Edmondson and the Road Race Industry Council is scheduled to take place August 22 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, where Edmondson will be on hand for a Grand-Am sports car event. In short, Wilson’s views are: Manufacturer involvement is a must, class structures and rules should remain stable through 2009, and negotiations should start now for a rules package for 2010. His other views on what motorcycle road racing should look like in the U.S. well, Wilson says that now is not the time to start throwing new proposals around. Instead, Wilson says, the group plans to meet with Edmondson to clarify their positions on what’s currently under discussion. “We’ve heard what he (Edmondson) has said, and not all of us have the same mental picture of where he’s going,” Wilson said. “So we decided that the best thing to do would be to meet with Roger and ask him directly. We’ve got a lot of investment, we’ve got a lot at stake, we’re all heavily invested in motorcycle racing and we want to see the sport grow.” Wilson says the group wants to be sure that Edmondson knows their positions and to make sure they understand his. “We have a lot of opinions, none of them will be new to him,” Wilson says. “We (track operators) don’t have a common position other than that motorcycle sports have to grow.” Speaking solely for himself, Wilson says his major concern centers around the potential loss of the Japanese manufacturer involvement in 2009. “The manufacturers have invested substantial amounts of money that are important for the sport to grow,” Wilson says. “If they are not in, we will suffer, our customers will suffer, and the participants will suffer. That obviously is a major issue. “If there’s no money, who pays the name riders, the people who attract the audience? If no one’s paying them, what happens to them? Do they go to Europe? If they do, they’re useless to us, in terms of drawing a crowd. You wouldn’t even have the up-and-coming talent; they wouldn’t have a place to ride.” Wilson pointed out that it’s not just the manufacturer who sponsors the event that brings money to the track. It’s the fact that because of the manufacturer’s sponsorship, an event exists. And because that event exists, everyone else other manufacturers, suppliers, etc. comes to play. And that produces revenues for the tracks. “If you’ve got 5000 spectators, and they’re paying $30, you can do the math,” Wilson says. “Now, if you’ve got 50,000 spectators, it’s a different story. But the average road racing event in the country brings in 10,000, 11,000 people. You have to underwrite your event with corporate (sponsorship), with hospitality, with signage. Do I want the manufacturers involved? Absolutely. That’s very, very important to me. “My concern with DMG is that I don’t see replacement money if the manufacturers go out. Not even a rumor of replacement money. If (DMG’s) position is that like NASCAR they have this huge body of non-industry sponsors, the National Guards, the Subways, and that money’s going back to promoters, great. But that doesn’t exist right now and we can’t afford to wait six, seven, eight years before that happens. We understand what Roger’s goal is we’re concerned about getting there.” Wilson says that if the issue of manufacturer money and involvement can be resolved, motorcycle road racing in the U.S. is on the verge of taking a great step forward in terms of public recognition and visibility. “Now we have a schism. And I wish to hell it hadn’t happened, because we’re so close to moving forward. It comes down to the single issue of manufacturer money,” Wilson says. “It’s not that broke. Let’s leave it in place through 2009, and let’s start now making plans for 2010. Let’s give it time, and time will be a great healer. Jointly, we’ll make it work. Nobody’s right and nobody’s wrong in this. As long as it’s rational, I don’t care if my ideas are the ones that are implemented. This is not about me. Even though I think some of my ideas might be successful, now is not the time to bring them up.” Wilson points out that the track operator’s group wasn’t formed to deal with the issue of motorcycle road racing. He says the track operators started meeting back in February to discuss rather pedestrian issues that are of great importance if you run a racetrack asphalt technology, cornerworkers, etc. But as he says, “It just happens that the first question that we’re dealing with is the state of motorcycle road racing is going to be in 2009 and quite frankly, we don’t know. “As much of an enthusiast as I am, (as a track owner) I can’t be an enthusiast,” says Wilson, a former motorcycle racer himself. “Whatever we do has to have a rational basis. Even if we go into an event knowing we’re going to lose money, we make a rational decision to lose money now to get it back later. We have to run it as a commercial enterprise.” Edmondson declined to comment on Wilson’s concerns, but says he is looking forward to meeting with the track owners. “I think I need to listen, to hear them out, to make sure I understand their point of view and that they understand mine,” Edmondson says. “These are old friends of mine, old business partners, and I’m confident we’ll walk out of there shaking hands and looking forward to the 2009 season.”