The American Motorcyclist Association is getting out of promoting professional racing events, and is looking for commercial interests to run its competition series, AMA officials said today. “We have to face the fact that success in promoting our racing series has proven elusive,” says Rob Dingman, President and CEO of the AMA. “The AMA recognizes that the business model it has been following is flawed. We have to rededicate ourselves to our core mission, and promoting racing is not part of that core mission. We are getting out of the promotion business. “Mixing our responsibilities of sanctioning events and promoting series has led to confusion and has cost us in terms of manufacturers being willing to support the AMA,” Dingman says. “I think a lot of people have been confused as to our role. It has led to us being at the center of controversy, and no one wants to be associated with a company mired in controversy. The motorcycling industry is willing to do a lot more with the AMA if we focus on our core competencies.” The AMA will be seeking a business operation similar to that in place at the world level, with the World Superbike series promoted by the FGSport Group but sanctioned by the FIM. Since 1995, the AMA’s for-profit promotion arm, Paradama, has promoted AMA-sanctioned road racing in the United States. But the operation has been controversial from the beginning, with the AMA losing a lawsuit against former business partner Roger Edmondson over whether the association defrauded Edmondson. Last year, American Honda, upset by what it called AMA Pro Racing’s “inability to stand by its own rulebook with regard to recent Formula Xtreme considerations,” abandoned its seats on the AMA’s Board of Directors and the since-disbanded Paradama board of directors. Dingman says the AMA will be issuing a request for proposals (RFP) from commercial interests who want to run its racing series, and will conduct “due diligence” to make sure those interested in promoting the series are capable of doing so. The change will take place over the next several months, Dingman says. “It is not going to happen overnight,” he says. “We are going to be diligent in pursuit of our commercial partners. I’d rather do it right than do it quickly, and we want to do it correctly, to minimize the impact on the racing community. Our goal here is to make a better racing environment.” But make no mistake – the AMA wants out of the promotion business. “I wish I could snap my fingers and get out tomorrow,” Dingman says. Dingman says AMA officials are talking to a number of parties interested in running the road racing and various other series, but declined to identify any of them at this point in the negotiations. Dingman says that the AMA is hoping to pursue partnerships similar to that it struck with Live Nation, which produces and promotes the Supercross series, or the deal struck by the National Hot Rod Association, which sold its entire racing operation to HD Partners. The AMA will continue to establish rules for the racing series and continue to sanction future events, Dingman says. Dingman says the AMA’s efforts to promote its own series were hampered by a lack of resources – people and money. “People always say, ‘Why can’t you be more like NASCAR?’ Well, we aren’t resourced like NASCAR,” Dingman says. “Few people are. It’s a multi-million dollar operation backed by billionaires. We don’t have adequate resources. We have to recognize that.” AMA officials say they plan to release more information on the changes shortly. More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: A NEW VISION FOR THE AMERICAN MOTORCYCLIST ASSOCIATION PICKERINGTON, Ohio (September 14, 2007) The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) has announced that it is embarking on an ambitious new plan to fundamentally change the way it conducts business. Specifically, the AMA is getting out of the racing series promotions business and will begin seeking series promoters for each of its professional and amateur racing disciplines. In making the announcement, AMA President/CEO Rob Dingman, said the organization must ultimately define the distinction between the traditional roles of a sanctioning organization and that of a series promoter. “It is clear to the senior management of the AMA that we must change the way we handle the business of racing,” said Dingman. “Unfortunately the AMA’s role has become blurred and this lack of clarity has led to an erosion of confidence in the organization. The primary objectives of this new initiative are to improve AMA Championship Racing overall and realign the company so it can be successful in its historic mission of serving the needs of motorcyclists by pursuing, promoting and protecting the future of motorcycling.” Dingman made the announcement this week at a staff gathering near company headquarters in Pickerington, Ohio. The announcement also appeared in Cycle News Magazine. Text of the new vision as well as a list of Q&As can be found at www.amaproracing.com/newvision.asp. Dingman stated that the organization lacks the resources and infrastructure to effectively promote each of its series as well as govern the sport. “We are not getting out of motorcycle racing,” noted Dingman. “We are redefining our role so we can focus exclusively on race sanctioning as opposed to race promotion. We will partner with companies that can effectively manage racing from the commercial perspective. We will sanction racing events and provide operational staff where it is required.” The AMA’s new business model is the result of a top-down organizational analysis. “We took an honest look at ourselves and were able to identify those things that we are successful at as well as those that are lacking,” added Dingman. “This change will enable us to focus on the tasks that are more suited to our structure, abilities and resources.” The AMA has already begun searching for series partners for all disciplines except AMA Supercross.