Cost of AMA racing

[Pittenger5]

FIRST PERSON/OPINION: Road Trip Reflections On The State Of Professional Racing News Article // RoadracingWorld.com

Good article, uses Jeff Wood as an example. Helluva business when 2 top 10 finishes STILL costs you money.
Kind of an eye opener too when you see that just cause they're on tv they're not making a living off of this. Hopefully DMG will be able to do something about it.

[lrrs313]

Great article. And people wonder why there's not a lot of young talent racing in the AMA.

[OreoGaborio]

Wow, good read.

[Crash Dummy Denno]

dayum

[seth399]

yep, this is true for road racing, mx, fmx, bicycles, etc....sucks when sports like baseball have the 1500th best player still making a good amount of money

[kermita]

So why do privateers even ride with AMA? Exposure for sponsors? Exposure for themselves?

[Crash Dummy Denno]

So why do privateers even ride with AMA? Exposure for sponsors? Exposure for themselves?

Pongo.com for eric wood's sponsor

and bettencourts for jeffs

im sure they are not footing the bill completely on their own

[eboos]

"including paying for 14 sets of Dunlop tires at $400 a set, for a total of $5600 (he told me he actually used 20 sets worth $8400, but he has a partial sponsorship from Dunlop)."
- from Roadracingworld.com

If Dunlop isn't even hooking him up fully, how much support do you really think he is getting from Bettencourt's?

[Crash Dummy Denno]

If Dunlop isn't even hooking him up fully, how much support do you really think he is getting from Bettencourt's?

if i made it sound like I know then you misunderstood me - I'm just saying there are more ways to make $ racing than the purses - it would be interesting to know what they are worth to their sponsors though

oh and tires still cost money to produce, I think we'd be surprised how many FOC tires are given out (not as many as you think, unless you're MotoGP) - again I dont know, just speculating

its kind of a depressing topic as these are guys that are very talented and at a level 99.99% of us will never reach and they don't have a real gravvy train

also, dont forget WOODCRAFT and Penguin School

[Pittenger5]

If Dunlop isn't even hooking him up fully, how much support do you really think he is getting from Bettencourt's?

Also you hafta think, Dunlop probably pays at least a portion for 1000 people in the country, Bettencourts backs one guy.
Proportionally to income if they pay the same amount total (assumption I have no idea) at least Bettencourts is only going to 1 person instead of 1000.

[eboos]

The problem is a matter of budget. Bettencourt's is a small dealership that is not part of any dealer network. They do support other professional riders in other disciplines like flat track. It simply wouldn't be possible for them to get a return on their investment to offer much more then supplying the bikes.

I do not know Jeff Wood or Kenny Coolbeth or any other Bettencourt's riders personally, so I couldn't speak with any knowledge as to what their deals are. It would only seem as though providing any more financial support could not be possible for a dealership if Bettencourt's size.

[Pittenger5]

Well a free bike is a free bike, and if they dont race prep it they get him a good deal on parts Im sure.
But like I say, I'm just assuming.
As for why privateers do it, if you can, who WOULDNT want to race against the best? I mean, we all pay for racing, maybe not THAT much, but most of us do it cause we love it and arent expecting to make a living off of it. I'm sure the privateers do it cause they love it, and want to race the best. Making some money doesnt hurt matters, but hey, a bad day on the track beats a good day anywhere else.

[eboos]

As for why privateers do it, if you can, who WOULDNT want to race against the best? I mean, we all pay for racing, maybe not THAT much, but most of us do it cause we love it and arent expecting to make a living off of it. I'm sure the privateers do it cause they love it, and want to race the best. Making some money doesnt hurt matters, but hey, a bad day on the track beats a good day anywhere else.

Absolutely!

[brewmaster]

Making some money doesnt hurt matters, but hey, a bad day on the track beats a good day anywhere else.

I am lucky because a good day in the brewery isn't so bad either.

[Pittenger5]

I am lucky because a good day in the brewery isn't so bad either.

You sir are living the American dream, and I envy you.

[seth399]

Well a free bike is a free bike, and if they dont race prep it they get him a good deal on parts Im sure.
But like I say, I'm just assuming.
As for why privateers do it, if you can, who WOULDNT want to race against the best? I mean, we all pay for racing, maybe not THAT much, but most of us do it cause we love it and arent expecting to make a living off of it. I'm sure the privateers do it cause they love it, and want to race the best. Making some money doesnt hurt matters, but hey, a bad day on the track beats a good day anywhere else.

but none of it adds up..even if you are a fast privateer doing it cuz you love it, the only way POSSIBLE is if you have backing from somewhere/are rich. All these numbers don't even go over the costs you start off with as far as work space/truck and trailers etc...

If you want to ride against the best you have to ride/train all the time, if you want to ride and train all the time you have to be rich.

[eboos]

Jeff is a very successful racer (like I even have to state that). In CCS and ASRA, I am sure he more then covers any financial loses he has in AMA. Fighting tough fights in AMA is likely one of the ways he has become so successful. Spanking everyone at our local track alone wouldn't help develope his skills much.

[Pittenger5]

but none of it adds up..even if you are a fast privateer doing it cuz you love it, the only way POSSIBLE is if you have backing from somewhere/are rich.

Im not disputing this at all, none of us would race motorcycles if we were struggling to put food on the table, its the name of the game. More my point is I doubt any of the privateers are making their livnig from racing motorcycles. Maybe they make enough to cover racing, maybe a couple of them make some money, but Id say the vast majority have another career that pays for the racing.

[seth399]

Im not disputing this at all, none of us would race motorcycles if we were struggling to put food on the table, its the name of the game. More my point is I doubt any of the privateers are making their livnig from racing motorcycles. Maybe they make enough to cover racing, maybe a couple of them make some money, but Id say the vast majority have another career that pays for the racing.

ah yes...thats where it sucks because while they are making their 'income' the others at the top or well off are out practicing training.
But like you say, thats the nature of it all

[kermita]

Jeff is a very successful racer (like I even have to state that). In CCS and ASRA, I am sure he more then covers any financial loses he has in AMA. Fighting tough fights in AMA is likely one of the ways he has become so successful. Spanking everyone at our local track alone wouldn't help develope his skills much.

What really amazes me is that Jeff essentially has to club race (to make money) in order to lose it in AMA.. WTF??? Shouldn't racing with the "big boys" in AMA make him more money than what he can get at a LRRS weekend? What is it about club racing that makes it more profitable? Is it only the top 5 or so at each level the only ones that make $$$. Is this the same with other national racing organizations, British Superbike for example, or is it that the AMA just sucks?

[BMFR6]

i remember seeing somewhere a couple years ago, maybe an RRW article one of the Woods still clears just over 6 figures when all is said and done. thats racing all of his event, club and ama. just what i recall seeing, don't flame if it turns out not 100% accurate.

[eboos]

That was from the Cribs artical about Jeff's house. I read that one too.

The reason that Jeff and others make more club racing is that manufacturers have high contingency payouts and the races themselves may have pretty good purses. The reason that they don't make much if anything in AMA is that AMA has a hard time commanding high paying sponsorships for non factory riders. For the TV watching public, there are only a handful of racers that get any coverage and they are all factory riders, or Aaron Yates who rides for Michael Jordon's team (which the public could identify with).

[lrrs313]

ah yes...thats where it sucks because while they are making their 'income' the others at the top or well off are out practicing training.
But like you say, thats the nature of it all

The other unfortunate thing is that most of us who have to make our income elsewhere to support racing have to go to work Monday morning. Which for me (and a lot of other guys and girls) would be very difficult at least with injuries sustained racing.

[seth399]

The other unfortunate thing is that most of us who have to make our income elsewhere to support racing have to go to work Monday morning. Which for me (and a lot of other guys and girls) would be very difficult at least with injuries sustained racing.

exactly...I know this routine and it sucks. But my experience has been with offroad bicycle stuff not road racing which is even more expensive.

[Karaya One]

There has always been good money in club racing on the right bikes. Polen was the first guy to break 100K a year back in 1986 racing Suzuki Cup out of the back of a van.

Polen, Turkington, Russell, Hall, Gray, Harth, James, Graves, etc.... All got their start on Cup bikes. And made a living doing it.

Schwantz was getting paid Yamaha money in the RZ Cup!

What shocks me about the article was the tire usage and tire bill. I thought he had a Dunlop ride? Crazy money on tires.