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NeonspeedRT · 09-11-2008, 08:31 AM

Continued....

"What is the 2009 schedule and what tracks will host the races?

USSB will seek dates on many of the same tracks AMA has raced on in the last few years. We expect the 2009 series to run from April through September.

Updates and news about the series can be found 24/7 at the USSB Championship official website www.USSBCHAMPIONSHIP.com.

Who is the managing organization for USSB? What qualifications and experience do they have?

The USSB Championship Series or USSB is owned and operated by USSB, Inc., a subsidiary of the Motorcycle Industry Council. The MIC is a not-for-profit, national trade association created to promote, protect and preserve motorcycling and the U.S. motorcycle industry.

As an industry association, the MIC is uniquely qualified to leverage its more than four decades of industry experience to help create, operate and produce USSB. MIC staff and a team of experienced industry veterans conducted the initial work on USSB. USSB, Inc. will retain additional professional staff to handle race operations, sanctioning functions and promotion services as needed.

Why did the MIC get involved in this?

The MIC was not looking for any direct involvement in racing. However, MIC has been associated with racing for many, many years since great racing events in this country serve as an impressive venue for industry business activities. They can be a draw for the major mainstream media that motorcycling needs to progress, and also for the celebrities who can help promote the sport and are now “media” in their own right.

But since the AMA series is headed away from decades of American Superbike tradition with a radically changed series formula it is time for the MIC to become more involved.

Many years of effort by factory teams, from mechanics to crew chiefs, to engineers and designers in faraway R&D shops are at risk of being simply wasted. America’s best riders, and the competitors who came here to race against our best, all of whom had developed powerful working partnerships with these teams, faced an uncertain future. Several of the country’s most respected professional riders spoke out loudly against these sudden changes. Some talked about leaving to race overseas.

Even teams who had not recently won the Superbike championship, or even a race over the past few years, expressed the view that they did not want to lose the current racing formula. They wanted an opportunity to rise up and beat the defending champions with the existing rules left in place. They wanted to show that they had the ability to build stronger teams and develop faster riders. They wanted to continue to race, under the current rules, for the challenge and for the sake of pride. The desire to compete is part of their corporate DNA and the top superbike riders and teams could be ranked among the best in the world. They are that skilled, that accomplished.

There are a good number of factory, manufacturer-supported teams in today’s Superbike series. There are four full-factory teams now racing and not long ago there were five. The manufacturers spent millions upon millions of dollars supporting these teams, and additional money sponsoring individual races across the country. By the manufacturers’ own words, the new AMA series was not going to meet their companies’ needs.

And reaction among most fans, as judged by letters to enthusiast publications and Web sites, was almost universally negative. They said they wanted to see the best riders on the fastest bikes. Many of them stated that they did not want to see, either in person, or on TV, highly restricted bikes, or what they feared would be glorified club racing.

The AMA Superbike Championship, as we have known it through 2008, may not be ideal. But there was no MIC interest in developing another road racing championship until it was clear the AMA series would no longer exist as it has been known.

So the motorcycle manufacturers are doing their own racing series, then?

No. This is a common misperception. The Motorcycle Industry Council is initiating USSB on behalf of its members. This is the industry starting its own racing series, which will be independently operated.

Can the MIC really pull this off?

Absolutely. The MIC will start and nurture an entirely new and independent enterprise, USSB, Inc., with the sole mission of owning and operating the nation’s premier road racing series. USSB, Inc. employees, board members and business partners will be selected for the expertise they can bring in promoting and operating this racing series.

We believe there is no better entity to start a proper motorcycle racing series than the industry itself. No one can know motorcycle racing better than motorcyclists. No group has more at stake or will care more about achieving success. The MIC has but one motive: Improving the industry. Accomplished by promoting, protecting, preserving.

Note that the industry has strived toward nearly 15 years of rapid growth. Motorcycle sales in the early 1990s were a quarter of what they are today. The industry worked extensively to turn around the generally bad image of motorcycling that existed 20 years ago. Media coverage two decades ago was almost universally negative. Today, motorcycle industry representatives are welcomed inside the offices of the biggest media outlets in the country. The motorcycle industry can count among its friends more CEOs, celebrities and Capitol Hill officials than ever before.

Meanwhile, American road racing has not enjoyed similar levels of growth and increased awareness.

How is this part of the MIC’s mission?

MIC is initiating the series for the teams, for the manufacturers, for the riders, for the fans, all to better promote the business of motorcycling in America. It is the function of the MIC to preserve, protect and promote motorcycling. A world-class road racing series in the United States, done right, will help promote motorcycling here.

What does the MIC have to gain?

The 300-plus MIC members and their thousands of employees and all of motorcycling in America stand to gain much from a successful national championship road racing series. The MIC is a not-for-profit association that works on their behalf. A great deal of business is accomplished at world-class racing venues, which can serve as the backdrop that attracts major media, corporate and celebrity involvement in motorcycling, not necessarily just racing. And the showcases that great racing venues provide also help generate a lot of consumer sales and can inspire new riders. Win on Sunday; sell on Tuesday when the bike shop opens.

USSB, Inc. was established specifically to create a sustainable, popular superbike championship that will benefit many across the industry."

09-11-2008, 08:31 AM	#7
NeonspeedRT At Large Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Jax, FL Moto: 2005 R1 Posts: 678	Continued.... "What is the 2009 schedule and what tracks will host the races? USSB will seek dates on many of the same tracks AMA has raced on in the last few years. We expect the 2009 series to run from April through September. Updates and news about the series can be found 24/7 at the USSB Championship official website www.USSBCHAMPIONSHIP.com. Who is the managing organization for USSB? What qualifications and experience do they have? The USSB Championship Series or USSB is owned and operated by USSB, Inc., a subsidiary of the Motorcycle Industry Council. The MIC is a not-for-profit, national trade association created to promote, protect and preserve motorcycling and the U.S. motorcycle industry. As an industry association, the MIC is uniquely qualified to leverage its more than four decades of industry experience to help create, operate and produce USSB. MIC staff and a team of experienced industry veterans conducted the initial work on USSB. USSB, Inc. will retain additional professional staff to handle race operations, sanctioning functions and promotion services as needed. Why did the MIC get involved in this? The MIC was not looking for any direct involvement in racing. However, MIC has been associated with racing for many, many years since great racing events in this country serve as an impressive venue for industry business activities. They can be a draw for the major mainstream media that motorcycling needs to progress, and also for the celebrities who can help promote the sport and are now “media” in their own right. But since the AMA series is headed away from decades of American Superbike tradition with a radically changed series formula it is time for the MIC to become more involved. Many years of effort by factory teams, from mechanics to crew chiefs, to engineers and designers in faraway R&D shops are at risk of being simply wasted. America’s best riders, and the competitors who came here to race against our best, all of whom had developed powerful working partnerships with these teams, faced an uncertain future. Several of the country’s most respected professional riders spoke out loudly against these sudden changes. Some talked about leaving to race overseas. Even teams who had not recently won the Superbike championship, or even a race over the past few years, expressed the view that they did not want to lose the current racing formula. They wanted an opportunity to rise up and beat the defending champions with the existing rules left in place. They wanted to show that they had the ability to build stronger teams and develop faster riders. They wanted to continue to race, under the current rules, for the challenge and for the sake of pride. The desire to compete is part of their corporate DNA and the top superbike riders and teams could be ranked among the best in the world. They are that skilled, that accomplished. There are a good number of factory, manufacturer-supported teams in today’s Superbike series. There are four full-factory teams now racing and not long ago there were five. The manufacturers spent millions upon millions of dollars supporting these teams, and additional money sponsoring individual races across the country. By the manufacturers’ own words, the new AMA series was not going to meet their companies’ needs. And reaction among most fans, as judged by letters to enthusiast publications and Web sites, was almost universally negative. They said they wanted to see the best riders on the fastest bikes. Many of them stated that they did not want to see, either in person, or on TV, highly restricted bikes, or what they feared would be glorified club racing. The AMA Superbike Championship, as we have known it through 2008, may not be ideal. But there was no MIC interest in developing another road racing championship until it was clear the AMA series would no longer exist as it has been known. So the motorcycle manufacturers are doing their own racing series, then? No. This is a common misperception. The Motorcycle Industry Council is initiating USSB on behalf of its members. This is the industry starting its own racing series, which will be independently operated. Can the MIC really pull this off? Absolutely. The MIC will start and nurture an entirely new and independent enterprise, USSB, Inc., with the sole mission of owning and operating the nation’s premier road racing series. USSB, Inc. employees, board members and business partners will be selected for the expertise they can bring in promoting and operating this racing series. We believe there is no better entity to start a proper motorcycle racing series than the industry itself. No one can know motorcycle racing better than motorcyclists. No group has more at stake or will care more about achieving success. The MIC has but one motive: Improving the industry. Accomplished by promoting, protecting, preserving. Note that the industry has strived toward nearly 15 years of rapid growth. Motorcycle sales in the early 1990s were a quarter of what they are today. The industry worked extensively to turn around the generally bad image of motorcycling that existed 20 years ago. Media coverage two decades ago was almost universally negative. Today, motorcycle industry representatives are welcomed inside the offices of the biggest media outlets in the country. The motorcycle industry can count among its friends more CEOs, celebrities and Capitol Hill officials than ever before. Meanwhile, American road racing has not enjoyed similar levels of growth and increased awareness. How is this part of the MIC’s mission? MIC is initiating the series for the teams, for the manufacturers, for the riders, for the fans, all to better promote the business of motorcycling in America. It is the function of the MIC to preserve, protect and promote motorcycling. A world-class road racing series in the United States, done right, will help promote motorcycling here. What does the MIC have to gain? The 300-plus MIC members and their thousands of employees and all of motorcycling in America stand to gain much from a successful national championship road racing series. The MIC is a not-for-profit association that works on their behalf. A great deal of business is accomplished at world-class racing venues, which can serve as the backdrop that attracts major media, corporate and celebrity involvement in motorcycling, not necessarily just racing. And the showcases that great racing venues provide also help generate a lot of consumer sales and can inspire new riders. Win on Sunday; sell on Tuesday when the bike shop opens. USSB, Inc. was established specifically to create a sustainable, popular superbike championship that will benefit many across the industry." __________________ MSF Rider Coach Motorcycle Training Institue Inc "Riding a motorcycle is like playing chess. Anyone can learn the moves, but it takes a lifetime to master the game."