Will anything really alter?
By TMX Archives on 24th Sep 09
This week we take a look at the State of the Nation' according to FIM President Vito Ippolito and ask ourselves if it's all talk... WE'VE all seen programmes on television and articles in the national press regarding the current ‘crisis' in the economies around the world, and it has to be said that the motorcycle industry has been hard hit by customers tightening their belts.
Just recently the FIM President, Venezuelan Vito Ippolito, briefly expressed his views on every aspect of motorcycle sport in a ‘State of the Nation' address. He attempted to explain what the world governing body was trying to do to counteract the result of the current fiscal ‘crisis' on world championship disciplines.
He firstly explained what was being done on the road-race and then raised the subject of the off-road disciplines – the ones which interest you and I!
He explained: "In Motocross we have noticed a great improvement in media visibility. However, our greatest worry comes from the increase of participation costs for the teams. One must expect that some teams will face economic difficulties and that the number of entries will be lower next year.
"We are currently in discussions with the promoter (Giuseppe Luongo) in order to quickly find solutions to reduce these costs in 2010 and maintain the number of entries in this championship.”
A clear, strong statement, but does anyone really believe that the FIM will clash with Youthstream over the entry fees charged to teams and riders, or organisers, or over the reduction from 40 to 30 riders in the MX1 class which Giuseppe Luongo personally announced in July?
The Italian entrepreneur is not renowned for changing his mind under duress... and he has paid the FIM for the right to decide what to do with HIS series!
VI: "Regarding Supercross, public attendance is very high, but we are trying to find solutions to export this championship outside North America, to extend its media coverage and develop it at European and world levels.”
When ‘Dorna' and ‘Two Wheel Properties' (formerly ‘Clear Channel') bought the rights to combine the AMA and FIM SX series at the start of the millennium, it incorporated European rounds in Geneva, Arnheim and Seville on the schedule for a couple of years, but typically the ‘overseas' rounds in recent years have been restricted to trips across the Great Lakes to Canada.
The cost of competing in the ‘World' SX rounds is covered completely by manufacturers' US outlets... and those outlets have absolutely no interest in funding riders to compete elsewhere in the world! They're only concern is with the US market-place.
VI: "Generally speaking, a presence of championships on various continents is something positive for their expansion. In times of crisis, cost reduction is not sufficient to solve all the problems.
"We have to find other ways to motivate sponsors and offer more attractive solutions. But the quality of the championships also depend on riders' participation in both championships – MX and SX.
"An important target to improve the quality would be to have the top Americans contest the World MX series and have the top European and ‘rest-of-the-world' riders take part in SX, in order to boost audience numbers and attract more sponsors. This is the case in the Motocross of Nations which attracts together twice as many spectators as a Motocross Grand Prix, offering the three best riders from about 30 different countries. This is a way to fight the crisis.”
Now this bit will appeal to Giuseppe Luongo, but, for the reasons already given – it isn't going to happen! Half the top US riders are already on SX-only contracts and series promoter Two Wheel Properties is unlikely to reduce its calendar to help out the outdoor game – in America or elsewhere.
The decision to raise the age limit for a Pro-licence in the US will presumably see several 15 to 17-year-old Amateurs head to Europe to contest GPs in future years, but you can bet those same riders will be back in the States as soon as they are old enough to contest the AMA Supercross series.
VI: "In the case of Trials, the work of the FIM Marketing and Communications Department has helped to improve media coverage but the industry is suffering from a shrinking market, which has an impact on these series.
"We have consulted all the parties involved and we are currently working on important changes to the technical and sporting rules. Moreover, we must continue our work with the National Federations and governments concerned in order to create places reserved for Trials riding.”
We'll have to wait on the outcome of those discussions to see if that proposition on more land for trials is a runner.
VI: "In Enduro, our main objective is also globalisation. It is difficult to find tracks in Europe. The rounds outside Europe were really successful such as the one in Mexico. This means we are moving in the right direction.”
So says the man at the top of motorcycle sport in the world...