Ping,
At the risk of being accused of being a red or socialist (more so than usual) I dare to ask the following: Would it be in the best interest of the pro racing community to exclude factory riders (and those using unobtainable parts) from all purse money, and redistribute that money to the 10th-40th place guys?
If someone like Ken Roczen makes 95% of his income from salary, bonuses, and endorsements, would it truly hurt him (or other factory riders) to not get purse money from the promoters? Also, he/they are in the highest tax bracket, and will likely hand 50% of that 5% over to Uncle Sam at the end of the year, perhaps not significantly affecting their personal wealth or nest egg.
Could we do better as a sport if we took this money away from the upper earners and spread it around to the lower earners, who in many peoples' opinion truly need that money to get from race to race and stay financially afloat?
-B
B,
Cool idea, bro. After that we can tell [Ryan] Dungey, Roczen, and anybody else making too much money that they have to sell their houses and share the profits so privateers can have a better living situation. Hey, maybe we could even make them pay for trainers for those guys and force them to allow privateers to ride their private tracks? If we are going all Karl Marx on them, we could even implement a rule where they have to share their wives/girlfriends with top privateers if those without factory support are unable to obtain women who look as good. I hope you’re picking up the sarcasm, Senor Castro.
Look, I’m all for spreading the purse money out a little more evenly if that helps, but selectively picking who gets paid and who doesn’t seems like off-the-charts overreach. Honestly, the purse money at the nationals and supercross races isn’t enough to really move the needle for any rider; it’s pretty bad.
PING
What's up, Ping?
Hey was that you or [Grant] Langston that exploded the KTM lites bike into pieces upon a SX impact? I don't remember. Anyhow what's the industry buzz on the 2 US MXGP events this year as far as promoter profitability or bankruptcy? I know the FIM demands RIDICULOUS $$$ to bring their circus to town. I remember reading that the 2007 Motocross of Nations cost our patriotic ally and friend Jonathan Beasley down at Budds Creek a huge amount of money from his own pocket. Please advise; I gotta know this stuff.
Your benevolent pal
711Stretch (Pennsylvania)
711,
Exploded a KTM in half…Hmmmm, doesn’t ring a bell. You must be thinking of Langston. Anyhoo, the MXGP template doesn’t seem to work here in the United States unless you have a promoter willing to lose money. This is the exact reason they pulled the Motocross of Nations from Glen Helen for next year. I just spoke with Lori at Glen Helen yesterday and she explained that it was an amicable decision not to hold the event at Glen Helen.
The bottom line is that it takes a million dollars to run the MXoN and neither Giuseppe, nor Bud Feldkamp, are willing to put that on the line and bet that American fans will turn out in the numbers they need to get their investment back. Ticket prices to an MXoN event in Europe hover around 150 euro, or approximately $200 U.S. Would you pay that? European fans aren’t scared off by rain, heat, or the collective aroma of 30,000 people whose arm pits have never seen deodorant. There are many factors but it doesn’t seem to be a profitable venture to hold a MXGP or the MXoN here at home. Despite huge, patriotic crowds at the last American MXoN at Budds Creek, the track owner lost money. If they ever roll the dice again it will likely be at Glen Helen, but they will have to get creative to make it profitable.
PING
Ping,
With the transition of Ken Roczen to Honda, how does this affect his relationship with Red Bull as a sponsored athlete? I saw in the release pictures he was wearing his Red Bull helmet, but when the last silly season (2014-15) was in full swing Honda was ruled out as a team that Roczen would be going to as they didn’t want riders with outside sponsorship.
Best regards,
Wesley Alberts
Wesley,
Roczen’s Red Bull sponsorship has no bearing on his agreement with Honda. Honda used to be a Red Bull sponsored team so maybe there have been instances in the past where a Monster or Rockstar athlete didn’t come over to keep that sponsorship, and then at another time they were backed by Muscle Milk. In this case, there are no conflicts. Even if Honda preferred a rider with no outside sponsorships, they are so ready to start winning again that I’m guessing they would be willing to make some concessions.
I’m curious to see if Honda takes issue with Ken riding a Kawasaki Jet Ski or cracking cold ones with his shirt off in the press tent. Honda has a history of cutting loose even the best riders [Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael, anyone?] in their prime, so loyalty isn’t one of their strong suits. The questions is: Do they want to win races bad enough to put up with Roczen’s relaxed, good-timing lifestyle? Only they know the answer to that.
PING
Have a question for Ping? Hit him up at ping@racerxonline.com.
