Pickerington, OH (9/21/2007) -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.
