The 2009 AMA Roadracing Season - Uncertain Times

Neil Hodgson barely had time to celebrate.

The Englishman had left Daytona International Speedway as the fastest rider in the watered-down annual winter Dunlop tire test ("watered-down" in that there were only three factory riders, the Yamaha superbikes were using basically stock engines, and both the Yoshimura Suzuki and Kawasaki teams were absent). Still, the Honda CBR1000RR in near-2009 trim topped out at 194 mph, even if the chassis needed work.

Less than five days after returning home, Hodgson received a call from American Honda roadrace boss Ron Heben. The news was staggering: American Honda, for the first time in its history, was dropping out of roadracing.

Hodgson was "absolutely devastated," and he wasn't the only one. The repercussions would ripple through the roadrace world in the run-up to a new season that was soon to arrive with more questions than answers--and a future that offered little assurance that all would be well.

That American Honda got to the middle of December without committing to racing is only part of the story. And the fact that it didn't have to happen, that everything could have been sewn up early in the summer--all the factory teams fully committed, riders signed, all the racetracks and TV scheduling under contract--will be the legacy of the Daytona Motorsports Group-run AMA Pro Racing.

What is known about the all-new AMA Superbike Championship is that it will begin the first week of March in Daytona Beach, Florida. Other than that, there are few certainties. Yamaha will take part, with both the factory team of Josh Hayes and Ben Bostrom and the Graves Motorsports Yamaha team of Josh Herrin and Tommy Aquino. Although American Honda is out as a factory entity, they will still support Erion Honda and Corona Honda. And they may not be out entirely. As the New Year was rung in, it was revealed that representatives of NBA legend Magic Johnson had met with American Honda and would meet again. The package would be a turnkey effort, with the team taking over the factory hardware and personnel, and adding a second rider, likely a former Erion Honda rider. If the deal works out, Hodgson will be superbike-mounted; otherwise he could end up on an Erion 600.

Yoshimura Suzuki never stopped moving forward with plans to race; they just weren't sure where. As the season approached, it was clear they'd race in AMA, despite serious misgivings. Crews have been hired for three riders, Mat Mladin, Tommy Hayden, and Blake Young. Suzuki offered assistance to selected private teams, but at levels well below '08 programs. M4 EMGO will stay with Suzuki, as will the Jordan teams (there will be separate teams for its riders; Geoff May will be on the National Guard team and Aaron Yates on the Jordan Suzuki); Buell pitched Jordan and there was also a dalliance with Honda. Ducati is providing some assistance to Larry Pegram and his American Superbike effort. Buell will help two teams campaign the 1125R in the Daytona SportBike class and may race the same machine in American Superbike. Aprilia chose KWS Motorsports among four candidates to run their AMA team. Alaskan Ben Thompson will be one rider, former Yamaha rider Jason DiSalvo was hoping to be the second rider before he tested the M4 EMGO Suzuki late in the year.

Kawasaki didn't come to the test because they didn't know what the rules would be and only had Roger Lee Hayden under contract; Jamie Hacking greeted the New Year unemployed. Then came Kawasaki's shock withdrawal from MotoGP, which caused speculation that Kawasaki US would be swept up in the aftermath. Given that Kawasaki's US budget is sourced locally, it's likely the team can define its own future. And despite no formal announcement of its intent, it appeared that Kawasaki would be on the grid when the season starts at Daytona. Like many aftermarket companies, Attack Kawasaki, winner of the last two Daytona 200 events, isn't happy about the cost of homologating parts (a $500 fee per company, plus contingency payout programs for each part, and samples of each piece sent to AMA Pro Racing HQ in Daytona). They have no signed riders. At the season-opening Anaheim Supercross, Steve Rapp said he'd heard from no one, nor had 2008 Daytona 200 winner Chaz Davies.

Since Dunlop was named the control tire so late in the year, there were restrictions at the tire test. "We have enough tires for eight machines in each class for three days and must juggle track time accordingly," wrote Al Ludington, Miguel Duhamel's former crew chief who now heads the AMA tech department, to the teams in an e-mail (in fact, there weren't enough tires, but rain wiped out one Daytona SportBike session and some teams left early). In the same e-mail Ludington wrote, "Secondly, participation in this test is contingent on the fact that your team plans on contesting the entire AMA Pro Racing series for the 2009 season. I don't know how to make that any clearer."

That line had a number of people scratching their heads. Did you really have to do the whole season if you tested? Was this enforceable? So concerned was Honda that as Hodgson was celebrating his birthday on Friday, November 20, he was told Honda wasn't testing at Daytona. On the following Monday, after determining no one at American Honda had agreed to this condition, the decision was reversed.

Still, this was continuing evidence of the fractious nature of the relationship between the new AMA Pro Racing and the teams--and it would only get worse.