Sponsorship and fan attendance is what keeps the sport of national and international motorcycle road racing alive. Much like everything else it's a business. Promoters, circuit owners and team owners look for success on the track and revenue off of it.
The money comes in the form of sponsorship and ticket and merchandise sales. The presence of Michael Jordan at New Jersey Motorsports Park for the penultimate round of AMA Superbike prompted me to wonder about the possibilities of Star power and motorcycle road racing promotion.
The power of celebrity is strong and used in everything from promoting movies, endorsing products and advocating charities. Oprah can send books to the top of the Best Sellers List by sometimes simply mentioning it on her show. Then there's George Forman, who has sold over 100 million Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machines better known as the "George Forman Grill."
Can celebrity bring exposure to racing? It was attempted during Round 11 of this year's MotoGP race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with famed Tonight Show host Jay Leno acting as Grand Marshall. On race day, Sunday, Aug. 29 Jay presented a trophy to fellow American and podium finisher Ben Spies who rode his Monster Tech 3 Yamaha M1 to a brilliant second-place behind race-winner Dani Pedrosa on the Repsol Honda.
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