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“American medalists receive $37,500 for gold, $22,500 for silver, and $15,000 for bronze.”
Which is paid for by the US Olympic Committee, not the International Olympic Committee, or the host countries Olympic Committee, who are the event organizers.
Now compare that to Australia's Olympic medallist who get paid $20,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver, and $10,000 for bronze..
And that's in Australian dollars, which are worth less than US dollars!
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All teams should get paid, the further you are from the race the more you get paid. Make it a Tier system. Tier 1 teams, teir 2 teams etc. What I mean by that is Australia gets more money than Chile let’s say. It’s pretty crazy to expect all the teams and industry to support a race that makes a handful of people a shit load of money. This race has been broken IMO for years. Top riders from all over the world have been turning it down for over twenty years. The 1980s hey days are over.
The American industry is 15-20 years too late with the demands of show-up money. Sorry but nobody is purchasing tickets because Justin Cooper, Garrett Marchbanks or Levi Kitchen is racing the event. Id go as far as the same can be said about Tomac and Sexton as well, they don't make a significant difference in how many people attend the event.
The only one that could move the needle slightly is Deegan, because he hasn't yet raced the event and people would want to see where he stacks up on a GP track. But that is it.
The days of Hannah, Rick Johnson, RC, Stew are well over.
Of course the event wouldn't be complete without USA. But the same can be said about Australia at this point. We don't hear crying from Motorcycling Australia every year even though it's a much smaller federation. And they never host the event.
In the end of the day, USA is the biggest economy, the AMA is by far the biggest federation, the US MX industry is the biggest in the world. This whole thing is an embarrassment for you guys. From a fiscal POV you're so much ahead of the rest of the world yet you're the only one that keep having issues. I would think that you would want to show up and put your best foot forward in this position?
Yeah, but not the expenses of their entourages of man friends, girlfriends, fluffers, 'gear' guys etc.
I just heard one pod where they mentioned RJ Hampshire was whinging that it cost him $10,000 to go - it then mentioned he took his whole family!
What do they get if they don't get a medal.? And as for sponsors.... Stars-and-Stripes boy is earning shitloads but he's just bailed on representing his country. Again.
Everyone’s got this arse about.
Star wants $25k per bike to go to MXDN. $50k two riders!
Every rider who has gone before them is out of pocket $7k to $10k in travel costs etc, Tomac, RJ but do it to represent their country.
Apparently according to today’s weekend review USA MXDN raises about $100k selling t shirts etc to cover costs.
They cant afford to cover Stars fee.
Aus is way further away and we always pay our own way and everyone is proud to ride for their country. Gally and crew do raise funds to cover some costs.
We actually have an issue with Stars fee too as they want $25k for Minear to go so we are choosing a European based rider in Cannon.
I don’t really know.
Nailed it.
100% special Ed, you can see it in his eyes and hear it in that laugh.
Absolutely nailed it
It is pretty sad. Also is there a reason we don’t hear anything about raising funds or sending a team until August? Since MX and SX is a “team” now with the SMX series championship, kick off the talk with A1 at the beginning of the SX season. Start fundraising at the beginning of the year. Ask teams/riders at the opening press conference if they are in if selected. Come on Feld and MXSports make it happen. If a lowly podcast can raise $100k for privateers surely the entire industry can get the necessary funds…
I wouldn’t give a testical to race professionally I just want that on record.
So let me get the timeline straight.
Deegan, the American flag waving rider that leans into his nationalism…
Last year free had to get surgery so he didn’t go. But he really wanted too!
This year he can go but now he wants compensation?
The "American industry" isn't just the American racers, it's also guys like the Lawrences, Prado, Shimoda, and Davies. Collectively the AMA racers make the event interesting and, yes, they are the reason for the swell in ticket sales for the MXdN compared to a regular GP.
It seems like the US based Japanese teams have tired on this event. KTM group has always supported it for obvious reasons but I doubt Bajaj operates with the same European pride as Pierer did.
Pit Row
Sounds like, per the Rich Simmons interview that Lewis did with him on Saturday that this is a business decision that Star has made not to send there riders, not so much Haiden calling the shots.
This reminds me of Kawasaki not sending a team overseas for a lot of years.
EDIT to say. I didnt see Michaels thread about Star not racing MXdN before I made my post.
It’s a funny narrative they are trying to sell. If Deegan wanted to go they’d be going.
The only thing I disagree with is it being an embarrassment for us. Just because Deegan is a pansy and won’t go, that doesn’t mean we don’t have plenty of other riders who are 100% willing to step up. We’ve seen Justin Cooper, Cooper Webb, Tomac, Plessinger, and many many more step up to the challenge without hesitation. Unfortunately, Star Yamaha feels the need to cover for Deegan and that affects other guys on the team who are willing to go. And not just USA guys. Davies and Minear are also getting boned.
Seems that not all their riders are happy with that decision, a decision that is made to protect their golden boy. Because let us be honest they will race the same rulebook in the two WSX races that diaperboy is planning to do.
Riders who want to race, can race. We've seen riders race the MXoN on stock bikes, loan factory bikes... Off course with the communication of STAR Yamaha, they have made it impossible for their riders as Davies and Minear to create such a solution for their self if they wanted.
Don’t like to quote something I’ve said but here it is…..
“ Excellent news…..Deagan isn’t going to MXDN ! ‘’
Christmas came early, my prays to somebody where answered.
If you were right this post would be much further down the page with no posters from outside the US.
Way to paint an entire nation, its federation, its riders, and its fans with one prejudicial brushstroke.
For the record, there are people within the airspace advocating for all teams to receive a paid attendance stipend. The request to “get paid” is not a reaction to the actions of one individual, so that assumption shouldn’t be made. The broader issue is that INFRONT is generating significant revenue from the event. If participation is supposed to be fueled exclusively by national pride, then why is INFRONT charging spectators to attend? And INFRONT hasn’t exactly received glowing reviews from riders over the years when it comes to MXGP series management, either.
As for team selection, many of the challenges surrounding the selection of a U.S. team for MXDN are tied to an extended schedule, injuries across a 30+ event calendar, riders changing teams, and other industry political considerations. These challenges are hardly unique to the United States. There have been numerous controversies involving other federations over the years as well—Canada comes to mind.
It’s perfectly fine if you don’t believe U.S. riders have the “pull” you’re looking for. That’s your opinion. But Australia, which you mention, isn’t sending its three best riders this year either, are they?
The broader point is that this is a far more complicated issue than simply reducing it to one rider, one federation, or one country. There are legitimate questions about how the event is structured, how revenue is generated and distributed, and what incentives exist for riders and teams to participate. Those issues deserve a more nuanced discussion than simply assigning blame to an entire country or its riders and fans.
Might be worth thinking about the completely contrasting responses between the decision of Honda/Lawrences to skip MXoN this year vs Star/Deegan.
Also this is far from the first time MXoN attendance and team selection has been an issue for team USA, so there is a track record of similar circumstances.
you'd think mxsports/ama or whoever could do a deal where they take $1 from each ticket sale from the year, or even offer a donation button like how DMV asks if you want to donate $2 to campaigns funds. 2024 reported almost 900k ppl attended just Supercross. It wouldnt be THAT difficult to raise close to 1mil which would b emore than enought to send a team
Post a reply to: Interesting MXDN news from Matthes