Ashley Fiolek's Breakthrough Factory Honda Deal 1

Pebble Beach, CA (January 15, 2009) – Hardcard Management announces today additional details about the program put together for 18-year-old WMA Champion, Ashley Fiolek, with American Honda and her joining Team Honda Red Bull as an official member of the factory team.

Says Hardcard’s John Farris, “This is a milestone for motorcycling and women’s sports, and Hardcard is proud to be part of it.  Working with our Women’s Motocross Association client on the recently announced MX Sports deal, we knew women’s professional motocross had a bright future.”

“And of course, Ashley is a phenomenal talent on a motorcycle and her charm and charisma punctuate her status as an inspiration to thousands of fans worldwide.  This is how we’ve drawn interest in her from her personal sponsors like T-Mobile Sidekick and the others we are working with.”

“We put together possible programs with each of the OEMs, speaking with both marketing and racing executives because of how unique Ashley is and the value she can bring their brand, both on and off the racetrack.” “But,” Farris continued, “American Honda deserves credit for listening to our presentations and then having the foresight to recognize what a great opportunity this could be for the Honda brand.”

Of course, Ashley is thrilled and had this to say, “Being able to race Motocross professionally on a full factory team at Honda is a dream come true for me and I am excited beyond belief!  I am so grateful to Honda, Hardcard and the WMA for providing me this opportunity, and I can’t wait to put on a good show for the fans and defend my WMA title on my factory CRF250R.”

Women’s Motocross Association (WMA) Founder and President, Miki Keller, also commented, “This is an exciting time for women’s motocross with the WMA being integrated into the AMA Pro Nationals, Ashley getting the first factory Honda ride and Hardcard bringing in outside sponsors like T-Mobile Sidekick to the sport.  This validates my original belief that women racers are worthy of competing in their own series and young riders deserve to have a top-level championship to aspire to.”

About Ashley Fiolek

Born profoundly deaf, Ashley began riding and racing motorcycles at age seven and worked her way up the amateur Motocross ranks.  In 2004, at the age of 13, she won her first national championship at the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships at Loretta Lynn’s.  Between 2005 and 2007 she went on to win 12 more national championships and more than 100 races.

2008 marked Ashley’s first full season as a professional and she competed in select world championship rounds in Europe, finishing on the podium, and won the AMA/WMA Women’s Professional Motocross Championship.  Ashley was also among 10 racers selected to compete in the inaugural ESPN X Games Women’s MotoX competition (but was unable to race due to a crash while practicing).

The media coverage of Ashley is unprecedented in the sport with features from USA Today, The New York Times, ESPN The Magazine, Rolling Stone, Cosmo Girl, ESPN, Speed TV, ABC Good Morning America, plus numerous enthusiast media features including two magazine covers on Transworld and RacerX.

Her accomplishments are an inspiration to fans around the world and she is proudly supported by the following sponsors; American Honda, Red Bull, T-Mobile Sidekick, Alpinestars, RXR Protection and Vans.  For more information about Ashley, see: www.ashleyfiolek.com.

About Hardcard

Hardcard Holdings, LLC is a leading motorsports management and consulting firm specializing in motorsports and motorcycle-related marketing and athlete management.  Hardcard’s partners are VP/CEO-level executives with experience in management of racetracks, sanctioning bodies, brands, athletes, licensed merchandise, sponsorship development, race teams and publishing.

Hardcard partners have worked with many companies that have used motorcycling as a marketing platform including; Toyota, Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, Monster Energy, Progressive Insurance, Oakley and Fox Racing.  Current and past Hardcard clients include; Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Barber Motorsports Park, Rausch Creek Motorsports Park, Red Bull, T-Mobile Sidekick, Axio, The Promotions Company, Bell Helmets, Campos Creative Works and Just Marketing International.  For more information on Hardcard, see http://www.hardcard.net.