Soooh bummed CB and Beta split

[Wolf]

The insanity of off road racing on a pro level has yet produced another casualty. Chris Bach and Beta announced that a mutual agreement was reached and they were going their separate ways. The reality of it all is that Chris is certainly the one suffering the bigger impact of this decision. As classy of a guy as he is, and as much as he is trying to take the high road on this, I can’t begin to imagine how PO’ed he must be. The truly sad part is that this is entirely representative of the sport of off road motorcycle racing in the US. I don’t want to insult other pro athletes in other disciplines, but frankly, the level of commitment required to be an off road racer, versus the reward and level of commitment by the industry are not even remotely comparable to other sports…not on any level. It is truly pathetic. Slow pay or no pay, lousy support, awful training conditions, and absolutely no plan past “today” for the racers…as a matter of fact, as a professional off road rider you’ll likely invest more of your own money into the team you ride for than the team does…and yet we wonder why the US doesn’t compete well on the international level (with a few exceptions of course). The NFL has a player’s union, so does the NBA and any other overblown ball sport…the motorcycle off road racers have the AMA…uhm…yay?

 

[BSWIFT]

I understand but the part of off-road racing that makes it less pay is the visibility of the sport. When you race in the trees, camera coverage is sparse. While those of us that ride know what the racers are going thru, the paying public doesn't see it upclose and personal. Less money is the end result.
The GNCC is a perfect example. The best woods riders compete, many spending their own money to do so. There races are tough and the TV coverage is minimal. My friend won the series in 2001 and did it on his own dime. Great rider and could and probably will compete against top pros in the near future (he's using me as a lapper for practice) but will do so on his own dime.
Beta will replace Bach and do the same thing to the next rider. Bad for Bach but he'll continue on and likely find a better team to compete with.

 

[Wolf]

That's my point...the business model is broken. Look at other countries and how they do it...and they treat their off road riders like heroes.

 

[mideastrider]

Its not right thats for sure.

I did see Chris Bach race today on his new yamaha. He might have had a better deal with Beta I have no way of knowing.
I don't think he's missing the Beta though. Looks like the Yamaha is working.