MXoN - The Cost

While thinking about the massive budget Roger De Coster spoke to Lewis Phillips from mxvice/racerx about, I got thinking. Now, “The Man” told Lewis (great interview by the way) it was $300,000us to run Team USA, which seems a lot of money, considering you can run a complete season of the GPs (a smaller team) for 300,000. In fact, Team Estonia, who finished fourth this year, spent around 30,000euro to go to the Redbud Nations last year, where they finished eight. 

I remember other team managers of teams who finished ahead of Team USA telling me a similar cost for Redbud and way off $300,000us. I get for that investement, it isn't worth if unless you are kicking the Worlds ass.

The question is, if the cost is a problem, and Team USA are finishing below Team Estonia anyway, why not cut the budget and make it Thomas Covington (who is rumoured to be returning to the GPs in 2020), Mitchell Harrison, and somebody else who is keen to race for their country, but happy with an air ticket, hotels and a borrowed bike from a factory GP team and not a million hangers on?

Would pretty quickly get that 300,000 down to probably 10,000 as the riders I mentioned will be based in Europe anyway, supported by their teams, and apart from that other rider costs would be limited. You think Covington and Harrison wouldn’t be excited to race for Team USA at Ernee and put in the effort to give Team USA a shot at a podium.

As we saw with Team USA this year, the GP teams will bend over backwards to help the Americans and that has always been the case and it won’t change soon, because that is the whole concept of this race.

When you hear that Kawasaki in America are pulling their effort and you start to hear what is costs and how the date is wrong and the rain and sand suck for the AMA boys, then you really start to think the whole concept is lost to the American team members, apart from maybe the riders, who just seem to want to race and enjoy the experience.

While the excuses by people in America are way less than previous years, talking about money, and dates and how the AMA guys are actually better than the GP guys, just rode bad, really tasted bad in all the GP paddock people’s mouths. Love the event or hate it, I love the idea that riders are coming to race just for National pride and not for the dollar and it is clear the riders love that concept also, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it with such passion.