The issues simmering beneath the surface of the Australian Superbike Championship hit boiling point last week, with governing body Motorcycling Australia taking the extraordinary step to intervene and effectively take back control of the series from International Entertainment Group, which effectively could no longer continue running the series at a loss. While not unexpected, the announcement still sent shockwaves through the sport. CycleOnline.com.au polled a handful of industry figures and riders to get their opinion on the situation.

Image: Toby Lynch

Phil Tainton – Owner, Phil Tainton Racing and former team principal of Team Suzuki
Firstly, it’s a shame and a very sad situation. I think that some more decisive action earlier in the piece could have been taken by both parties, both IEG and MA. I just feel that it was left alone to stagnate way too long on some serious decisions. I feel for Yarrive and his situation but I think that decisions revolving around who was running it and how it was going to be run should have been taken charge of by MA well earlier in the piece. I do believe that Peter Doyle’s ideas are good – basic and what it needs. My thoughts are the same. I think we need to take it back to the clubs. Even if we do have private promotion I still think there should be someone in at MA that is an overseer of the championships, and that goes for road and off-road. I think over the years we’ve let the promoters take charge too much. I don’t mean to be picking on them but they’re promoters – that’s where their role should start and stop. MA should take more control and charge of the rules, and the agenda in which the thing is run. I’ve been suggesting for quite some years now that someone in there should be overseeing the promoters’ jobs, so that if they change the race format or technical rules, all things like that should go by MA. These would then be put to the boards and proper decisions could be made. Konsky thought he was making good decisions and he did make a lot of good decisions, but he also made bad decisions, and I think that if he was made more accountable to MA, then we might not be in this position. But MA didn’t take charge enough, they just sat back and let it all unfold. I believe what Peter Doyle is suggesting is valid. Let it go back to the clubs, and let them be involved too. You might then get the grass roots racers out of their arm chairs and back to the top level. It will take time to rebuild, but the process is good.

Wayne Hepburn – Owner, Next Gen Motorsports
I’m disappointed that its come to this, but something did have to give. Now, like everybody else, we wonder what direction it will take from here. I believe MA has taken over control, which is long overdue. We have been in discussion with MA for a long time. If this is the course that they believe they need to take, well we support it. As far as the future, who knows. At this point MA are the governing body of Australian Road Racing. Whatever other offshoots of that are purely offshoots. Our team will be supporting Motorcycling Australia moving forward. Peter Doyle has been quite active in assessing where the series is at, and he’s probably one of the main instigators in kick-starting it and moving it forward. I trust Peter, I’ve met him quite a few times over in America. He’s a straight shooter, but doesn’t have a magic wand. I believe there’s still some new board members to be elected in there at MA so I don’t think they’re looking at doing anything there until that settles down. Then they can move forward, which makes sense. I agree with Darwin being cancelled. It was a lot of money for people, and it was never really going to happen, it was going to be a sham. Phillip Island is the last round. Yeah, we’re happy to do that and obviously Glenn [Allerton] is leading the championship. At the end of the day it still will be a championship that goes down in the records, and Glenn works hard and he deserves a shot at it.

Wayne Maxwell – Current Australian Superbike Champion
It’s disappointing to see the official championship fall over but its been a long time coming and MA were helped by a lot of people and warned that it was going to happen but persisted to go down that path. It would be pretty much like backing a three-legged horse to win a race; it was never going to happen. There’s not enough room in the current climate for two championships. The only way to move forward is to get MA to come together with the ASC to try to form one championship. Whether that’s possible or not, who knows. But I hope it’s going to be possible and we can bring the sport to a different level.

Image: Keith Muir

Phil Harlum – Industry commentator
As someone who has worked with the ASBK for a long time, I was sad to hear the news. Terry will always be running his series, regardless of what MA does. I think they have to realise that going with him is probably their best option of having a viable Australian championship, because he can obviously run one. All of the good riders are there for a good reason – he’s got sponsorship, airtime, and all of the good riders just want to race against the best. That’s where they are and that’s why the first round was so successful. In this day and age not everyone can get to the track all the time. Even if the round’s in Sydney, with that much other stuff on they just can’t get 10 and 15 thousand people to the races like they used to. With the ASC you can grab your phone or iPad out and watch this this stuff online. Its the way the racing needs to go to keep viewers. I worked for the ASBK for many many years, and it’s an unfortunate thing that’s happened. The underlying problem is that we’ve let another series grow to quite a large size, and whether this country can hold two series I don’t know, and I probably doubt. There’s probably room for them, but providing one is a feeder to the other. But the way it was, the series were equal, and they can’t run in that way.

Paul Free – Team principal, Team Honda Racing
For me, I said late last year that I thought IEG and Motorcycling Australia would struggle with their series this year. I personally didn’t believe they would make it through the year and that’s now shown up. It’s not good for the sport that at this point that the championship has stopped half-way, or not even that far, but it probably is good for the sport that there is going to have to be a major change to build that confidence back up with MA, to gain competitors back on side, and rightfully where the Australian championship should be, and that’s under MA sanction. I see Peter Doyle’s involvement in MA at any level as a huge positive. I honestly think David White’s retirement and the new CEO starting is a massive positive for motorcycling in Australia. It remains to be seen how they will move forward, but there is definitely room and scope there that there wasn’t before.

Mike Jones – Rider, Crazy Dogs Kawasaki
I raced at the first round there and there were signs that the ASBK series wasn’t really going to go much further and it was in a bit of trouble. I think for the sport we need the one championship really, to make it good. Whether it’s ASBK or whether its the ASC, it doesn’t matter. It would be good to be able to merge some of the good aspects of the ASBK into the ASC as it is now. The good thing about the ASBK was that we were racing at good circuits, and it would be ideal to see the ASC go there. That would be awesome. If you have the best riders together, you want them at the best tracks. The other thing would that ASBK has the Racesafe crew, and I think maybe the ASC lacks in comparison. It would be good to see Racesafe at the ASC and keep all of the racers safe. We’re still not sure if the ASBK will be running at that final round at Phillip Island, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens there.