Vintage Motorcycle Racing Events In Jeopardy
Dispute Between AMA and AHRMA Could End Competition at Ohio Raceway
Apr 5, 2009
The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association or AHRMA was founded as a member-owned racing association in the late 1980s. The organization offers vintage and post-vintage national and regional competition, including road racing, motocross, dirt track, cross country and observed trials.
The events are limited to motorcycles manufactured prior to the mid-1980s. Some of the national events for years have been held at premier venues like Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, a 330 acre complex in central Ohio. AHRMA events currently are sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association or AMA.
The AMA was organized in 1924 to control rider registration and activities while representing the motorcycle industry's interests and also sanctioning national racing events, according to the organization's website.
The AMA is actively involved in lobbying Congress on behalf of the motorcycle industry and the motorcycle riding public. The organization has battled legislation aimed at curtailing off-road access for motorcycle enthusiasts and other laws relating to equipment and motorcycle operation on public roadways.
Dispute May Cancel National Vintage Races at Mid-Ohio
The AHRMA recently announced it was trying to resolve a dispute with the AMA over existing agreements relating to the vintage organization's charter and sanctioning. In a posting on AHRMA's website dated March 31, 2009, AHRMA says the two organizations "have a 20 plus year relationship that we do not want to see dissolved without exploring all options for continuing the mutually beneficial partnership."
A deadline to resolve the dispute is set for April 30, 2009, according to AHRMA. If a deal is not brokered by then, AHRMA on March 31 announced it will proceed with currently scheduled national races, road and dirt, "with the exception of our national events scheduled as part of the AMA's Vintage Motorcycle Days" at Mid-Ohio.
AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days
This year's AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days or "VMD 2009" is to be held July 24 to 26, Friday through Sunday. Competition featuring vintage and post-vintage motorcycles currently is scheduled for road racing, motocross, dirt track, cross country and observed trials. Those events could be cancelled, according to AHRMA, which says it's working with insurance companies to provide event coverage for other vintage events this year. An alternative racing event is being comtemplated in lieu of Vintage Motorcycle Days, according to AHRMA.
Last year an estimated 70,000 motorcycle afficionados, from amateur racers to casual fans, attended the event which is now in its 19th year, the last 15 of those years at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Without a resolution between the AMA and AHRMA, it appears the thrill of vintage racing could become a thing of the past at the AMA's Vintage Motorcycle Days in Ohio.
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