The MotoGP World Championship, one of the top motorcycle race series in the world, won’t be making its annual July stop at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2014.
After a week of speculation on motorcycle racing web sites, the Raceway confirmed the news Monday, marking the end of nine straight years the Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway has played host to the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, one of the track’s biggest events.
Raceway general manager Gill Campbell said the decision, which will mean the MotoGP circuit will have U.S. stops next year only in Indianapolis and Austin, Texas, was a mutual agreement between Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and MotoGP parent company, Dorna Sports.
Three events in the United States, Campbell said, is one too many.
“There is, frankly, not enough of everything to go around for three world championships in the United States,” she said.
Though the international motorcycle race series has steadily drawn weekend crowds of 150,000 to the Peninsula, Campbell said the event has not been profitable for the past four years.
Attendance dipped this year and the licensing fee with Dorna is going up by $800,000 next year. It takes about $9 million to put on the event, Campbell said.
“We can’t afford to take a bath,” she said.
While the move likely will leave a gap in the 2014 schedule at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway, Campbell said there will be a full schedule of motor sport events otherwise.
It’s possible MotoGP will return to the Mazda Raceway in “a year or two or three,” she said.
“We may just take a big breath (in 2014) and look at our opportunities, and see where want to go,” Campbell said.
The decision to pull out of the 2014 MotoGP schedule came after the Indianapolis Motor Speedway picked up its option for 2014, Campbell said.
That hadn’t been expected, but the Indianapolis raceway received a $100 million Indiana state grant to make improvements for motorcycle racing. The Circuit of the Americas raceway in Austin receives $2 million in state tax credits, she said.
“We can’t compete with that. Here there are no tax credits or state subsidies,” Campbell said.
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is a non-profit run by the Sports Car Association of the Monterey Peninsula, which manages the county-owned facility.
“It may be a set back, but it’s not the end of racing on the Monterey Peninsula,” said Jody Hansen, President/ CEO of Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce.
“I think it’s going to take some work to bring in other events in order to make up the difference.”
Mike Martin, owner of Seaside SuperBike in Monterey, says his shop takes in about $3,000 in business that week.
“We’re bummed as motorcycle enthusiasts, but it’s not going to kill our business,” Martin said.
Steve Polk, owner of Pinit Motorsports in Monterey, says the weeks before the race have brought in more business.
“We get all the local customers who pull their bikes out from the mothballs and decide to fix them up before the race,” Polk said.
Larry Parsons and Will Houston contributed to this report.
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