Wayne Rainey/MotoAmerica

Momentum is a good thing and I’ve got a smile on my face today because MotoAmerica most definitely has some momentum on its side as we approach our third round this coming weekend at VIRginia International Raceway.

The Quail Motorcycle Show was held on the Monterey Peninsula this past weekend and it gave me the opportunity to see and chat with a lot of people that I don’t see or talk to all the time. What made me feel good was the fact that they wanted to talk about MotoAmerica and all the talk was positive.

I had many people come up to me at the show and they wanted to talk about three things: The quality of our television coverage with our partner beIN SPORTS and how great the production value is, the great racing we’ve had so far… and, of course, the fact that MotoAmerica finally has a rivalry in the Motul Superbike class that is pretty intense. Those were things that were on people’s minds when they came up to chat with me and it was satisfying to hear what they had to say.

MotoAmerica is now in a position where the intensity of the racing is at a high point. You can tell the intensity is high and it’s directly related to the quality of the show. And the level of racing that it has created.

There are a lot of motorsports on television nowadays and I believe ours is as good as any of them. As a matter of fact, we’ve been told by our partners and fans that there has never been a better produced Superbike show in the US than what we currently have with beIN SPORTS.

The racing in the Superbike class has been unmatched. With Suzuki choosing the MotoAmerica Series to develop its new GSX-R1000 and Yamaha trying to continue its winning streak here, the excitement and intensity is at an all-time high. The riders are getting after it on the track, the teams are in a heated battle in the paddock, and if you are a fan you can’t beat that.

We’ve been waiting for a rivalry since we started MotoAmerica, but it’s not something you can manufacture. You have to let it come to you and boy did it come to us at Road Atlanta. Cameron Beaubier and Toni Elias are both incredible talents and they both want the same thing: The MotoAmerica Superbike Championship. When two people want the same thing, sometimes it boils over on the racetrack and off. That’s what happened in Georgia.

When you have a level of competition this high, as a rider you want to leave the racetrack knowing that you were the best guy. Especially if there is somebody out there who is now your rival. And this is a real rivalry. We have a two-time MotoAmerica champion in Cameron and we have a former world champion in Toni and this is important to both of them. This year can make a huge difference in their careers and they know that.

Trust me, it’s good to wake up in the morning to train and have someone’s face staring at you that you want to beat more than anybody. It helps drive you and I’m sure both of those guys are thinking of ways to make sure they beat the other guy.

But we can’t forget the other guys. They could be the ones who benefit the most out of this if Cameron and Toni only think about each other. You can’t count Roger Hayden out and you can’t count out Josh Hayes. And with our new rules, privateers can be competitive as we’ve already seen with Josh Herrin and Bobby Fong in the first two rounds.

There is also Jake Gagne and his brand-new Honda that is only going to get stronger as this season goes on and their motorcycle improves with the new rules. As Road Atlanta showed, if you have a bad day this year and you are one of those top guys, you may end up sixth or seventh and not just fourth. There are still a lot of races left to run so no one is out of this championship yet.

See you all in Virginia.