September 09, 2005

They're Kidding, Right?

Here it is, the end of summer, and we get this April Fool's Day Joke from the AMA. The link takes you to a press release on Racer X Online, in which the AMA announces new names for the 125 and 250 classes.

Brace yourself.

The 125/250F class will be known, in AMA Supercross, as "AMA Supercross Lite."

The 250/450F class will be called, in AMA Supercross, "AMA Supercross."

The "naming convention", as they wistfully refer to it, will be echoed in motocross. "AMA Motocross" and "AMA Motocross Lite."

They couldn't even spell it correctly? And really, what's "Lite" about a modern 250 fourstroke? They're only a few pounds "liter" (see, that doesn't work at all!) than the 450s.

The kicker, though, are the quotes from AMA officials. Check this foolishness out...

“When I heard the new names I knew we had nailed it,” said Steve Whitelock, AMA Pro Racing SX/MX Series Manager. “The names perfectly communicate the two classes, remove the displacement confusion and fit within each overall championship. I couldn’t be happier and I’m looking forward to rolling them out with the 2006 racing season.”

AMA Pro Racing CEO Scott Hollingsworth took the foolishness even further: "This direction accomplishes several objectives in terms of clarifying the classes, defining the hierarchy between the support and premier class and building on the inherent equity and awareness of the AMA Supercross and AMA Motocross brands." (emphasis mine)

Oh. So now it's a branding issue. Dang, I should have known.

One question, guys: how will these new class names translate to the amateur classes?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.