Sparkplug 50

This Memorial Day weekend marks the second round of the 2006 AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF. And for this milestone Sparkplug (the big 5-0… woot!), I want to take a look NOT at the racing, but at the sponsorship issues that were raised just last week.

The first press release was, er, released on May 19, just two days before the start of the new season. The intent was to announce the total list of sponsors; here it is. Note that there is the Title Sponsor (Toyota), the Presenting Sponsor (FMF), a list of 18 Series Sponsors, and then Presenting Sponsors and in the case of the Honda Hangtown Classic, an Event Sponsor for each of the upcoming Nationals. Very cool, especially compared to last year. So everybody should be just as pleased as punch, right?

Well apparently not everybody. Shortly after the release of the above press release, Honda sent out one of their own dated May 22. While the headline of the release says Honda will participate in the sponsor program, the second sentence of the very first paragraph says that “…American Honda will do so under duress.”

Jeepers! Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines duress as: “1. forcible restraint or restriction, and 2. compulsion by threat; specifically: unlawful constraint” (emphasis theirs).

Now, if there’s one thing we know about American Honda it’s that they are a professional outfit, so there’s no doubt a pro wrote the press release and chose the wording very carefully. What was Honda’s problem with the AMA’s sponsor program? The simple fact that the AMA rules required all competitors to run Toyota logo stickers on their front number plates.

Read the press release, if you haven’t yet. It goes on to make a strong case: “Placing competitor logos on another manufacturer’s machines is offensive to companies with strong brand identities. Such a requirement is misleading and potentially confusing to spectators and customers. It is surprising the AMA would incorporate such a requirement into its series sponsor contract without consideration to the competitive position of the companies involved. This is analogous to NASCAR naming Toyota as series sponsor and requiring, Dodge, Ford and Chevrolet to place Toyota logos prominently on their vehicles, a situation we believe NASCAR would never allow.”

Well, wait a minute. What did Honda do when Mazda sponsored the supercross series a few years back? According to Honda’s press release, THEY DIDN’T RUN MAZDA LOGOS ON THEIR BIKES, choosing instead not to participate in the Mazda rider points fund. And what about when Chevy Trucks sponsored the outdoor nationals? They didn’t address it in the press release, but my guess is that Honda didn’t mind because at the time they were not in direct competition with Chevy in the truck market.

So how did the AMA respond? You know they did, right? They issued a response on the same day, saying that they were “…unaware of Honda’s concerns over this requirement until approximately three weeks ago.” The AMA goes on to say, “While AMA Pro Racing can empathize with the reluctance of some companies to display the logo of competitive entities, this is a traditional practice in motorsports and one that is necessary to maintain commercial viability. In this case, Toyota’s sponsorship adds tremendous value and benefits to riders, fans and promoters of AMA Motocross including contribution to a championship bonus fund paid out to top finishers. Additionally, Toyota’s proactive sponsorship activation plans will generate broad benefits to all involved in the sport. Honda’s reference to NASCAR practices in this matter is completely irrelevant (emphasis mine).”

No matter where you might stand on this issue, that little bitch-slap last sentence was definitely uncalled for. The kicker is when the AMA adds this killer line: “It is AMA Pro Racing’s intention to uphold the rulebook in this regard.”

Nice to know they’re in the rule-enforcing mood these day, no? Maybe they’ll keep those underage kids out of the pits, like it says in their rule book…

Back on track, here are my feelings about this: I am concerned that the AMA has somehow lost touch with the manufacturers that sponsor the most powerful teams on the circuit. They said that they were unaware of Honda’s concerns until 3 weeks before it all blew up… have the lines of communication between the AMA and Honda completely closed ever since Honda pulled out of the AMA Board? And is the AMA completely unaware of the way the Japanese do business? Honda and Toyota are fierce home market competitors; why wouldn’t the AMA be aware of this potential problem and address it ahead of time?

Finally, I must admit that it is interesting that Suzuki, another competitor with Toyota for the automobile market (though obviously not as big as Honda), has silently acquiesced to the sponsor program. Is Honda ultimately making a mountain out of a molehill, or was the “duress” so great that Suzuki was scared to speak up?