In a sport that can already be pretty unsettled at times, from racer splits and factions to government shutdowns of race tracks and the damaging effects of street racing media reports, the last thing anyone involved in drag racing wants to hear is the term “legal recourse.”
Unfortunately, according to reports published this week by the two leading media outlets for the motorcycle drag racing arena, a pair of high-profile parties are embroiled in a situation that just may come to that.
The South Georgia Motorsports Park in Cecil, Ga. and the Manufacturers Cup Motorcycle Drag Racing LLC, which partnered to host professional motorcycle drag racing events at the facility in 2011 and 2012 in the wake of the AMA Dragbike closure in 2010, reportedly failed in their negotiations to continue hosting the events there in 2013. The Manufacturers Cup, which is composed of several of the figureheads in the two-wheeled sport from Schnitz Racing, Star Racing, Orient Express and others, found a new suitor in the Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida. The Manufacturers Cup revealed its four-race 2013 schedule that opens and closes in Bradenton in April and November, with stops in Virginia and Indianapolis sandwiched in between.
It seems however, that the South Georgia Motorsports Park has moved forward with its plans to host a pair of motorcycle events, using the very same Manufacturers Cup name and on the same dates as the Bradenton events. This has obviously sparked a lot of controversy among the motorcycle drag racing community, along with furor from the Manufacturers Cup Motorcycle Drag Racing LLC brass.
In a statement issued by the Manufacturers Cup Motorcycle Drag Racing LLC and published today on Dragbike Live, series officials commented:
”The individual owners of SGMP are committing violations of federal and state law by using the name “Manufacturers Cup Motorcycle Drag Racing” said Manufacturers Cup legal Counsel Kenneth Schwartz. Schwartz indicated that “We are preparing legal action against the individual owners of SGMP for these law violations. SGMP’s unlawful use of the protected name “Manufacturers Cup Motorcycle Drag Racing” is already causing confusion in the marketplace and will be addressed in the proper legal forum.”
As of this writing, both tracks still have Manufacturers Cup race events listed on their 2013 calendar for April 5-7 and November 8-10.
One can hope that both parties will hash out a plan to avoid serious legal action in the matter. In a segment of the sport that desperately needs cohesion, nothing good can from from the involvement of lawyers. Unless of course, you’re the lawyer.
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