Roger Edmondson held a press briefing a month ago at the last AMA National of the year in Monterey and while I wasn't there, I read the transcript and he indicated he had the tracks lined up for 2009 and gave an overview of the proposed race schedule. He also indicated his negotiations with the manufacturers was at sensitive stage regarding classes, so he did not address what classes DMG (now AMA Pro Racing) would be running, adding only that he believed "we're all coming together." That last line gave people following the situation hope that an announcement was at hand.

That excitement has turned to concern for many in the sport in recent days since everything has again gone silent. No deal. No announcement. This silence of course goes beyond the curiosity of the fans. One person in the sport I talked with in the last week has been trying to put a sponsorship deal together with one of the manufacturers for 2009. The status is that everything is on hold until DMG announces the classes and rules. One tire manufacturer with interest in the proposed "spec" tire deal is concerned about the limited time between now and Daytona and wonders how it can properly prepare itself to have the right tires, and how to budget for a series that they don't know what it involves.

On Wednesday of this week, I read the news report on Superbikeplanet.com about the interview Edmondson had with Godwin Kelly of the Daytona Beach, Florida publication "News Journal." He states in the article that to get the classes finalized they "consulted" with the stakeholders (the bike manufacturers) and while there was a "threat of a 'breakaway series' common sense prevailed." He then said, "Everybody is on board."

The class structure Roger revealed was for a Superbike class, as well as "Daytona Sportbike" (formerly known by DMG as Daytona Superbike and similar to the previous AMA Formula Xtreme class), a new entry level class called "Supersport" and they will fold in the previously separate Moto-ST Endurance series.

Upon reading all this, my "interest meter" shot up, feeling that things had indeed broken through and an announcement would surely follow to the rest of the world. But later on Wednesday, a colleague in the sport got back to me with the "not so fast" news. He had checked around and at least one of the major OEMs had apparently replied that everyone was NOT on board. Grrrr! So here we sit. As I write this the doors don't open for business on Thursday here on the West Coast for another hour, so perhaps we'll learn more today? Or tomorrow?

With only Roger's Florida interview to work with, I will say the overall format seems encouraging. We don't know what rule package they will use, but the indications are that Superbikes like we know them around the world are back as part of the show. So that's good. DMG had hoped the former Formula Xtreme machines would be the premier class (and they will run in the Daytona 200), but they take a little more time to develop the following of the fans. I like the use of "Sportbike" in the name rather than another classes using "Superbike." We suffered through so much confusion over here with the different classes, the fans really need a way to know clearly what is what.

A new Supersport class for newer riders is "okay," although I'm betting given the name that these will be 600cc sportbikes. Many people, including myself, would have preferred to see something more like the new 450cc singles, or a smaller size bike used for such a class, and to give the fans something else to look at. My guess is the "chief negotiators" representing the four Japanese OEMs pressed for yet one more class with their sportbikes. Proof again that the wolves are never far from the doors of the hen house.

Moto-ST? Somewhere in the schedule we'll also have to fit in some 3-hour and longer endurance races. No comment.

Okay, so that's where we sit (I think) as of sun up here in California on Thursday, October 23rd. It's a day by day thing now. Word could come today, or never, that it's all worked out. My guess is that the sticking point is which Superbike rules should they go with. Options: World Superbike, 2008 AMA Superbike, the previously worked out 2009 AMA Superbike or some other formula that we don't know about. I've been wondering for quite some time how Roger has been negotiating with Honda and Suzuki, while Yamaha had long ago already committed to DMG's original format? Does changing the rules to Honda and Suzuki's liking still work for Yamaha? Kawasaki, I'm betting, is the most flexible of the four and will go where the other three go if that should come to pass. And who knows where Ducati, BMW, KTM, Buell and others are who might want a dog in the fight? I doubt they know much more than we do.

Stay tuned.

At least we still have one more MotoGP to run this weekend!