Between the Races: Bob Starr
April 26, 2006
By CJ
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If you felt something strange over the weekend, it may be because we’re now less than three months away from the 2006 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. Last year marked the first time in over a decade for the Grand Prix series to visit this country, something that was thanks in large part to Yamaha’s funding of $2 million in track improvements. This year, the event is back, and once again, Yamaha should be thanked for that. Along with Red Bull and Mazda, they have contributed a large share of the additional $7 million in track improvements that were required in order for MotoGP to return to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Last week, we spoke with Yamaha Corporate Communications Manager Bob Starr about that.

Last year's Red Bull USGP was everything American fans had hoped it would be. Andrew Northcott photo

RRX: How’s it going?
Bob Starr: Good, thanks. I guess you want to know what’s going to be going on this July on a little hillside just east of Monterey?

Exactly!
Well, last year’s event, was certainly one of the most memorable for U.S. fans, whether you were there or not. It was a very, very memorable event, and I think for those that didn’t have the good fortune to be there but where able to read about it and learn about it and watch it and so on, they could sense how memorable it was, in many ways. We knew from the beginning it was going to be like that, to have the first time there’s been this class of racing in the U.S. in 10 years. To support it just made the most sense—to support it for the fans. Our 50 th anniversary [was important], but supporting it for the fans was the most important thing.

Talk about the additional track improvements Yamaha helped fund this year.
As you know, the track needed to complete additional work this year, and in the interest of track safety and helping to keep this event here for many years to come, we didn’t have to think very long about stepping up to the plate to continue our support, as I think [Laguna Seca CEO] Gill Campbell said. They needed it. They needed funding to make the changes. Basically, that’s why. It’s for the fans. It’s a wonderful event at a wonderful facility. The facility is working a lot, as you know, to try to alleviate some of the little niggling issues; I guess the traffic is one of the worst ones, although for some reason, I didn’t have a problem.... It’s such a great, fan-based venue. Building on last year’s success, we wanted to make sure that we could do our part to make sure that it would be around for many years to come.

In some ways, last year will be tough to follow. There were so many cool things, like that deal you guys had where Colin, Valentino, and Randy Mamola talked to the crowd.
It was nice to have Valentino address a crowd of about 2,000 like that. Just to hear him talk is cool. I was sort of backstage a little bit, and Randy Mamola did the interview. As soon as [Rossi] opened his mouth, the crowd went crazy. That was a cool thing.

It’s nice to see all these new tracks coming out around the country, but it’s also nice to see an old classic like Laguna get some TLC.
I guess it is an old classic. It’s gone through a lot of changes over the years. The track’s had improvements and the facility’s had improvements, and this year will be a major jump in both. The fans are going to have more things to do there. Speaking of that, we’re going to have our Weekend of Champions back this year. We used to do it a Daytona, and we moved it to Laguna Seca with the event last year. It will be back this year, and there perhaps may be a surprise or two in some of the people. We’re not 100-percent sure, but perhaps there may be some surprises. Another thing is we’re planning a very special customer incentive, where they can have an opportunity to win some free tickets and perhaps a very special invitation. I can’t tell you more about that, but there will be something coming out in the next couple of weeks. The whole reason for the involvement is for the U.S. fans, and we’re trying to add a little bit of spice to that—have the fans a little more involved with some of the things that we can do by our involvement with the facility.

We’re also working a little bit closer with Red Bull this year, so we’re going to try to do some more things together. In the kids area, they’ll be riding TT-R50s and 90s, so that’s going to be expanded. Our display area is going to be expanded. Again, we have a few more surprises there. Those are some of the things that we’re planning for this year.

Valentino Rossi was just one of many when it came to Yamaha stars—past and present—in attendance at the 2005 event. Andrew Northcott photo

You mentioned Valentino. It’s great to have one of the world’s most popular athletes on your team, but it also must be very difficult to try and work with all the demands for his time.
As long as you try to schedule things far enough in advance, through the proper protocol, it’s fine. To be honest, Valentino was absolutely the greatest last year. He was involved with all of our activities. We’ve put in the word for him again this year, and I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t be equally as hospitable. You were at the aquarium party last year, right?

Yes, I was.
Wasn’t he awesome there?

He was great. I was actually going to mention that. Talk about hard to top—what a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
That certainly was a great event and very memorable, and it marked out 50 th anniversary. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event for those that were there.

What new things do you have planned?
As we look to the next 50 years of Yamaha, we’re going to take those kinds of activities to what we feel is kind of another dimension. I think you’ll see that a lot of the things we do are going to be even more focused on our customers and the enjoyment that they get out of going to events such as the USGP.

Well, they’re the ones that allow all this to happen.
Yes, and although there were a few issues [at last year’s race], but it’s very rare that you find somebody that doesn’t look back at it as a very memorable, enjoyable event.

Is it a little easier to plan for this year’s event, since you’ve got one under your belt now?
It depends on what Road Racer X has planned, first of all [laughs]. [Ed. note: Starr helped us arrange a last-minute visit between Colin Edwards and a winner of our subscription contest at last year’s race.] It’s easier in the respect that we have a pretty good idea of what the fans like; we know how easy it is to work with the MotoGP team and how accommodating they are and how accommodating both Valentino and certainly Colin are. If anything, that’s going to help us do a better job.

The fact that Colin Edwards (pictured) and Nicky Hayden went 2, 1 in the USGP's return to American soil made the race that much sweeter for U.S. fans. Andrew Northcott photo

Even with his Road Racer X duties, it seemed like Colin really had a good time last year.
He and Valentino and the team had a little party in Las Vegas, and he talked to me after that. He was genuinely appreciative of everything that we were able to do for him. You could tell from deep down, he really had a good time. His results were good; I mean, he was kicking himself for getting a bad start. I was watching from our pit area, and he was gaining [on Nicky Hayden] there for a while, and then he couldn’t gain anymore. It’s racing and had he gotten a better start, you never know if the results may have been different.

Going back to the track for a second, the funding for the changes was a cooperation between Yamaha, Red Bull, and Mazda? Last year, it was all Yamaha, correct?
Last year, it was us that contributed the amount they needed to make the peripheral improvements. This year, it was substantially more improvements that were required to both the track and the facility—the media center and so on. Like I said at the beginning, we just decided to step up. This is an unbelievable event for the fans, and we just wanted to do our part to ensure all of these fans could enjoy it for many, many years to come.

It’s a huge investment—significantly more than last year’s.
Just to clarify, I think the amount in the media was $7 million. We didn’t contribute $7 million, but we contributed a significant share of it. The $7 million was what was required to make the necessary changes to the track and the facility.

Great, well I guess we’ll see you in three months.
Okay, sounds good.