Motorcycling promoter and organizer MotoAmerica experienced a surge in attendance and viewership during the 2026 season of its premier road racing series in North America.
For the first time since Irvine-based MotoAmerica was established in 2014, viewers could access live racing across all seven classes, from the all-women’s class to the premier capitalize class, via new distribution partnerships with Samsung TV Plus and VICE TV.
MotoAmerica — the main professional motorcycle road-racing championship in North America founded by Chuck Aksland, Richard Varner, Terry Karges and Wayne Rainey — reported that total broadcast viewership multiplied 5.4 times year-over-year during the first eight events of the season, a 540% increase compared to the same period in 2025.
Individual races at notable circuits, such as the VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, recorded significant increases in viewership as well — six to nine times more than last year.
This year’s partnerships with Samsung and VICE TV platforms were part of MotoAmerica’s efforts to expand the distribution of its race weekends across multiple platforms.
The organization partnered in March with Samsung TV Plus, which has more than 110 million active monthly users, and debuted the new MotoAmericaTV channel on the platform in spring. VICE TV became the official broadcast partner for MotoAmerica’s Quad Lock Superbike Championship in April.
As for in-person attendance at the races, or “trackside,” MotoAmerica reported 294,659 attendees for the 2026 season, beating its expectations and surpassing last year’s crowds following final reports from the last two race weekends at Circuit of The Americas and New Jersey Motorsports Park in September.
“Our broadcast performance in 2026 shows there is a strong appetite for motorcycle road racing when fans have easy access to the racing,” Chief Operating Officer Aksland said in a statement.
Super73 Brings Back Brand Collaborations
Electric bike maker Super73 is following up on its sold-out collaboration with the Formula 1 Oracle Red Bull Racing team with two new e-bike designs released in September.
Last year, Super73 launched and sold out limited-edition versions of its Z and R Adventure Series of bikes with Red Bull Racing colors and decals. This year, the company chose to apply two more designs to its newest M1D Special Edition (SE) bike that came out in March.
The M1D SE is one of three new e-bikes that Super73 introduced in 2026, marking the manufacturer’s first line of new bikes since 2020.
“It’s the most rideable bike we’ve ever built, wearing the colors of one of the most dominant teams in all racing,” Chief Executive Travis Erwin said.
The partnership also marks a return to brand collaborations after Super73’s recent struggles with sales and customer service. After downsizing operations in 2024, restructuring its business model and appointing Erwin as CEO in 2025, Super73 moved its headquarters back to Irvine this year with plans to restart growth.
Erwin is currently focused on shaping product assortment and expanding its distribution network. The manufacturer last month added three new partners in France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and is searching for more dealers in Germany, Spain and Benelux (of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg).