Erica Odello was instrumental in the establishment of two very successful minimoto clubs (AZPRA & USMGP). What follows is her recommendations on how to go about getting started setting up a minimoto club. She is not a lawyer, nor are we. Be sure to seek legal council before ever running a sanctioned event of any form. The last thing you want to do is have someone get hurt during your event and not to have covered your legal bases.

How to start a minimoto club

By: Erica Odello

1) Get connected with your local shops and Go-kart tracks. They are fantastic outlets for reaching people that aren't on the internet. Check to see if there is a racing organization close, they may be interested in working with you.

2) Set up a website for your club where people can check in and see what's going on. A lot of people don't check the national club websites but depend on announcements from their local club to keep them updated. Send a press release/notice to MiniGPX to inform the minimoto community.

3) You need to incorporate in some fashion to protect your personal property and/or business from being considered assets in a lawsuit. Unfortunately, lawsuits are a potential and you've got to plan for one. A limited liability corporation (LLC) is probably the easiest way to go, and a corporate lawyer can help set one up for not much of an investment. Non profit is the other way to go, but there are a ton of hoops to jump through and every decision must be voted on by a board of directors. Sometimes it's a lot easier to do things without a committee.

4) You need a place to race. Go-kart tracks are ideal but not always available. It's entirely possible to run a season of legitimate racing in a parking lot.

5) You need insurance. See if the facility you're renting will allow your group to piggyback on their policy. If not, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and USMGP offer event insurance at an affordable rate, far better than what you would find independently. It can apply to either a real track or a parking lot assuming all the requirements set down by the company are met. NKA and K&K are the insurance companies most likely to help you.

6) You need a class structure and a set of rules and procedures. Established clubs such as USMGP, OMRRA, SEPRA have designed a set of rules that attempt to encompass all of the minimoto bikes currently available in the US. These clubs generally share their rules, USMGP in particular allows free use of any or all of the rules and regulations for yourselves. You don't have to use all of the USMGP rules, just the ones that best serve your members. The reason USMGP offers this borrowing of rules is that one of the happy side effects of minimoto is that a lot of people like to travel. It's easier to go visit another club if their classes are similar to what they're used to. It would suck to show up to a race and learn that your beloved bike is not eligeable for the same class you race at home.

7) You'll need a staff to help run the races. Some facilities will include their staff in the rental price, most won't. You need a track marshall/head flagger, race director to deal with any situations that occur (they're the final word on everything, the final decisionmaker), tech inspector(s), registration workers, and corner workers. Finding volunteers isn't always easy, but it's the cheapest way to do it. If you've got the money you can hire people to do this. If there are any big bike trackday companies in your area, they might be good ones to contact about knowledgable staff.

Also, if you're serious about starting a club, you MUST have thick skin. While the majority of your racers will be silent and support what you're doing, there are always a few who will disagree with everything you decide and go out of their way to make your life difficult. It's an unfortunate fact of life and we're including this in this How-to just to cover all of your bases.

So, in summation, you need to get in contact with your local riders and get them to support your idea. You need to give them easy access to information on what you're doing, and you need to have a place to go! If you have a question ask. Call other club directors, they will offer you support and advice whenever you need it.

Good luck!