Exclusive: Adam Bailey Interview

This weekend’s highly anticipated AUS-X Open is expected to be the largest supercross event in Australian history. It hasn’t come easily, though, as the event’s organisers – Adam Bailey and his team at AME Management – have been working behind-the-scenes for over two years putting the whole show together. Transmoto‘s Todd Jarratt recently caught up with Bailey to discuss his exciting career path, the recent James Stewart saga and how this whole event came to fruition.

Todd Jarratt: We are now only days away from arguably the biggest supercross event in Australian history, and you’re the name behind it all. How are you feeling?
Adam Bailey: I’m feeling really good. The last two weeks has thrown up some curve balls that we weren’t expecting, but the whole process has been an amazing learning experience. We have been working on this event for a good couple of years now, so I think everyone is pumped to just finally get there and see the whole thing unfold.

It’s also been a long road for you to get to where you are today; what are some of the roles you’ve held over the years?
Well, I grew up racing motocross as a kid, and my desire to do this kind of thing actually stemmed from watching the Supercross Masters at Rod Laver Arena as a young boy. I continued racing through my adolescent years, then I actually went to university and gained a degree in commerce and marketing. Once I finished the degree I basically gave racing everything I had for a few years, travelling around as a Privateer, and my favourite events during that time were indoor supercross races. Following my racing days, I started my own business and partnered with Mick and Cam Sinclair to run some small motocross events. I then worked with Yarrive Konsky for a couple of seasons before I became the Marketing Promotions Manager for Rockstar Energy for a very short period. Around that time, back in 2007, I also began managing athlete profiles, such as Cam Sinclair’s.
I also spent a few years commentating the MX Nationals, Super X and Australian Superbike Championships, and was involved in coaching through the Honda SMART Program for a couple of years in there, too. I was basically just trying to make a living in the industry that I loved. I then began to pick up event management contracts slowly and brokered a sponsorship between Rockstar Energy and the Holden Racing Team in the V8 Supercars Championship. I guess that introduction to the V8s opened my eyes to how much business potential there was in that sport, and looking back, that’s when I decided put in the effort to network and forge my path in that industry. Through that networking process I met my current business partner, Ryan Sanderson (pictured in this article’s lead image), and we developed AME Management. From there, we ran the Australian Water Ski Racing Championship series and that brings us to 2013, where we started planning the AUS-X Open.

^ Left to right: Ben Williams (AUS-X Open Paddock Operations Manager), Adam Bailey and Eric Peronnard (AUS-X Open rider liaison)…

Along the career path you just described, were there any experiences in particular that helped you develop the AUS-X Open?
I think all of the experiences in a way. The AUS-X Open is a product of being a fan of supercross as a young boy, remembering the feeling it gave me back then, and combining that with my experience in managing athletes, marketing, running events, and handling sponsorship and broadcast deals. So, the AUS-X Open is basically a mash up of everything I’ve ever worked in.

The question that everyone wants to know – what did you have to go through to get James Stewart to this event?
Well, to go back to the start, we had always been warned about James and we were aware of his decisions in the past, but we went with him because we knew how good he was and we knew how fierce the rivalry between he and Chad was. We basically did everything humanly possible to avoid him from pulling out like he had previously with Super X in 2009. We had good contracts written up, got footage of him saying he was coming, and we paid him a deposit up front. So what happened was equally as much of a shock to the team and myself as it was to the fans. His manager called and said he was backing out because he didn’t have enough time to test, but I didn’t accept that as a good enough excuse. He half blamed the team and said it was partly their decision, so I said okay, I’ll head over to the US and see the team. The next morning I got to the airport and an announcement had already been made.
You can imagine I wasn’t happy, because rather than give us the time to talk it through and try to give them a shorter trip or more comfort or anything like that, they made the announcement. From that point on it has basically been a legal battle, because we do have a contract with him and we do have proof of his intention to come. So by making the announcement they reneged on their contract with no solid reasoning.

^ The AUS-X Open track currently being constructed inside AllPhones Arena…

So what happened on the trip to the USA then?
The trip over there was a reminder for those guys that they have a contract in place and if they don’t follow through with their obligations there are serious consequences and we will not back down on those. I think as new promoters and on behalf of all of the fans willing to spend their money to watch him race, we showed them that we were not going to allow it to happen easily, and if it is to happen, there will be hell to pay. During the team’s evaluation time I looked around for replacement riders (including Cooper Webb and Ricky Carmichael who have now been confirmed), but eventually they called back and said they would have James racing – hence the updated announcement.

Then the incident occurred at the Bercy-Lille Supercross…
Yeah, I had my flight home from the US and upon landing I heard the news of James’ crash in France, so that raised a whole new challenge and we are yet to resolve that.

^ Bailey and team discuss AUS-X Open track specifications…

Sounds like it’s been a roller coaster for you guys! Are there any individuals in particular that you would like to call attention to for their support in making this event possible?
For sure! For me personally, there is my business partner Ryan Sanderson, our investor Scott, and our entire AME Management team – they have all gone above and beyond for this event. The NSW Government and Destination NSW were the first to believe in our vision and have been behind us from the start, so without those guys this event wouldn’t be going ahead. One name from within the industry that has not only been a huge supporter but also a great mate throughout the process is WEM’s Kevin Williams, so I’d like to extend a big thanks to Kevi, too. Lastly, I would just like to say a huge thank you to all of our sponsors and partners for believing in our vision, and most of all the fans for supporting action sports! This weekend is going to be epic!