Track days are a more recent event as in the past decades, it was difficult for the mortal moto fan to get on a track due to liabilities and more. Car clubs would hold track day events like driver schools and similar which allowed club members to get track time. These events are GOOD for track owners as they keep the track active and brings in $ to help keep a track running and functional. There are legal liabilities-insurance and related involved and it takes track corner workers, emergency personnel and a LOT more to open a track for any event.
What often happens at track days (there is nearly always some self deceived, over confident Yahooo.000 that will scrunch-crunch their chosen ride requiring a flat bed truck ride home or worst serious bodily injury or fatality). This is a reality of track days and event organizers are very, very, very aware of this.
Decades ago, Fiat had NO interest or intent to cultivate a "sporting-racy" market image or brand identity for their US of A offerings. Fiat was interested in selling mass produced low cost passenger transportation as volume is required to keep a organization like Fiat A-float. Agnelli was never much of a fan for the US of A market and Fiat's connection with Nations that did not share political Ideologies-Doctrines with the US of A did not help at all.
If Fiat was deadly serious about moto competition in the US of A they could have easily put Abarth and all with a full on moto competition effort. The result of this would have been easily predictable as Abarth-Lancia produced several WRC trophies. Fiat would have $ lobbies organizations like SCCA, IMSA or made up their own series with their own funding. Real world significance should not be paid to the moto competition circus as it is much about show to produce an emotional response with it's audience resulting in enduring memories of who won resulting in the "Halo Effect" for the brand. Again, these moto event winners have no real significance to their mass produced offerings.
BTW, when FORD was running their FORD Escort in rally events, rally stages would so seriously trash the body-chassis-suspension the FORD rally folks would scrap the body-chassis after any rough events due to structural failures and more. Lancia procured several chassis, built them into rally motos, run them for a season then retire them.
24 Hours of LeMons is mostly about teams and drivers having a GOOD-FUN time, it is not about winning. IMO, this is what moto fan track events should be. What LeMons racing has done for manufactures aka brands is reveal just how terrible then really are as production offerings. What many believe and put faith into as their un-bust-able-reliable ride often results in the harsh and rude awaking of how poor some production cars are as endurance racers.
https://jalopnik.com/results-of-the-lemons-torture-test-volvo-alfa-saturn-30932294
There is a LOT more than just the moto being raced, there is an enormous amount of race prep, driver skill, team effort, organization, resources and MUCH more to do well at any moto event. The Moto itself is more often a minor aspect of the entire moto circus show.
IMO, production vehicle based racing-competition should not be considered unless the brand-manufacture is paying driver, team with full support to promote them. Exception would be events like LeMons where moto mods are mostly open and not restrained by silly rules. LeMons has ZERO tolerance to moto safety requirements and Yahoooo....0000 driving on track. There have been a few LeMons teams that have been banned from LeMons forever due to bad driver behavior on track. Bad-dangerous driving is not tolerated due to the duration of the event which runs for hour after after hour with a LOT of cars on track. Event duration means great potential for really bad stuff to happen if the drivers are not well behaved of if their LeMons track moto is a overly hot oily wad of metal and more. Then LeMons has post event stuff like sharing of food, track side antics and LeMons family fun. Then there are those who's LeMons moto demands extensive fixing to moto on.
Indeed, LeMons is much about drivers, teams, family, fun and more with much less emphasis on brand-manufactures. This is why LeMons IS so successful to this day.
Bernice
Doc, it explains why track days are so popular, probably guys who just want to so some light racing but can't afford "real" racing.
I can't understand the mentality of making well performing race cars ( 124 spider and X and even 850) and having no interest by the importer for some kind of encouragement for customers to race. Fiat had serious racing history in Europe through Abarth but nothing much happened here. Al clearly preferred sedan racing with his 600 based sedans and later the 128. Racing the cars after production had ceased probably does not help with the halo effect. Are any Abarth 500s or new spiders being raced in the SCCA?
Lemons racing and similar type events are purely for the racers, won't do anything for a manufacturer.
