outdoor motocross part 2

I have been a motocross fan for as long as I can remember. Now in my 30’s I see the core of the sport disappearing. Outdoor motocross is soon to be at a critical crossroad. Supercross is poised to take over the sport I love. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy supercross and the skill associated with racing it at a competitive level. But outdoor motocross is where it will always be for me. “The Great Outdoors” is motocross.
The eventual demise of professional outdoor motocross will be attributed to several different factors. The lack of big name rider participation which will then mean less sponsor dollars and in turn less factory support will all be responsible for this change. All of these factors combined will change the face of the sport forever. Supercross will become the high dollar mega sponsored series and the outdoors will be left to the hardcore fans. You can already see the shift just in the fan base that attends the events. Supercross draws Dad and little junior but more importantly Mom and sis and maybe even grandma as well. Supercross is fan friendly. A comfortable chair, clean bathrooms, easy parking, cool temperatures etc. It is great for the casual fan. But motocross is out in some remote field in the middle of nowhere with parking sometimes miles away, less than spectacular porta-johns in the middle of the summer heat. How does outdoor motocross draw more casual fans (and the increased sponsor dollars) yet still keep it core enough for the true fan?
Let’s explore a couple of possibilities.
--#1 Move the tracks
--#2 Make the tracks more spectator friendly with increased amenities
--#3 Run the national in the fall. Take the heat of the summer off.

--What if you were to make the tracks more enjoyable and better for the racers. Would more of them look into racing the national series?

--What if you combined the Nationals and Supercrosses to create a Grand National Champion like back in the 80’s. That might make the factories take notice and force the riders to compete.

--What if the weekend was created into a fair type of atmosphere that encouraged people to come out and spend the weekend. Increased tourism dollars for the local economy would lead to a better infrastructure. A fair or carnival style event could draw non-hardcore fans to the event. You could certainly fill the time with different races.
Perhaps on Sunday there would now be a run what you brung any displacement Grand National Championship class and Saturdays racing could have the women’s national class and a truer feeder class for riders without factory backing. (we’ll get to that later).
Thanks for taking the time to read this rant. If you are interested in discussing these ideas or have some of your own please let me know, I’m interested in hearing from you. The more that people discuss alternatives to the current system the better off we are at keeping outdoor motocross alive.
scott@njmotocross.com

Save outdoor motocross

Back in the beginning of the sport outdoor was the only way. Before supercross it was man and machine against the elements. To the true hardcore motocross fans outdoors is motocross. With the advent of supercross and it's customer friendly environment motocross/supercross was brought to the masses. But was this growth good or bad for the sport? Sure millions of people now know Jeremy Mc Grath and Bubba Stewart but has supercross killed the outdoors? First it was Mc Grath with the supercross only contract, then LaRocco, and Hansen and Preston and the Cernics Kawasaki team and WWR etc. Who can blame them? The people that pay the bills (sponsors) don't want to walk around some farmers field out in the middle of no wheer miles from the nearest airport or nice hotel when they can fly into a major city, catch a race in teh luxury box and fly home all in the period of a day. And who can blame the riders? I read that Travis Preston's salary this season was the same if he just rode the SX series or the complete supercross and national series combined. Wait a minute, I can get paid to race from December to May and sit at the beach the rest of the summer or fly out and beat myself up in high temperatures and high humidity on less than prepared tracks and not make a dime more? Seems like a no brainer to me.

This is where the problem lies with the outdoor nationals. To the hardcore motocross fan and racer outdoors is where it's at. I mean how many of us mortals have even ridden a supercross track? But the people paying the salaries and putting the semi on the road aren't riders or racers (most of the time) the are business people and the only reason to sponsor a race team is to see a return in the investment. Something that they don't feel like they get with outdoor motocross. The trickle down effect of this situation can be felt all the way to the local level. Top name riders sit home during the summer=less TV coverage=less sponsorship dollars=fewer factory riders=fewer bikes sold and eventually the demise of the sport as we now it.


So how do we (as fans) save outdoor motocross? What can be done? I'd like to hear your ideas on what motocross is missing and what can be done. Email me at scott@njmotocross.com

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