Enjoying the great indoors
By John Dickinson on 15th Nov 13
AS the news story alongside this piece shows, we are about to hit the Indoor season with a vengeance. It begs the question, what did we do in the winter before the advent of the city sports arena?
People of a certain age, that would be me then, actually remember the world BA – Before Arena!
We take it all for granted now but I can remember my first Indoor trial – and first Supercross – like it was yesterday.
My first experience of an Indoor trial was in Girona, Spain, home of Gas Gas, back in the early 1990s. It was a competitive event but in reality the whole thing was one huge showcase for the skills of Jordi Tarres.
And it worked.
The Arena, in total darkness, was packed to the rafters, the music was pumping and the spotlight suddenly blazed on Jordi who wheelied around the arena as the home fans went nuts.
Run of the mill stuff now I know but 20 years ago John Shirt Sr and myself were knocked-out by the spectacle. It was the best night out ever!
I was also supremely lucky that my first ever Indoor Supercross was Paris, Bercy, also back in the 1990s.
Now that was an eye opener. The biggest Indoor stadium I'd seen, a full-house of 15,000 fans and as kick-off time approached they all went absolutely mental, standing, stamping their feet, yelling – and blasting air-horns in an unreal wall of sound fit to blow your ears off!
Again, no big deal in 2013 – but it all had to start somewhere and it was just amazing to be there.
Fast forward several decades and we have witnessed a similar sensation with SuperEnduro.
I don't know why it took so long to catch on but having witnessed my first ever SuperEnduro in the St Jordi (no, it isn't named after Jordi Tarres!) Stadium, Barcelona, that was the first thought that came to mind.
Of the three off-road disciplines, all have their plus points when moved indoors.
A stadium adds a new dimension and of course a unique atmosphere.
If you don't enjoy an Indoor event sitting in a warm envoronment on a cold, wet winter night there is something drastically wrong with it.
My current favourite is SuperEnduro, which attempts to combine the thrill and speed of Supercross with the skill of trials.
I also appreciate it is a very demanding sport for the riders. See how drained even the fittest riders are after the short, sharp explosive races.
But, you pay your money and take your choice, trials, enduro, MX – you can have them all from the comfort of your stadium seat – whatever the weather!
