Mallory's making progress
By TMX Archives on 16th Apr 08
still to be worked in, general feedback was very positive and it is clear that both Hockey and Barclay have taken a more traditional approach to the track design which bodes well for good racing. THE 2008 British Motocross Grand Prix is going to be one to remember. That was the message GP promoter Gareth Hockey of RHL Activities gave to the assembled press and invited race fans at last Friday's British GP press day at Mallory Park.
A good turnout of over 50 invited guests were in attendance on a typically wet and windy April day to inspect, ride and offer feedback on the completed third of the race track and to take part in an open forum designed to iron out any concerns, dispel any myths and create a better GP for all.
CAS Honda riders Mike Brown and Billy MacKenzie, Molson Kawasaki's Tom Church and KTM's Tommy Searle were all in attendance to turn some laps on the track and offer a GP riders perspective and 20 selected members of popular motocross forum MXTrax were also invited down by Hockey to offer the opinions and thoughts from the fans side of things and hear from RHL about its plans for the big weekend.
The day started with a brief presentation in Mallory's media suite, with Hockey reporting on progress with the council and Police, and on the progress with track building, before goping to explain what's happening in the near future. The floor was opened-up then to guests questions, suggestions and opinions.
Predicatbly the very first question was about the beer tent but there were a lot of good points and suggestions made from the floor that will hopefully be put into action and make for a better GP for the paying public, but the forum also showed just how much Hockey wants the event to be success and enjoyable to fans and the meeting went a long way to improve peoples opinons of Mallory Park as GP venue and RHL Activities abilites to promote the event.
After a good hour or so going over all the pertinent issues it was time to hit the track and test out the work of Mallory track builder Justin Barclay albeit in some pretty heavy conditions after a torrential downpour.
Although only the top third of the track has been contrusted, and that has yet to be fully finished with the top-soil
Only three jumps although these are pretty sizeable have been built into the top section of the track and the emphasis has been on creating a fast, flowing course with wide corners and the opportunity for multiple lines and overtaking opportunities. One particular standout section for passing features a steep drop off a ledge into a 180 degree bowl-turn and back out over the ledge again and on the race day I'd expect to see that section used to good effect by the GP elite.
The lower section of the track are expected to be a bit more technical to provide a contrast, but after spending half and hour on the track my thoughts are that the finsihed article will provide a great platform for exciting racing and genuine passing opportunites everywhere. It also bodes well for club racers and rider everywhere too for when the track is turned into a practice facility after the big day.
Similary the riders were pretty postitive on the whole with Searle commenting: There are some things I really like. The way you drop into a corner, and then there's the big bank to follow round, that's pretty good. The jumps all feel good too, so I think the track will make for a good race. Obviously it's not finished yet, but if it had been dry today then we'd have had a lot of fun.
Hockey too was pleased that he took the step to invite people down and involve paying race fans in the planning of the event: There were a lot of raised eyebrows when I decided to invite the forum members along today, but their input is important to us, as it's their support that will make or break this event. There's been a lot of debate online about the choice of venue and not all the comments have been kind to us. But now they've seen what we're about, and what we're aiming to do, and I hope we have managed to convince them that the move to Mallory Park is a positive step. Their feedback has certainly been constructive, and we intend to address the negative points raised between now and June 1, when I hope they'll all be back here to support the event.
The feedback from the professional riders is that we're pretty much on track with the course. Obviously we've got to finish the whole track and lay on the topsoil, but they're happy with what we've done so far; they seem to like it.
It is obvious that Hockey is passionate about fulfilling his ambtion to host a GP and deadly serious about making the event a success and turning Mallory into a top-flight motocross venue for the long term, not just one weekend, and after Friday it seems he is on track to achieve that goal.
The Motocross Grand Prix of Great Britain takes place at Mallory Park on June 1 and more information on the event can be found on the official website at www.britishmxgp.com.