Massive programme for Mallory weekend
By TMX Archives on 30th Oct 08
BRITISH off-road fans will witness a real festival of action at Mallory Park next May as RHL Activities promote not only the MX1/MX2 GP and a round of the Veteran World Cup but have also taken on the World and European Supermoto series all in a single weekend on May 30/31! As revealed in last week's T+MX, the world's fastest motocrossers will race for points at the Leicestershire track on May 31, but the big news from the FIM Congress held last week at Durban in South Africa is the fact that the Supermoto series will visit the UK for the first time in two years to race on Saturday in a dual programme with MX qualification.
According to the FIM press release, all rounds of the Supermoto series will also feature the European championship and something called ‘Hypermotard'.
The Mallory GP is one of two gigantic festivals next year, the other being the Motocross des Nations at Franciacorta, Italy, on October 3/4, which will also include the Supermoto series.
Clearly there are massive logistical hurdles to be met, but the benefit for promoter Youthstream of linking the two off-road worlds is clear. Firstly, Youthstream themselves can save on expenses by killing two birds with one stone but, more importantly, they can present the drift sport to a wider public.
Without Mallory and Franciacorta, there would only have been seven rounds in the World Supermoto series next year, and the sport has struggled for public attention outside Italy for several years. Some rounds have been witnessed by less than 30 paying spectators! With an expected crowd exceeding 20,000 for the entire weekend, plus even more for MX race day, both events could be a real shot in the arm for the sport.
The Supermoto calendar was the only surprise to come out of Durban. The Motocross calendar, as printed last week in T+MX, was ratified with the sole change being the switch for the Italian MX1/MX2 opener to Faenza.
The Sidecar-cross calendar was also published and shows 13 rounds with two each in France and Germany, the return of Switzerland after many years absence, and five rounds in Eastern Europe.
There was a lot of hot air about noise and ‘green' fuel, the parameters for the latter thankfully not appearing to give the environ‘mentalists' any advantage as yet, to the relief of potential users who need to be convinced about the lubrication properties of the rape seed product.
Readers will be delighted to hear that: "...the FIM-MSMA-Youthstream Steering Committee, working on the reduction of the sound level in Motocross and Enduro, presented its conclusions to the Management Council: the introduction of a new sound test method, measures to guarantee reliability and to prevent cheating, progressive sound level reduction in 2010, 2011 and 2013, and follow-up of these measures during the next months.”
And the FIM stinky clean image was reinforced in Durban by the symbolic planting of 406 trees, the number representing the number of delegates whose expenses to the sun were paid for by licence holders. That should save the Antarctic!
NB: The calendar for the 2009 World Sidecar-cross Series is printed elsewhere on these pages.