TMX Says: Entertainment in the bucketloads!
By TMX Archives on 11th Jan 17
So the 2017 sporting season fired into life at the weekend with the Martin Lampkin Memorial Indoor Trial, the Arenacross Tour, AMA Supercross and SuperEnduro series all taking centre stage.
That's not forgetting the Dakar Rally that enters its second week of competition with a Brit – Mr Sam Sunderland – leading the way of course.
Go on my son!
If we go back to the front of my list of sporting events and add up the attendance of just the British pair, that's about 12,000 off-road fans enjoying two totally different nights of entertainment, less than 45-miles apart.
That's a lot of people and if any other single weekend of off-road motorcycle sport (except for maybe one involving Weston or the MXoN – which I'm sure will blow that figure to smithereens) can attract more fans in the UK this summer then I'll go out and buy a hat – and then eat it.
It amuses me somewhat that for the past few years the Manchester round of the AX Tour and Sheffield Indoor have gone head-to-head in relatively close proximity to each other without actually hindering attendance at either.
I'm sure that a handful of motorcycle enthusiasts – but not necessarily huge fans of off-road – are torn between the two but the two tribes are pretty hardcore when it comes to knowing what they like.
Just for the record, I attended neither event due to a family emergency but, had things gone smoothly, would have been in Manchester as I'm not only passionate about that series but it's important to attend it as an ambassador of the printed products I'm editor of.
That's not to say I don't like trials – as many people seem to assume – and also seem very quick to point out, given the opportunity because that's simply not true – I do like trials even if I was always really bad at it – and, if it weren't for the date clash, then I'd be on the floor of Sheffield Arena on trial night trying to elbow John Hulme, Andy Greig, Eric Kitchen and the gang out of the way to try and get the best shots possible for your viewing pleasure.
Because it's apparently not possible to be everywhere at once TMX uses the services of the best trials contributors the UK has to offer – and former editor Dicko (John Dickinson) definitely comes under that umbrella-ella-ella.
Even after taking early retirement it was essential he stayed involved as he's an integral part of the team and my go-to guy for advice about the feet-up game.
For all those that say TMX has less trials content in it since the day that ‘JD' vacated the editor's chair, I'd just like to say that's actually total balderdash.
In fact, since setting John free of all the total BS involved with this role he's actually found time to go to more events than ever before and creates double the amount of Trials Torque content than he did when he was sat here full-time.
Just sayin'...
It's also unfair to suggest there's less trials stuff in TMX these days when our team of roving trials reporters are out there each and every weekend whatever the weather and are chucking more reports and pictures our way than ever before.
Of course, that means that Beth, Jason, Al, Dave and Mannix have to work overtime – sorry, I meant to say unpaid overtime – to get them in the paper each week but that's what they live for.
Enjoy this week's stacked out paper and if you've got any thoughts, comments – negative or positive – then please drop me an email on anthony.sutton@jpress.co.uk.
