MX and trials champs shop
By TMX Archives on 30th Jul 09
A couple of points to ponder this week, maybe you agree, maybe you don't but whatever your view there are some serious posers for motocross and trials... IN many recent columns I am well aware that I keep returning to the same recurring themes which, in a nutshell, boils down to where have the crowds gone from Championship MX events and where have the riders gone from Championship trials. I do hate to get stuck in a groove and after this week I really will move on – although it pains me to do so when little, if any, progress has been made regarding the questions.
I sense a certain section saying – shock, horror – "Championship, who cares anyway?”
Why would you say this? Well, the up-side to both those questions is that the rest of the sport gets on absolutely fine without either of the above. To even say such words will undoubtedly send shudders down certain sections of the establishment's spine. Like a wizard in Harry Potter actually saying the words ‘Lord Voldemort' out loud, there are certain things in all walks of life that really just should not be even thought about, in case the answer you come up with is not the one you want to hear.
I must admit, dealing with the two issues separately, the question of the MX champs crowds is prompted by Gareth Hockey in his never-ending quest to keep the British MXGP alive. The question is a genuine puzzle and constant irritation to the man and it really, achingly bothers him that he can't put his finger on WHY the crowds won't come out to play despite his best efforts.
I'll leave Gareth to pursue his own theories and agonise over every possibility but – here's one of my own.
I took my annual trip to the MotoGP at Donington Park (paid for at vast expense by myself, just in case the more suspicious of you think I would sell out to a VIP freebie) and the event, against most expectations, drew a monster of a crowd, despite a miserable weather forecast and ultimately, pretty miserable weather.
The official figure was given as 87,000-odd, which you can believe or not as you wish. But whatever the actual statistics, trust me, it was a HUGE crowd and an enthusiastic and knowledgeable one at that.
So who packed Donington MotoGP to the hilt? Well, this may seem like stating the bleedin' obvious but it was a genuine MOTORCYCLE crowd. Yes, lots of lads in leathers lined the fences, having travelled on their plastic rockets in order to watch ‘Valentino' show them how its done. But over and above that, the vast majority of the fans, whether dads and families in cars (the car parks were awesome) or groups of older visitors or whatever, they obviously had a deep-seated passion for the sport. They are incredibly knowledgeable. They can spot a British rider in the middle of a pack of virtually identikit 125s travelling at 120mph, half-hidden in spray. If a rider is performing below par they know exactly why. Because they are motorcyclists at heart.
Can we say the same about a current MXGP crowds? I don't think so... Back in the day, (brief history lesson) motocross used to attract these self-same spectators.
Motorcyclists LOVED their scrambling and their motocross. Unfortunately, these days you can't tell me the same is true. How many people travel to the British MXGP on a motorcycle? A dozen? Yet there are THOUSANDS of motorcycle enthusiasts out there and if you give them what they want they'll turn out in their thousands. As will the lapsed/ latent motorcyclists who trundle-up in their cars with their families. Why have they given up on motocross? It's something else for Gareth to put on his list of things to investigate. I think we need to be asking all these people who AREN'T turning up why they don't make the effort for MX rather than those who do. Donington would have been a great place to start but as I say, I'll leave Gareth to pick up the cudgel regarding this observation...
Moving on to trials. There are around a dozen riders currently contesting the World Trials Championship, a series which is undeniably propped-up by the keen parents of those contesting the Youth and Junior classes.
Like amateur motocross, trials, at the club level end, is doing fine. Last weekend the Richmond club played host to over 200 riders in its fantastic Three-Day Trial and in all probability could have doubled that number if they could have coped. This event, like 99.9% of trials, doesn't attract spectators – trials is a sport for the competitors and when clubs provide what the riders are looking for, they soon have to start turning entries away.
You can also aim this self-same theory at motocross if you like. Club events are invariably over-subscribed and practice tracks have proliferated in the UK offering thousands the chance to ride off-road uncompetitively but still experiencing the fun. It is these club riders and play riders who actually keep the off-road industry going – so that the dealers can spend their hard-earned on sponsoring Championship riders. No probs with that, they are enthusiasts and it is what enthusiasts do. But in these hard-pressed times it is clear that many of the bread-and-butter riders don't particularly wish for their money to be spent on others...
It's a question we might not want to ask but does either sport really NEED the Championships?...