Supercross on the move

FOLLOWING an unbeaten run of 15 years staging Supercross in the UK the news this week is that promoter Future West, owned and run by Yorkshireman turned Canadian John Hellam, has sold its interests in Britain to Events 22, the forward looking company headed by Matt Bates.

 

Now, I dare say to the majority of fans and riders this means little, if nothing. All riders want is to pay their money and race while all the public wants is to pay its money and be entertained. Many do not even stop to think who is putting on the show, nor am I saying they should do. If you want to watch a pop concert you book tickets, turn-up at the venue, enjoy the show and hopefully go home happy at the end of the night. I bet you couldn't at any time tell me who the promoter is. Exactly the same goes for Supercross or Motocross or Indoor Trials or Enduro...

 

But after 15 years I think Future West deserves a mention for plugging away keeping the SX fitre burning in Britain seemingly against all the odds. Being honest as ever I struggle to see how FW turned a profit considering the sheer costs of hiring venues and all the stuff required to stage an off-road motorcycle event Indoors. I do know that precious few people (and Matt Bates is one) have ever had the balls to give it a go as the potential to lose money is massive.

 

Yes, not all Future West events have been perfect and yes they've had their share of criticisms over the years but without John Hellam would we really have had 15 years of SX on these shores? 

 

If Hellam did nothing else he did something that everyone said was impossible and that it would never happen. He brought one of the all-time greats, American ace Jeremy McGrath, at the height of his powers and fame, to Sheffield. It is an event I'll never forget with McGrath flying a massive triple lap after lap on his two-stroke Yam with a deep Braaaaappp from the exhaust thanks to the special barrel and pipe he brought with him. To me, that was unforgettable.

 

Hellam did tell me on Monday this week just how close a call it actually was whether McGrath came or not. Said John, "The deal was agreed, and it cost me a hell of a lot of money, to be paid in advance. There was some hold-up at the bank with the cash and McGrath was actually sitting at the airport in America waiting for the transaction to go through. If I hadn't shifted that money he would have turned round and gone home. Simple as that. We made it with about an hour to go!”

 

Hellam gave the sport a real gallop in Britain, turning Sheffield into the spiritual home of Supercross while trying various other venues in his quest to spread the gospel.

 

Having now handed over the reins to Events 22 I think it fair to say that Matt is the person to take the sport forward in Britain. It is easy to look to America and attempt to compare Supercross there and here but in reality it is like comparing chalk with cheese. The crowd numbers this year for the AMA series almost defy belief with records broken week on week and leave all other countries green with envy. Yes, it is a long standing series that has been cleverly built-up over many years but I think we all know that, for a variety of reasons, Britain can never, ever, hope to compete with the US on that front. 

 

But there's absolutely no reason why we can't continue to have a Supercross series, albeit on a much smaller scale, in keeping with simple reality and it will be Events 22 in the driving seat.

 

FINALLY I must admit to laughing out loud at Top Gear last Sunday evening when the three stooges were caught out in a freezing rainstorm while looning round in open top sports cars. I don't imagine for a minute that any of the three manufacturers were laughing though, especially KTM as Mr J Clarkson let the public know exactly what he thought of the practicalities of the very orange X-Bow with not so much as a plastic screen to protect his comically frozen face, never mind a roof!

 

I must admit, I am not a Top Gear fan, I get bored to tears with cars squealing round that bloody awful test track while there's only so much titting about you can take from three grown men - unless of course those three men are you and your mates, in which case it lasts a lifetime! But that's my life (and maybe yours) not theirs! 

 

But I did make the exception on Sunday. Most blokes like the idea of an open topped sporty motor like the KTM, a Caterham 7 and one of the all-new and genuinely awesome looking Morgan three wheelers (or tricycle as Clarkson insisted on calling it) being given a fair old thrashing. 

 

In reality, all three motors are not to be taken seriously. The KTM is a track car while the 7 and the trike are for proles to bimble around country lanes on sunny Sundays, posing mightily. In the Morgan you can genuinely pretend you are a WW2 Spitfire ace on the way to the pub for a beer following a wizard prang. But enough of my fantasies.

 

The look on JCs frozen face, while the KTM trail boys looked-on was pure TV gold.Future West hand over the reins of British Supercross to Events 22 - and Clarkson gets a frozen KTM face... 

 

FOLLOWING an unbeaten run of 15 years staging Supercross in the UK the news this week is that promoter Future West, owned and run by Yorkshireman turned Canadian John Hellam, has sold its interests in Britain to Events 22, the forward looking company headed by Matt Bates.

 

Now, I dare say to the majority of fans and riders this means little, if nothing. All riders want is to pay their money and race while all the public wants is to pay its money and be entertained. Many do not even stop to think who is putting on the show, nor am I saying they should do. If you want to watch a pop concert you book tickets, turn-up at the venue, enjoy the show and hopefully go home happy at the end of the night. I bet you couldn't at any time tell me who the promoter is. Exactly the same goes for Supercross or Motocross or Indoor Trials or Enduro...

 

But after 15 years I think Future West deserves a mention for plugging away keeping the SX fitre burning in Britain seemingly against all the odds. Being honest as ever I struggle to see how FW turned a profit considering the sheer costs of hiring venues and all the stuff required to stage an off-road motorcycle event Indoors. I do know that precious few people (and Matt Bates is one) have ever had the balls to give it a go as the potential to lose money is massive.

 

Yes, not all Future West events have been perfect and yes they've had their share of criticisms over the years but without John Hellam would we really have had 15 years of SX on these shores? 

 

If Hellam did nothing else he did something that everyone said was impossible and that it would never happen. He brought one of the all-time greats, American ace Jeremy McGrath, at the height of his powers and fame, to Sheffield. It is an event I'll never forget with McGrath flying a massive triple lap after lap on his two-stroke Yam with a deep Braaaaappp from the exhaust thanks to the special barrel and pipe he brought with him. To me, that was unforgettable.

 

Hellam did tell me on Monday this week just how close a call it actually was whether McGrath came or not. Said John, "The deal was agreed, and it cost me a hell of a lot of money, to be paid in advance. There was some hold-up at the bank with the cash and McGrath was actually sitting at the airport in America waiting for the transaction to go through. If I hadn't shifted that money he would have turned round and gone home. Simple as that. We made it with about an hour to go!”

 

Hellam gave the sport a real gallop in Britain, turning Sheffield into the spiritual home of Supercross while trying various other venues in his quest to spread the gospel.

 

Having now handed over the reins to Events 22 I think it fair to say that Matt is the person to take the sport forward in Britain. It is easy to look to America and attempt to compare Supercross there and here but in reality it is like comparing chalk with cheese. The crowd numbers this year for the AMA series almost defy belief with records broken week on week and leave all other countries green with envy. Yes, it is a long standing series that has been cleverly built-up over many years but I think we all know that, for a variety of reasons, Britain can never, ever, hope to compete with the US on that front. 

 

But there's absolutely no reason why we can't continue to have a Supercross series, albeit on a much smaller scale, in keeping with simple reality and it will be Events 22 in the driving seat.

 

FINALLY I must admit to laughing out loud at Top Gear last Sunday evening when the three stooges were caught out in a freezing rainstorm while looning round in open top sports cars. I don't imagine for a minute that any of the three manufacturers were laughing though, especially KTM as Mr J Clarkson let the public know exactly what he thought of the practicalities of the very orange X-Bow with not so much as a plastic screen to protect his comically frozen face, never mind a roof!

 

I must admit, I am not a Top Gear fan, I get bored to tears with cars squealing round that bloody awful test track while there's only so much titting about you can take from three grown men - unless of course those three men are you and your mates, in which case it lasts a lifetime! But that's my life (and maybe yours) not theirs! 

 

But I did make the exception on Sunday. Most blokes like the idea of an open topped sporty motor like the KTM, a Caterham 7 and one of the all-new and genuinely awesome looking Morgan three wheelers (or tricycle as Clarkson insisted on calling it) being given a fair old thrashing. 

 

In reality, all three motors are not to be taken seriously. The KTM is a track car while the 7 and the trike are for proles to bimble around country lanes on sunny Sundays, posing mightily. In the Morgan you can genuinely pretend you are a WW2 Spitfire ace on the way to the pub for a beer following a wizard prang. But enough of my fantasies.

 

The look on JCs frozen face, while the KTM trail boys looked-on was pure TV gold.