Where were the MX fans?
By TMX Archives on 16th Apr 09
THE fact is the racing was quite brilliant but the question is, Where were the vast majority of Britain's hardcore motocross fans on Easter Sunday?Well, while I have absolutely no idea where they were, I do know exactly where they weren't and where they weren't was Hawkstone Park. And I'm prepared to bet as much as 50p that promoter Gareth Hockey asks exactly that question in his Blog this week (see page 4 opposite). And if he doesn't he should do!
Now, while I genuinely don't know where the fans actually were – seaside, sitting in traffic jams, riding their bikes, drinking beer, washing their hair or creosoting the shed are just a few of my wilder guesses – I can hazard a theory as to WHY they weren't trackside enjoying the racing.
I think (he says boldly) that RHL (ie Gareth) with the best possible intentions, attempted to re-invent the wheel – and this time around it didn't quite come out round. Having said that, I fully understand Gareth's reasoning and intentions. He quite rightly understood that MX3 and EMX2 don't exactly strike a chord with British fans and that in order to drum up a crowd for this inaugural event he was going to have to come up with something extra. So, mountain bikes, FMX, push-bikes, trials demos, mini-bikes etc, etc were drafted in. The event was then given a name – Handlebar Festival – and while as I say I fully understand the reasoning behind it, I now think that that is where it lost the fans. In a nutshell, the event lost its motocross focus.
At this point, Gareth is justified in shouting, "If you're so damned clever why didn't you tell me this before?” And the reply is that I'm definitely not that clever – and even if I entertained my idea before, and I admit that it did cross my mind, who knew what was actually going to happen last weekend? Gareth's idea was that all kinds of people would be fired-up and that he would nail a whole new audience who would (hopefully) get addicted to our sport. Who was to say that this wouldn't happen – if the Handlebar Festival had drawn 10,000 new fans through the gates who would be laughing then?
The old saying goes, "The man who never made a mistake never made anything.” The trick, I guess, is to learn from your mistakes. The trouble is, when you are trying to promote something like the Handlebar Festival the mistakes come at a pretty horrendous cost and RHL is sure to be facing a substantial financial loss.
If the event is to survive and run again next year – and I sincerely hope it does – my advice, with the wonderful benefit of hindsight, is to concentrate on the motocross and SELL the event to the hardcore MX fans. I really don't think that the Festival bit is worth persevering with. We've been ‘sold' the idea of ‘cross-promoting' events before and while the theory looks and sounds good, in practise it simply doesn't work. Instead of adding value, as is intended, my view is that it devalues the main event. And the main event is the motocross. End of.
I was a sceptical as the next man when I set-off for Hawkstone on Sunday morning as, being honest, I had no idea about MX3 or EMX2. I came away a fully committed fan of EMX2, a fantastic hotbed of young MX talent who raced flat-out for the full race distance – twice. If this event was to return next year I'd be the first to sign-up. And if there's a class for the future this is it. BUT it needs promoting. Not as an addition to mountain biking and mini-bike racing – but as the main attraction. I'm a bit more sceptical about MX3 – it was good racing, don't get me wrong, but that was mainly down to the amazing efforts of never-say-die Brad Anderson.
Again, the British riders need attracting to the class – even if only as one-off rides – and the prospect of another Anderson-style superhuman effort would once more get me to the paling fence.
Top this off with a classy support race – Youths? Quads? Two-strokes? – You choose! And advertise the event far and wide as International Motocross.
This is not a radical idea, it is simply back to basics – and that is the point. Gareth was very, very brave to try a radical alternative but in my humble opinion it did not work and more to the point will not work. MX is a very specialised business and as Gareth knows the fans WILL turn out in droves for the right event – ie his own British GP at Mallory Park.
And as a footnote, maybe Youthstream could help us out next year by releasing its list of competitors before Thursday, just before the event – three-days after T+MX goes to print and far too late for anyone to do anything with as regards promotion.
Whatever, I look forward to Gareth's comments regarding the above thoughts as I know one thing, he'll certainly have a point of view...