Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128083
t will prubably wunlil like brasp hemy to the diehard MiX fan,
but th e racing is almost seco n d a r y at a n e ve n t like Bercy.
What's realt» cool is the show. It's
hard for tilt? American mindset to
comprehend an explana tion of the
Europea n fondness fo r spectacle,
but if you saw th e opening ceremonies fur the last soccer World
Cup (also held in France), then you
can pretty m uch p icture the concep t - somewhat of a cross between
lew Year's Eve, an Independence
Day parade and a trip on acid .
At Ber cy, th e hour-long (each
night) opening ceremonies had the bulk of the riders - each accompanied by a sequin-bedecked ,
pom -pom-wielding cheerleader - being introduced on glittering stag es with smoke machi nes and
pound ing mu sic; the heroes were brought out on a variety of outrageous choppers and drag tractors (McGrath's was pow ered by a jet engine). The show itself was nearly four hou rs lon g, and
since there were just seven races over the course of each evening, a number of other sources of
entertainment were utili zed . A sam ple of an tics taking place randoml y arou nd the arena floor
included a dancing kan garoo; choreographed dancing troupes; a wh eelying tractor; py rotech nics;
an esca ped live rooster; scream ing, sprinting, tag -teaming floor announcers; men firing T-sh irts
into the stands w ith an air gun; DJs being lowered by cables from the ceiling and lifted in tractor
bu ckets; and a man playing a d idgeridoo. Whereas American fans would probably find many of
the she nanigans a bit corny , the French spec tators ate the production up. The Bercy SX has captured the imaginat ion o f th e public ov er the yea rs (aid ed by th e fact th at organize r Xavier
Aud ouard is also a journalist at Moto Vert,- ma ga zin e), and each night is so ld out mon th s in
advance (some fan s were even sea ted in the aisles this year ). Several other motorcycle-ori ented
events now take place at other times throughout the year at Berry, including a Big Air Festival, an
indoor trials and a Supermotard race.
Not only do the sp ectators enjoy the craziness, but they regu larly join in. Fans were witnessed
rev vin g cha ins aws: donning wigs, face pa int and hats topped with spi nni ng ligh ts; bla s tin g
airhorns; lobbing rolls of toilet paper; ban ging together large, infl at ab le cigare ttes; crea ting
makeshift flameth rowers wi th aerosol cans and lighters; waving flags (French and U.S.); shining
laser pointe rs around the track; doing the wave; spinning glow-in-the-dark wands; and just plain
scream ing.
This was the 17th running of the event, and Sunday was its 50th nigh t. Oh , and by the way - by
Audouard' s own ad missio n, this was a relatively mellow year in terms of extravagance.
I
ather t han tra ns"po rt
their racebikes overseas
•
for off-season supercrosses, most American riders
borrow stock bikes from sources
in Europe. In order to increase
performance and familiarity,
mechanics brin g over a host of
parts and swa p them out before
the racing begins .
'This year we brought a different swingarm, motor , complete ignition, carburetor, suspension, bar s, clamps, perch,"
said Ke vin Strikwerda , the
mechanic for Nathan Ramsey's
SplitFire Kawa sak i. "We try to
bring enough to rna ke it as
close to a race bike as possible,
so thev feel comfor table when
the y get here. We d on't want
to have anyth in g too off for
th em to ge t u sed to. Pr ett y
mu ch th e only th in g we use
Nathan Ram sey
from the bike th ey give us is
feeling at home in Paris.
the frame and subfrarne."
The parts are br ought ov er in
custom , padded-metal cases, wh ich makes for quite a bit of luggage.
'This year we didn't have to pay any extra," said Strikwerda. 'They
just happened to let it slide. I guess it depends on who's runni ng the
counter,"
Together with fellow Kawa saki wrenches Chad Watts and Jim Perry,
Strikwerda took about four and a half hours to build up Ramsey' s and
Ricky Carmichael's bikes. Like most the bikes, Ramsey's was a brandnew 2000 unit provid ed by th e French importer , along with spare
wh eels, gas and chemical s. Ram sey's KX125 was dest ined to be the
property of race promotor Xav ier Audouard, bu t most bikes are simply
returned to the import ers after the race.
Inciden tally, Aussie Mickael Byrne rod e a Honda CR250 that was
bon e-stock - sus pe nsion and all.
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