Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

2002 Motocross des Nations Track Operator Malcolm McCassy Doma currently has five series sponsors for 2002. There will be, approximately, 14 corners on the track. Five of them are already taken up by Dorna's sponsors. The rest have been left to us. Sure, Dorna wants their money, but that's only fair. They also want a presence here in the United States. They feel that World Championship Motocross and Supercross should be international in scope. Let's face it: It's a world economy now. The days of the U.S. being isolated from Europe, and Europe being isolated from the U.S., are coming to an end. With its new one-moto final, the format for the Motocross des Nations has been changed radically. Will that have an effect on your event this September? weu, it's very different, and there has been a lot of negative comments made about it. However, my feeling is that it has not been tested yet. You can ride any bike you want - a 125, 250 or 500. The start will only be 80 meters long, so there isn't a long hiIJ that favors the big bikes. In the way the track will be laid out, a rider could, in theory, get a 125 and do well. It will be very interesting. We'll have to wait and see. The FIM and Dorna worked the format out. We now have to work off the format. A lot of people think the track will be like Daytona, but the FIM and Doma were going to put the track in the infield at Spa, Belgium, and that was a flat area. With the facility we have, we feel that we can make a great track. When the people from Dorna came here, they brought a track expert with them. When he looked at our regular Competition Park track, he said, "I can already see that you know more about tracks than we do." Hopefully, they'll like some of our ideas and allow us to incorporate them into the final track configuration. I mean, we'd love to have some wide-opel1. step-ups and declining tabletops. We want to have an exciting track, but not necessarily a track that is exclusively supercross. Supercross is very successful, and we could not and should not try and duplicate what they do outdoors. There have been a lot of old-school misconceptions about the sport lately. The paddock, as they call it in Europe, will be very limited. Dorna will only let 1800 people in. There will also be a very large vendor area in the main parking lot. AU the key players in the sport will have a presence there. The parking lots will be big and well-organized. The longest walk anybody will have to the facility will be no more than a quarter of a mile. Then there is the VIP Cross Club. It's a high-end food area where a meal is served on china and with silverware. Since Dorna can't bring food from Europe, we'll have three high-end caterers people who do big weddings and such - working in the Cross Club. All of this has to be addressed and approved by Dorna, but we plan to do a very good job. We hope to have a Grand Prix here in the future, and we won't be able to do that if we fall on our face. We'll throw whatever we have to throw at it to make the Motocross des Nations a success. There'll be big tents everywhere, and landscaping. We're not going to embarrass ourselves or the United States. We'll have big RV campers for all the guys from Europe, and a real circus-type atmosphere. Okay - the million-dollar question: Are you and your partners allowed to go out and get your own sponsors, and subsequently, procure funding for the race? Or do you have to utilize the sponsors Dorna already has existing contracts with in Europe for the 2002 World Championship Motocross Series? I can't discuss terms and contracts, but I can say that Dorna will allow us to get our own sponsors. If all the sponsors are European, there is no reason for a U.S. company to get involved. We have a hit-list of some very big companies for the title sponsor. Nobody has said yes yet, but Pepsi, Coke, Budweiser and American Exp.ress are the kind of people we are looking at. If someone like American Express were to get involved with the Motocross des Nations, well, they're a worldwide company. They're a company with a vested interest in Europe, Brazil, Portugal, Peru - like I said earlier, 112 countries will be watching the race on TV. A A Q A Diesel and Dusl The nuts and bolts Of the 2002 Motocross des Nations McCaUl( shows a plan for the relocated Competition Parto:, which he says will be home to six different tracks. There were some very good things that were going on in motocross 20 years ago, but today it's different. In everything in life, people fight change. Motocrossers are as stubborn as anybody and defensive to change. Sure, I loved tracks like Carlsbad that went up and down hills, but the modern motocross track and modern racing format has to be different. Dorna realizes that and is trying to apply their knowledge to the Motocross des Nations. If that helps me to create a successful event, I'm willing to change along with them. eN After passing Sanderson, continue east on the Expressway and take a Aright off the side newthelocation is exactly a47 milesRamona ofCircuit Racing, which, left at Lake Park. The from Pro locatof 91 freeway and few miles west the I-IS, is unofficially coned sidered the gateway to the Corona motocross hub. The new venue will be to the left, immediately adjacent to the Soboba Casino. For the record, McCassy told us that the sweeping, white SoOOba Casino is visited by over J 0,000 people a day, and generates revenue of approximately $ J million a day. Q Who are the Soboba indians> Opon our visit to the "work in progress" site of the 2002 Motocross des Nations, we were able to glean some additional insight that fans interested in the event may find interesting and/or useful. called the Soboba Mission Band of Indians, and they landlord and partner," of owners the land A "They areexplained McCassybuiltthe Native Americanbrother ofoftheare ourthe new Competition Park is currently being upon. "The oldest family that runs the The Drive In The 1-215 freeway is the closest major, multi-lane artery to the new Competition Park venue. Fans choosing to attend the race this September will exit at Ramona Expressway and go east. The drive toward the facility is an interesting one, as the express passes upward of eight dairies. Flashing by such operations as the John Bootsma Dairy, The Pastime Lakes Dairy, the Pico Dairy, the Califomia Dairy, the Ramona Farms Dairy and CBJ Dairy, even with the windows up, things can smell pretty ripe. Come September, when it's 100 degrees outside, the smell will likely be even worse. The first major intersection you come across is Sanderson, with the soon-to-be-replaced Competition Park venue a few hundred yards away. The new site, which is set to open for business on June 1. is precisely six miles beyond the current Competition Park location. Mercifully, there are no dairies beyond this point, as the area turns more residential. By the way, once you get a few miles east of the 1-2 J 5, the only food establishments we came across on our way to Competition Park were a Subway (see below) and a Jack in the Box. Band is who we are working with. He also oversees 14 tribes in Southem Califomia for whom he does a lot of charity and fundraising work for education. He is a member of the family here. We have a 20-year lease." Q Where the Hell Is San Jacinto? A "One hour from Ontario! One hour from Palm Springs!" declared the manager of the nsan Jacinto Mobil gas/Subway sandwich oasis (located at the intersection of Sanderson and the Ramona Expressway) when asked. ·You don't know how many times a day I get asked thatl" Dialing it in a bit further, San Jacinto is located between the 1-15 and 1-215 freeways, with the 1-79 being the most direct freeway into town. The closest metropolis is Hemet Oust a few miJes south). Q 26 Where is the new Competition Park? APRIL 24, 2002· cue I • n • _ s Q Where are the hotel rooms? A Truth be told, there aren't many - if any at all - around San Jacinto. However, L"'lMcCassy did explain where hotel rooms will be available in the region: ·There are only about 800 rooms in San Jacinto and Hemet. However, in Temecula, there are thousands of rooms, and in Palm Springs, there are well over 10,000 rooms. And we're going to need all these rooms if we get the kind of crowd we expect for this event." Competition Pari< The new site - where the Motocross des Nations will be held - Is massive and surprisingly scenic. The bright-white SoOOba Casino is located less than a guarter of a mile away, and both the casino and Competition Park rest directly at the base of the massive San Jacinto Mountains (which are 10,400 feet in elevation). Currently under construction, the new park is surrounded by large dirt berms and is well on the way to completion. The international Track, where the Motocross des Nations will be staged, is located on a large, rectangular parcel of land in the southwest comer of the facility. The track wlJl not be created until McCassy and crew receive the final specifics from the FIM and Doma. The Weather ·From some research we have done, we expect a race-day temperature of approximately 89 degrees for the Motocross des Nations,' offered McCassy.• And, check this out it hasn't rained on that day .in 56 yearsl"

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