Cycle News

VOL. 51 ISSUE 34 AUGUST 26, 2014 P123 to just be a race fan. But, on the other hand, to call the racing fan a casual fan is a bit unfair because, while some of them are just that, the racing fan can be just as rabid. They're into the athletes with some brand loyalty thrown into the mix. They're less worried about the rules unless "their guy" is be- ing wronged by them. Just watching the sport for the quality of the com- petition isn't enough for everybody. Generally you have to want some- one to win. You have to have some skin in the game. That's what drives most to get hooked on the sport, re- cord all the races, buy tickets, read the magazines and buy the T-shirts. Sure they like the machines as well, but they aren't going to be deterred by dumbing down the machinery. And they will also get bored with landslide races and dominance by one rider, if it's not their rider. So the race fan is also into close racing, more entertainment for their buck. They may also lose interest in the sport entirely if their guy isn't rac- ing or competitive anymore. That's if they don't find a new racing hero as a replacement. Is either of them wrong? Of course not. To each their own. And any smart promoter welcomes them all. You hate to alienate the hardcore fans, but it's not smart to lose the opportunity of growing the broader audience. In road racing, bridging the gap between gearhead and race fan has always been a tightrope act and es- pecially during these harder times economically. There's not a whole lot of money to throw around to afford the fire-breathing machines to fill the grid. So since the financial downturn there's been a whole lot of experi- menting with these rules to find that balance – fill the grid without alienat- ing the hardcore fans. And really it's not just those fans because although they are hardcore, they're generally a minority. It's also about not offend- ing the manufacturers. They, after all, are the real gearheads. And they spend a lot of money competing to be the best. They have no interest in dumbing down unless they can't compete dollar wise. Because MotoGP is stronger with their star power they've fared better, World Superbike and most of the National Superbike Series… well, not so much. There's been great rac- ing in World Superbike and they still have some works bikes, but there's just less interest, especially in the U.S. That's mainly because there are no Americans racing anywhere near the front – with apologies to Geoff May and Aaron Yates and the EBR team. And while there are great per- sonalities in World Superbike, there aren't any stars. If there was a Valen- tino Rossi (not going to happen any- time soon with a MotoGP contract through 2016) or a Nicky Hayden, that would be different. In Supercross, it's definitely more about the riders. Sure there are brand loyalties, but since they aren't the works bikes of old, there aren't as many of the techie gearheads. And if they are there, they're not complain- ing about the less-than-works bikes. And as far as rules controversies in Supercross… well, there rarely is one to speak about. Controversy in Supercross generally revolves around the riders themselves. The main draw to the sport. Put it this way, if your reading vit- riol in an online comment section re- garding Supercross it's focused on a rider, not the sanctioning body for dumbing-down the bikes. And if you look at the success of Supercross, the loss of the works bikes didn't kill it. They have their stars and they pro- mote them very well. Also in Supercross' favor when compared to road racing is that it's a much more natural spectator sport so it's easier to attract more casual fans and get them hooked. The races are held in stadiums and there's a pyrotechnic laser show in the opening ceremonies. How can you lose with that? The first race I took my Manolo Blahnik-wearing, Louis Vuitton-carrying, definitely- not-a gearhead sister to was a San Diego Supercross. On top of the firework/laser show during opening ceremonies, Travis Pastrana did a backflip across the finish line to cap it off. Hard to beat that for a first mo- torcycle race experience. When told that she needed to go to a road race, her response was… "do they have fireworks?" Okay, you're not going to get ev- erybody, but a series needs race fans to grow and outside of fireworks it's usually going to be the personal- ity on the bike who draws them in. Unless they're a tech geek. And I would argue that if you took MotoGP's top stars – Rossi, Mar- quez, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pe- drosa – put them on scooters and let them race, would even the hard- core motorsports purist not want to watch? Okay, probably not, but they'd be missing out. CN

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