Is MotoAmerica working?

https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/more-on-the-attendance-of-the-2015-red-bull-indianapolis-gp/

Sounds like year one was the best but the variance was not that big with it fairly stable around 150K. Also in 2015 5th out of 10 in the world for attendance. Seems like more of a success than failure but then as I said I am not a promoter.

 

https://jalopnik.com/motogp-drops-indianapolis-motor-speedway-for-2016-1730087490
2015 quote:
"Boles told the Indianapolis Star that attendance of this year’s MotoGP race was the highest it’s been in four years—145,558 for all three days, with 67,648 on Sunday"
Here's an article from 2011 showing some numbers. It's gone up and down a couple times, it seems.
https://www.ibj.com/articles/29208-motogp-race-day-attendance-up-three-day-total-down

Any of these attendance numbers will look bad in Indy, as Mongo says, that place is built to hold a million plus, as I understand it. It'll always look "empty".

 

Perception is a bitch.

Let’s all hope for a successful MA event and Mr Penske working toward bringing back MotoGP and/or bringing WSBK. I love going to events at IMS.

 

I disagree. Of the current teams, Team Hammer, KWR and Westby all started with a focus on the lower levels before moving into Superbike (if my memory serves me correctly) as well as many others over time.

 

Dang, yer snarky.

 

I found these numbers from 2018 with % difference from 2017. Other interesting info regarding TV and internet demographics.
http://www.motoamericaregistration.com/PDF/Bulletins/MotoAmerica Team Sponsorship Deck G.pdf

I can't imagine the new Indy round getting much more than 20K, unless it is combined with MotoGP or WSBK. I couldn't find 2019 figures, but imagine Sonoma must have dropped off since it is cancelled? Also remember these are 3 day totals, so maybe divide by 2.3 to get unique visitors?

Road Atlanta and New Jersey dropped from 17 to 18.

Race Attendance 2018 vs 2017

Road Atlanta, GA 14,000 * -11%
COTA, TX 165,000 16%
Road America, WI 24,009 2%
Utah Motorsports Campus, UT 9,500 0%
Laguna Seca, CA 64,425 2%
Sonoma Raceway, CA 15,461 9%
Pittsburgh Int’l Race Complex, PA 15,203 5%
New Jersey Motorsports Park, NJ 11,500 * -18%
Barber Motorsports Park, AL 14,256 42%

 

Yep I recall NJ was a pretty nasty weekend this year. RA well I hate Atlanta so figure people just came to their senses.

 

I would not have a racing career if MotoAmerica did not provide the subsidy and opportunities that exist. End of story.

BUT, I'm the type of person that looks for opportunity, not excuses... go figure...

 

How are you feeling? Saw the RRW article, so I hope you have a quick recovery and are fit for the season.

 

^this^

 

Much better, going to make a big difference for me going forward

 

Agree. All peoples bitching aside, it didn’t get bad overnight (well, that’s up for debate but ya get the drift) and it won’t get better over night. Riders are getting more exposure overseas, people are talking about the series more than I can remember overseas, fan turnout seems to be better although I don’t have the actual stats and am too damn sick to look it up.

 

Regardless of attendance it ain't a real championship until Mid-Ohio comes back!

See you pricks at Indy!

 

That place is my favorite track in a car, but it desperately needs a repave to be considered for any pro cycle race.

 

Someone with the mindset of a Roger Penske needs to buy it and completely revamp everything. That place has so much potential, but, is let down by all the interfaces to the participants and spectators. Even the OSP are a detriment to the place.

 

Also remember where it came from. I was parked next to a large team at a Barber trackday. The owner was there and very friendly and chatted with us a time or two. He mentioned that the AMA that year had ZERO west coast events. And how that made getting sponsors etc almost impossible. Fast forward and MotoAmerica has added events over its start. With more changes next year. Looking forward to getting the online subscription and watching it this year again. YMMV but seems far more a glass half full (or better) to me.

 

Or any motorcycle race...

 

Ya I remember Dane’s fancy leathers it was great watching him progress through the years. Such a damn good guy.