Motoamerica predictions 2020 and beyond

How did AMA Mx attract Lucas Oil.? That pack of 12 tracks is a fairly consistent list of the same 12 from one year to the next and they continue to market a single product of a dozen races that gets better and better monetary support and TV viewership and interest in the total championship product every year. They are not the "little brother" to supercross anymore. They are establishing themselves beyond their original fanbase that was all about the quality of the mx product (vs the sx product). Sx is great "theatre" and great to sit your ass in the seat and see it all (the American general public LOVES anything that requires almost no effort. "Take me out to the ball game", hopefully you can find a parking space within a hundred feet of your seat).

Having just "bashed" Sx, I want to say that I still love the doubles & triples land & launch skills of Sx. I love seeing highly skilled racers slap their bikes in the Sx 180 degree corner flip. I love the idea of an east/west lowered cost feeder series. Sx is an artform of its own, just dont compare it to Mx.

 

That is absolutely not true.

It was the most expensive event for MA every year, that may be why.

 

Not trying to argue, simply curious: What makes Sonoma the most expensive event? They also went to Laguna, so I wouldn't think the travel budget would play much of a factor... ?

 

I am not seeing a lack of grids in Jr Cup or Twins due to traveling costs. Maybe they should split Superbike East / West?

 

Correct.

 

Obviously split Superbike east/west would be a death sentence for TV viewership (and I personally would just watch MotGP & WSb and skip MotoA if Sb went E/W) but I get your point. Its not just about filling the grid. There is a much more intuned analysis needed.

So lets be very specific with the question.

How did AMA Mx attract Lucas Oil.? That pack of 12 tracks is a fairly consistent list of the same 12 from one year to the next and they continue to market a single product of a dozen races that gets better and better monetary support and TV viewership and interest in the total championship product every year.

 

Heres another question: How does Spain and Italy get 80 - 100,000 people to show up for a road track race in 2019.? I know that the only ball sport competition is soccer (rather than gridiron football, basketball, baseball, hockey, etc) but that doesnt provide a full explain. Spain and Italy look like the Daytona 200 from 1980,90ish looked. WTF happened.?

 

My point is that MotoAmerica is struggling while AMA Mx is thriving. Why.?

 

Why is the sky blue?

You are not breaking any new ground with your “questions”. This subject has been beat to death multiple times. The answer is money, always has been and always will be.

 

And yet look at the pictures from 1980/90 Daytona 200.

I went to Daytona in 2013. I had never been before and when I stepped into the grandstands I was thinking, "WTF is going on here.? Did I get the time wrong.?" And then the bikes started streaking past in a blur and an intense roar and the attendants were telling me to get off of the fence (my hands were gripping the fence) and I was thinking, "Who the hell cares because theres nobody nobody nobody behind me." The stands were completely EMPTY (if you consider 50 people empty, which I do). Thankfully I figured out I needed to cross under the bridge and get to the infield. There were a few hundred people in the infield.

The next weekend, for SX, the road track stands were filled and the track was loaded with people. Loaded, as in, 1000s of people.

If I had been going to Daytona since the 1980s, and continued AMA Sb races until now, I would now be saying, "Where did everybody go.?"

 

When I driving around those 2lane backroad switch backs in the PA "sticks" and then I round a corner and BANG theres 1000s of people attending High Point, I dont see how sponsors $ makes anybody more likely to attend in those backwoods than what makes people not attend the Wampum road track race. I dont base my decision to attend based on who is the sponsor. I dont know why High Point is packed and Wampum feels like everybody forgot the race date.

When Mid-Ohio finally finally finally finally repaves and the superbikes come back, I will be there. I dont care whose sponsoring and how much money they have, I dont attend based on corporate Americas whims. I like what I like. Where are the people that liked superbike racing in the 1980/90s. Did they all die.?

 

I bring up sponsors because others says sponsors drive the fans.

I talk about High Point and Wampum because I can compare the 2. Its real life experience. Its what I see in real life.

"...fans in the 80's and 90's have moved on to other pursuits"
I guess I dont understand why the average fan wants to watch the same basketball dribble over and over and over again, the same ball in the basket 50 times each game for 82 games each year.

The little guy that I was at 5 on go-cart turned 6 and leaned his minibike into a turn and he was never the same again. I can never watch a race again without feeling the feel of the bike, on the road, on the dirt. The bike moving with your body and your hands working the controls and your "hanging" out there with reality rushing right at you.

I guess theres a few thousand Americans and a hundred thousand Spanish and a hundred thousand Italians that know what I mean.

 

Motorcycle roadracing has never been a popular spectator sport in America. There are a lot of reasons. In my opinion, the sport requires too much concentration on the part of the spectator. After four laps, it becomes a meaningless parade of bikes going by. To add insult to injury, American sports spectators have a VERY short attention span. The bikes go by, disappear for well over a minute, then come by again.
Think about the sports that ARE popular in America: NFL, Monster trucks, Supercross. They all have a common denominator: at any second, the spectators are likely to view some major violence. This is why soccer has never achieved major status here.
It seems to me that getting sponsors is a result of high attendance, not vice versa. MA should be looking for ways to make the product more entertaining to the general public. The British/European model will not sell here. Never has.