91,000+ attendance on Sunday at Indy MotoGP

And 175k for the weekend. Not arguing, just wondering what the proponents of "motorcycle racing won't ever be popular in the US" and "you can't see all of the track for road races" and "it's not Europe where the motorcycle is a way of life" say about these record attendance numbers. Obviously attracted more than just hard core fans. What did they do right, and how can the AMA learn from this? Will this experience help AMA attendance? Is this just a one-time anomaly due to the historic nature of the event?

And, please, let's see if we can prevent this thread from ending up in a bunch of bickering. :up:

 

In theory....according to Laguna.....the first year there was 150K +

Indy has way more history and motorcycle guys have never been there. Plus, they did a great job promoting the event and then, apparently running the event.

Laguna has always been a horrible event to attend.

I talked to a big wig in MC racing yesterday who told me that every track owner and promoter in the AMA series should go to Indy next year to see how an event is supposed to be run.

Another Industry guy told me that the event was so smooth that it was like going to a football game.

 

It also doesn't hurt to have the premier riders and bikes in the world showing up.

Maybe if RE could talk Rossi into showing up for a few rounds he could put more asses in the seats.

 

I'm pretty sure that the point is most of the 100K don't even realize it's the premier bikes and riders.

 

A lot of people from Indy came out to support the track and were pleasantly surprised by the motorcycle racing.

Personally I can't wait to go back next year and get some dry racing.

 

Frank, how is it obvious that it attracted more than just hard core fans?

 

"Most" might be a stretch but I'm sure that there were a lot that just came out to see what the hub-bub was all about. :up:

 

How much of it had to do with Indianapolis itself? It's a powerful marketing tool.

I honestly don't think that a successful MotoGP event and the ability to sustain a successful domestic motorcycle racing series are necessarily highly correlated. I think that if you hold a MotoGP race in a country where people are generally well-off, it will be successful unless you really screw up.

 

I don't know that it can be completely written off as a one-time anomaly, but I have to believe that's a part of it. Also, having been to several events of various types w. 100,000 people in attendance (or so) I seriously doubt the veracity of that 91k number. then again, that is a really big place, so I could be wrong. If someone had asked me to guess I would have said 60,000.

What they did right:

I thought they did a great job rotating the different practices/qualifying etc. to keep the gaps relatively small, weather permitting. People get tired of sitting around w. nothing going on, so that was good.

Track announcing was good enough when it wasn't Shaheen.

The place looked great. An event of this magnitude should look world class, and it did. You really could feel the majesty of the place when you were in there...I dig it.

From what I experienced, the security, parking staff, etc. were very accommodating. Nobody was getting yelled at for bullshit stuff that should be ignored, and in general, things seemed pretty harmonious.

Needs help:

The no re-entry thing is crap. For $150 + $125 to camp I should be able to go make a sandwich at lunch if I so choose. That was irritating.

I'd like to see a couple of shuttles running around at the track perimeter and inside the infield...that's a big freaking place. I ran into a few people who were trying to find a particular place to see something or whatever (a demo of some sort) only to discover that they were a 20+ minute walk away, and it was too late to make it. The walk from Ducati Island back to our seats took maybe 25 minutes. I saw some older folks for whom it would be more like 40...too far IMO in the elements.
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Mostly it was one of the best run events I've been to. This is no surprise, as I'm sure IMS knows how to put on a race. As for what the AMA could learn...that's a hard one. All this stuff about making it about the rider and not the bike is fine, but the bottom line is that you have to have compelling racing on the track, and you have to have top echelon riders, or nobody will care.

I simply don't believe that 600cc racing at this time is interesting enough to carry a "premier" series, and it won't matter who is riding, or how close the racing is. Add that to the likelyhood that most of the riders will probably be top club guys and up-and-comers, and you just don't have a top shelf product.

Frank, you're a racing fan...is it really going to get your heart pumping when Jason DiSalvo beats Nate Kern and Robert Jensen next year? I mean sure, the race might be great, but a premier series needs it all...crazy-fast bikes, top riders duking it out, and close racing. One out of three ain't gonna cut it IMO.

 

Guess it depends on your definition of hard core. Total weekend attendance was greater than typical SPEED Nielson ratings that I've seen, which to me says it attracted more than just the people who follow the sport very closely.

 

This was a history making event - Indianapolis is much better situated to handle an event than most other venues in the US, plus they do know how to do BIG events. I'm glad it was as successful as it was given the weather. Kudos to all involved and thanks Hardcard for getting the Speedway to go with the idea. We can all take a lesson from this. Motorcycle enthusiasts/fans are in the US - we just need to give them something as thrilling and well planned/organized as what they saw in Indy, not all this ego tripping BS that is currently going on in Pro Motorcycle Roadracing in the US..........

 

If you think it took awhile to walk around at Indy don't go to Road America and try and see every corner. I don't think it took longer to get around than other races I've been to (Rd Amr, Rd Atl, Brainard)

I was actually suprised by how full the stands were on Sunday. And there were a lot of people in the infield.

The staff (folks in yellow shirts) were great. Very helpful and not on power trips.

Despite the rain it was a much better experience than I anticipated.

 

probably because the venue can hold ~400k people.

 

Well said, Czar!

 

I'm just wondering how many folks were only able to attend the GP, because they gave up another mc event on the calander. I know a lot of locals (myself included) that passed on the local AMA SB round, so that we could attend Indy.

 

leaving the track on sunday, i had the radio tuned to the local station (93.1, if i remember correctly). they were fielding calls from people who attended the event. 80% of those who called were not M/C racing fans... most were Nascar or Indy fans, and all were amazed that the riders raced in the rain. One nascar fan said that the GP guys made the Nascar guys look like wimps. :up:

oh, and all of them said they would be back the next year.

 

You are probably right.

Maybe it turned a few heads. Especially seeing what those guys will go through to race. :up:

 

But so is Daytona, and it has a far richer history of motorcycle racing than Indy. Can it be explained by tradition, history and prestige of the track alone? Would an AMA race at Indy draw significantly more than other AMA events? I'm thinking it's a strong contributing factor, but there's far more to it.

Which leads to a segue, can Daytona ever recover the popularity of what was once the most important motorcycle race in the world? Or will it just become a distant memory for guys over 40? Probably another thread for that one.

Qatar must have screwed up. On a serious note, I agree.

 

The local media gave great coverage, particularly the Indianapolis Star newspaper. I think that's why there were more than a few locals in attendance - people who told me they would watch anything race on that track, even "lawnmowers." I enjoyed answering their questions about bike racing. Even some NASCAR die-hards were more than a bit impressed. Especially the racing in the rain part.

 

Hey when you can get NASCAR and Indy guys to watch a kid from KY chase a gay guy around on a scooters in the rain you have a show with potential.