"Making Motorcycle Racing Mainstream" on Bloomberg TV

Pretty short but neat interview with one of the guys from KRAVE/MotoAmerica on their outlook for the future. This makes me feel confident that our sport is finally in the right hands

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-04-29/making-motorcycle-racing-mainstream

 

Richard Varner has been at every MotoAmerica on-track event (test at COTA, race at COTA, race at Road Atlanta, plus some PR events), walking around and talking to riders and teams. It's a refreshing show of interest, and it's obvious that he cares about motorcycle road racing.

There is hope...

 

Coming from you that's a plus. The video shows effort on behalf of the sport. Just keep Mongo away.

 

The interviewer seemed a bit goofy but I like this Varner guy. Didn't know who Varner was before but I'm very impressed and excited after watching that interview, mostly with his views on promotion. That was DMGs biggest downfall in my opinion. Lost count a long time ago of how many riders I met that had no idea what ama even was. Or if they did, they only knew of it from motocross/supercross even though they were street riders. And I see what mr. Ulrich is talking about with his sincere interest in the sport. Appears to be more than just a dollar for him.

 

My only criticism of Krave has been their lack of communication. Event updates are near nonexistent. If they would start communicating with fans on their Facebook page it would help the fan experience

 

I felt the interviewer came off as fan of racing. I am felling a bit better about this nowadays.

 

Matt Miller covers the auto and aviation sectors for Bloomberg. He does a lot from the auto shows, etc so he knows the auto industry well. Interesting spot to do an interview on road racing but from a business sense he gets it, which is where his question came from about the nascar model vs super stock model, leading Varner to discuss getting the OEMs back in the game.

 

Not so sure the NASCAR model isn't the way to go. Make it about the event and the riders. Make it a circus. Engage the fans and make it a party.

 

Good Interview.

I always felt that road racing was far more exciting and challenging than Nascar and, dare I say, Formula One.

The marketing aspect of motorcycle racing has been lacking for quite a while. Hopefully, these guys get it.

If we in the US could show even a modicum of the support that Nascar gets here or that road racing gets in Europe then it would be an improvement.

I'm going to be sure to make it to as many events as possible:

Definitely these two:

Virginia International Raceway
Danville, Virginia
May 15-17

New Jersey Motorsports Park
Millville, New Jersey
September 11-13

 

Im def going to be at mid-ohio......oh wait

 

Slippery slope

 

Still cautiously optimistic....but everything they have done so far has been well thought out and in the best interest of the sport in the long term.

 

Not talking about the technical rules, just the event promotion. Make it about the EVEN of being there, not just the racing. I think it is fair to say that the on track action is not drawing spectators in. Just look at the last decade or so of pro Roadracing. There has to be changes made, and the on track action isn't going to turn the ship around. The even as a whole needs to be looked at. Off track action has to be part of it. Make is a circus of speed and powersport. Have the wall of death, a freestyle show, bands and a midway type setup. But that is just my opinion, and I have no dollars in the game.

 

We, as a sport, definitely need to do a much better job presenting the riders to the public and building on their history. SX and Nascar both do a great job of this. Honestly, we need a tad more drama and people who know how to use that drama to build interest/hype.

 

And someone on the grid needs to take on the bad guy persona. Kinda like Dale Sr. had.

 

There is a reason that up to the 70s most open wheel racing followed the state fair circuit. A.J. Foyt and his contemporaries got a lot of their fan base due to the state fair races.

 

You're absolutely right.

 

If I understand the business model correctly, it's KRAVE's job to bring the racers and the races. Any other promotion or events at the track are the promoters job. Am I right?

 

I do have to give mad props to all of the riders for the way they interact with the fans. The reality is they are big fish in a non-existent pond. But they all seem to understand the fan experience. That is great. So, way to go riders, you are doing exactly the right thing to help the sport.