More riders?

So saw comments in FL and was pondering......

Would bigger purses or free entries for beginners increase number of racers? In other words if someone was a sponsor and wanted to target money to encourage an increase in grids what would be the best way to direct the funds?

Wiser folks.......

 

far from wise, but here is my 2¢.

When I first started racing offroad and MX back in the 1900's purses and prize money were not even on my radar. Plastic and wood was cool, but mainly it was the desire to test myself against my peers.
When I began to take Offroad more seriously than racing the local guys it may have been in the back of my mind but my main motivation was to challenge myself. Admittedly by this time I had some support in cheap or free stuff and the occasional paid entry. The lack of which did not stop me when not available.
Later, and rapidly approaching the current century, I got my very talented nephew involved in MX and Arenacross (eventually Supermoto) and for me it was all about the experience. a little support allowed us to attend a few more events, but was in no way a deciding factor.
A few years into the modern era My health was failing and my nephews interest was shifting toward other 2 wheel interests and I took up Supermoto, mainly trackdays and the occasional race but no real expectations except fun, as a shop guy I had been helping several guys involved in roadracing and offroad and enjoyed being part of thier journey, usually at my own expense. No regrets. I found myself doing trackdays with the RR guys sometimes offsetting cost with coaching but this was not a deal breaker.
As my health got a little worse I decided to take a crack at racing a few WERA rounds just because it looked fun and to see if I could still e competitive. Performed poorly, but had a blast and prizes and freebies were not a factor (or frankly an option.) around 2012 I had to give it up as I no longer considered myself completely safe to be on the track with others but to this day I keep a toe in the water and enjoy the sport.

I know that's a lot of words but I promise I am getting to my point.

I have been involved in two wheel motorsports for almost 40 years in some capacity. I never expected a return on my investment and did it mainly for my love of riding. I never won anything important to anyone but me (and the guys I beat) but made a lot of lifelong and like minded friends. I recently had a life saving and more importantly life changing surgery and I a now actively working on getting back out there again myself in whatever capacity my old ass is capable of. I feel like that 14 year old cocky kid all over again.

My Point: I have been doing this a long time. I have seen a lot of racers come and go. The ones who were attracted by free entries and prize money are long gone and mostly forgotten. You might get a few more riders to show up and they may even stick around a year or so , but the ones who stick around and stay involved will be there no matter what.

 

Raced for 31 years seen a lot of hot shots come and go. I did it for the love of the sport and comp. helped that i was kinda fast. lately i have notice that the newbies today don't hang around much once they get to the expert level and stop being as competitive. Not saying all but not sure the next generation is going to have a lot of old timers racing? hope that's not the case. At the height of my time when the grids where full and there was no space in the garages is when the factory's supported the sport from the top to the bottom. Suzuki Honda Yamaha Kawasaki all had lg club racing support programs and built bikes that could be raced right out of the box. And each had full-on factory race teams. i don't see these days coming back.

 

Woah. Talk about get off my lawn.

 

As a noob racer (team) I totally agree with Mongo. We're both getting dramatically faster but the top 2-3 are still so far ahead in mechanical budget and skill that I never see a podium unless they don't show.

I don't expect this fun hobby to support itself, but holy heck, entry, race gas, and slicks are expensive on top of actually just being there. Any help would keep us able to justify it longer. Maybe long enough to get a check???

Dustin at Trackdáz has a New Racer Orientation every outing, that starts with a less expensive trackday entry and a mock race at 1pm that allows you to get liscenced if you want. I think it's a good start, it got us on the hook!

 

It would be kinda cool if there was a cash prize, or a free race that was awarded to a finisher, who didn’t necessarily win, but the finish position was drawn out of a hat. That way everyone has a chance of getting a taste of prize money. Might keep some of the little guys coming back.

 

So if the sponsor was aiming for growth/support instead of winning any other thoughts? What about a random lottery purse to help back markers?

 

I'm down


Wouldn't take much IMO, and the sponsor would be able to give the the same thing they already do, but to a new recipient, and maybe even gain a customer? Dunlop vs. Pirelli and such.

 

Discount for what, future entries?

I’ve been thinking that discounting/subsidizing entries for the following season for class championship winners would be a good incentive to make part time racers show up to more rounds more consistently.

As a racer in the southeast that doesn’t bother going to talladega ever or skips some of the roebling rounds, I know that potentially winning a free season or discounted season next year would entice me to run as much of the schedule as possible.

 

Same with most contingencies, great for some

 

Dude those are 2 of my fav tracks, yes even Talladega. I actually love TGP. It is one of those tracks where the faster you go, the more it "flows" and all comes together. Once you get near (or under) the 1:00 lap time benchmark, the track gets crazy fun. You will end up keeping your left ass cheek hanging off the inside of the bike for 80% of the track and it gets a real nice flow to it.

 

Mongo, you've been doing this a long time and have tried many things that 'haven't worked'. Are you actually tracking why? Racers show up, or stop going to each race, all season for many different reasons.

It's time for science! Get a big, real, poll going, e-mail blast, questionnaire handed out at the gate, whatever. Questions like: Are you local? How far do you actually/regularly go to race? Why do you show up? Would something help? Get that answer, that may be different for every track, and filling spots will be easy.

Are you willing to try something again that say... didn't work to your satisfaction 15 years ago? How about using a 'non working' incentive for several seasons in a row? The total number of racers that show up is a metric for success, but how do you know why? Economy? Word of mouth? Free tires? Josh Herrin?

For example, CRA gave away a race ready Ninja 400 at the end of the season. Number of entries per person was calculated by finishing position/number of races raced, blah, blah. We raced all season and every race except one, but the point is......we didn't even know it was happening. So wheres the value of that incentive? Zero. A total loss, it 'didn't work'. But it wasn't the ideas fault.

 

Cooter how many CCS and track day riders would come and race WERA if they did the same promotion? Would they drive farther, enter more classes, and attend more races?
And isn't CRA a non profit membership club?

 

You're a FNG around here so I'm gonna cut you some slack but racers saying what they are going to do vs. what they are actually going to do are two very different things. He's asked multiple times, guys jump on the bandwagon on here and then at the end nobody shows up. The National HWT class is a perfect example. People begged for it, he made a class again and handful of guys actually ran. No amount of science was gonna fix that. Racing is a fickle business and it comes and goes in cycles. I think Mongo said most club racers "careers" last 2.5 years.

 

In the middle 2000s the boss said hey, we have a great new tire called the Diablo Rosso Corsa and you need to promote by racing with it. So I put to together the Corsa Challenge which was a race inside of a WERA race at certain events. The gig was if you raced on the Rosso Corsa against other Rosso Corsa racers you would collect points and at the end of the year you would get the prizes, and we would have a celebration/party at the GNF for the racers/vendors/people involved.

If I remember correctly 1st was 10 sets of Pirelli race tires, x amount of Vesrah brake pads, 2 Arai helmets, and a set of leathers(?). 2nd was less of the above products and 3rd was less than the 2nd place prizes. Racers being pig headed racers said F no I'm not racing on street/track-day tires, why should I? We said were doing a Pirelli promotion that is being supported by other companies and it's a great deal for you and supports your racing next year like no other company has ever done. And guess what, it failed miserably?

 

Go to trackdays and start talking to people and see whos interested in racing. THen offer to throw their bike in your trailer and pit with you at the next round. Only once have I been stuck with a fucktard for the weekend. lol