CRA is including a free BBQ dinner for all registered racers on Sat night at their Laguna event. IMO, that might have some impact on their attendance as it builds on the hang-with-friend atmosphere. Other than that, I don’t see any new ideas.
Hell... I have gone to my local dealership when MotoAmerica PittRace round was like within a week or two... they had ZERO idea a major racing event was happening less than 100 miles from their location!
My current local dealership(s) are complete clown shows that show no support for any discipline other than their own wallet. Over the years there were smaller shops that came & went, that were capable of prepping a bike to go race.
I like the idea of building excitement. I hear stories from people every weekend about their races. I could just blow it off and not pay any attention. It wouldn't make people stop from buying tires. But, people who are excited, want to share that with others. That adds to their fun. People who are having fun come back. They also go home and try to talk to others about it. If we're lucky, that draws someone else in. If not, at least the racer realizes they have to come to the track to see the people that they want to talk to. Lucky for me, I still like to hear the stories, and love seeing people pumped on what they are doing in the sport that I've dedicated my life to. So it's easy for me to get excited (not like that) with them and talk about it. No excitement, the passion dies, and they move on. That adds to the 2-3 year cycle of rotating people out of our sport. That means, we need more hoopla!! Nothing crazy, or big money, just little added things that help people stay pumped up. At least, that's the way I see it.
We've done it off and on way more recently than 30+ years ago. People not knowing that who are into racing is even more proof it doesn't work...
What venues should we try? I've done bike shops. Bars have no interest unless a worker there races already. Other businesses are good for promoting big spectator events to fans, like stores and gas stations but that doesn't apply to our events.
The more things change, the more they remain the same. Historic posts on here will show me saying the same thing, but this is going just as I said it would years ago. - We need to invigorate the sport! What do we do? > Have you tried this? - We've already tried that! It doesn't work. We've done everything. Rinse, repeat. Give it another 6 months or a year. Any of the historical posts on this topic shows the same shit, and so will the new posts in the future. But, this is pretty much expected when you have an older demographic set in their ways. A board filled with more has-beens than actual grid fillers, with the answers to everything, yet somehow nothing ever changes. You know who has gone out to change with the times? Herrin. Look at how much butt hurt he's caused from some members on this board (Mostly the has-beens). Look at how much exposure he has on these social media platforms (that hell, even I don't use, but you can't argue the effectiveness). I like Herrin, and his riding/racecraft is great to watch, but I'm not a diehard fan of him. But I respect the hell out of how he's managed to stay relevant in the sport and brought non-bike people and exposure into the road racing scene with MA.
See, this is where the stupid shit gets annoying. Yeah, I have been doing this a long long time. We have absolutely done promotional posters and giveaways and all of that much more recently as well as back in the day. Your great brand new ideas just flat out don't work. They also aren't great or new. I'm sorry they don't work, I wish they did work. Me telling you the truth is not a reason for you to get pissy and make up stupid shit like this post. Just like the idiots that insist we don't change rules or procedures just because we won't change something that will benefit only them this is stupid. We do retry all of the different methods of advertising and promotion that we can afford to do.
More absolute bullshit. Promoting a single rider is NOT the same as promoting a sanctioning body or events. Herrins promotions will help get fans to some events but will do nothing to get more racers. They will get him more exposure and more sponsors for himself but they won't bring them to the sport as a whole - especially when you look at what videos get the most attention. The reason the same responses get made is because the same ideas get posted as if they're the latest and greatest in promotions. They aren't. Give me some ideas that aren't stale old shit being brought up by someone new to the sport with no clue what they're talking about and I'll gladly give it a shot if it's remotely viable. You want to know what does work - you guys doing bike nights. Racers getting out there and promoting racing at track days. Being honest about how easy it is to get into rather than talking up how tough racing is to make yourselves look better. Talk up the family aspect of it all. But something to remember - the overwhelming vast majority of people who want to get on track do not and never will want to grid up and race. They want to ride but they don't have that inner competitiveness. And no, bragging about laptimes at a track day does not indicate the same level of competitive. I love this sport but I also know it is not something that will ever go back to the good old days. There is nothing wrong with being realistic about something I've chosen to dedicate my life to.
And now we cue up the Sean is an asshole who doesn't know shit about modern stuff and hurt my feels posts....