How does anyone find out about races?

[BM-GS]

This has been posted about before, but nobody seems to have given a decent answer yet - no that I've found, which is the problem.

Bike racing seems to be a big secret in Auckland (most of NZ, I think) as it's nearly impossible to find out when any's happening. Even the organisers try to stop you finding out what's going on in case anybody might actually try to watch.

AMCC have a website which always has that year's calendar visible, which is great in Jan, but NFU in Dec. Pukekohe has the circuit-booker's name visible, but no details on what's going on. Silver Bullet tries hard, but why aren't the organisers trying to get people to turn up? Why isn't there a "Next 3 Months" calendar in the bike magazines?

Most people need more than a weeks notice to spend a day somewhere, let alone a weekend. I come across things by chance, or after hard digging. I know there are a couple in Jan/Feb/Mar at Puke, but that needs planning NOW so that I don't end up gardening or something.

All I want is enough notice to block out the calendar (screw the the 4th birthday party, we're watching the bikes) and take me & family to Puke to watch some racing, check out the bikes, buy a T-shirt or 3, grab something edible to eat and head home when the kids are knackered. I actually want to SPEND the money. Keeping the whole thing a secret makes this really hard. The circuits are booked ages in advance, so can anyone actually be arsed to let people know when to go?

FFS, ** KEVIN SCHWANTZ ** is racing at Puke in 09, and I had to rummage bloody hard to find that. Stick an extra $5 on each spectator ticket and hire a promotions person. Get somebody selling stuff (T's, hats, team/rider stuff, bike models, posters, umbrellas, flags, bungees, cable-ties, duct tape, etc) along as well. They can cough a few hundy for the privilege and still make money.

Anyone been to a race in Europe? Huge, stuff everywhere, detailed calendars in all the mags, concessions on site for every damned thing. More people there, but then why not try to let the people who want to attend races in NZ know what's happening?

Rant mode off...

[HDTboy]

You make very valid points. Why not write a letter to MNZ venting your concerns? They are the body charged with promoting motorcycle sport in NZ

[sharky]

You're not wrong!

[Maido]

there is a sticky about this years 2008 races for south island, maybe there will be one for both islands next year?

[blossomsowner]

seems no one has a clue eh?...........even living here in Puke there is no info. Like you I have tried the website but it tells you stuff all.

Can hear the racing from my house but if you drive past the circuit there is not even a sign saying what is on.........the only thing I have seen promoted was the V8 supercars.


Maybe they could put up some decent signage with upcoming events/whats on etc...............:soon:

good luck with your quest............................................. .................................................. ...

[racerhead]

Seems like alot of motorsport has the same problem because over here in Ireland its pretty much the same. The only way to find out about races is to ring the organisers or know someone thats racing.

The only race that I ever heard advertised in public over here was the time british superbikes came to mondello and even at that it was a couple of ads on radio for the 2 days leading up to the event, BSB is a big championship over here.

I live within earshot of one of the most popular mx tracks in the country and the only way I know when theres racing on is when I hear it happening. And then on top of that finding the place is another job because the gateway is tiny and hidden behind some trees with no signposts even for the biggest races that would be held here.

I know organising a race meeting is a huge task with very little thanks but even just a small bit of public awareness would start the ball rolling to bring in the public which can only be a good thing for all involved. It will bring the race venue's and organisers more money by charging at the gate even $5-10 per head would make a big difference. The local buisness will also benefit by having people in town for a race day or weekend. The racers themselves will benefit by making it easier to get sponsorship due to the increased public viewing.
So if this was organised properly after a season or two the difference would be seen by all and the sport will keep on growing:yes:

Any input here from race organisers?
Is what Ive said above possible or what would your thoughts be?

[racerhead]

Forgot to add that Ive had previous experience in organising downhill mountain bike races at national level and up to 3 years ago it was a very small community with very few outsiders coming to watch. But in the last couple of years every race has had some kind of local advertisement and through this we now have a better atmosphere at races and also brought alot of new people into the sport. At the last national championships it was held at a new venue which took alot of persuading of locals to be allowed onto the land but now for this year they are crying for the race to come back because every local hotel, b&b was booked out for the weekend along with most other buisnesses in the town noticing extra money being taken in.
Sorry for rambling a bit but Im just trying to show what could be with some extra effort:2thumbsup

[jrandom]

All very good points. I wonder how many people know that Fred Merkel is racing at Taupo on 29 December?

A letter to MNZ could be in order. Then again, advertising costs money. Who's going to fund it?

[Tony.OK]

Heres a thought.............what if every one that knows when races are happening can print off a few copies about when and where etc, then ask your local bike shop or store if you can put it up in the window?
Wouldn't cost buggar all, and if enough do it, it may get the word out to a few more people.

Also......anyone with a business wbesite could perhaps have a page with race details so if someone searches they have a better chance of tracking an event down.

[sidecar bob]

All very good points. I wonder how many people know that Fred Merkel is racing at Taupo on 29 December?

A letter to MNZ could be in order. Then again, advertising costs money. Who's going to fund it?

Gee, ummm, Maybe MNZ?

[jrandom]

Gee, ummm, Maybe MNZ?

MNZ have money?

:blink:

I kinda, you know, assumed they were broke. Inasmuch as they never do anything to speak of.

Maybe there's some guy in Huntly laughing his arse off as he converts all the racing licence fees into a giant single malt stash...

[johan]

I drove past Palmerston North the other week. I saw a sign saying something like 'Truck Racing on the 11th at Manfeild!' along the road on SH 1.

Something simple as that works very well I think. I haven't sen any signs about motobike racing along the road yet.

[racerhead]

Heres a thought.............what if every one that knows when races are happening can print off a few copies about when and where etc, then ask your local bike shop or store if you can put it up in the window?
Wouldn't cost buggar all, and if enough do it, it may get the word out to a few more people.

Also......anyone with a business wbesite could perhaps have a page with race details so if someone searches they have a better chance of tracking an event down.

Exactly, this would help things alot and takes very little extra time or effort.
If enough people put in a tiny bit of effort then this would make a big overall difference.

What Ive seen a local racer do before was at the end of the season he got a half page write up in the local paper with a photo of him and the bike showing all his sponsors and thanking everyone for their support for the year even though he was pretty much self funded. What he realised was that if buisness owners saw this kind of publicity they would be more inclined to sponsor him for the next season, and is plan worked because the next year he had alot more sponsors including a new bike from one of them.

[Nasty]

....
Bike racing seems to be a big secret in Auckland (most of NZ, I think) as it's nearly impossible to find out when any's happening. Even the organisers try to stop you finding out what's going on in case anybody might actually try to watch.
...

Wow a big rant ... At Vic Club they post on their website as soon as everything is confirmed. So normally by Jan there is a list of dates if not earlier.

[Burrt Badger]

Go to www.mnz.co.nz
All meetings that have had a permit issued are on the calendar

[scrivy]

All very good points. I wonder how many people know that Fred Merkel is racing at Taupo on 29 December?

A letter to MNZ could be in order. Then again, advertising costs money. Who's going to fund it?
As soon as I knew about Merkel appearing, a mention was made in a local bike mag.
As for advertising, I've got a 3/4 page colour ad in the Taupo times for it, also radio advertising locally.


Heres a thought.............what if every one that knows when races are happening can print off a few copies about when and where etc, then ask your local bike shop or store if you can put it up in the window?
Wouldn't cost buggar all, and if enough do it, it may get the word out to a few more people.

Also......anyone with a business wbesite could perhaps have a page with race details so if someone searches they have a better chance of tracking an event down.
All good ideas Tony.ok. Trouble is, even the bike shops dont always put the posters up!


Gee, ummm, Maybe MNZ?
Are you for real Bob or extracting the urine?


Go to www.mnz.co.nz
All meetings that have had a permit issued are on the calendar
Yes, on the calendar, but not a mention as to what classes are racing etc.

MNZ had our permit for the TRRS back in May at their conference - they only just gave us a permit last month!! By their rulings, permit holders cant put out entry forms until they get a permit returned back to them. How would my meeting ever have had entry forms go out in November for a December date? Just doesn't work. Also, the endurance race on December 29th still hasn't received a permit from MNZ yet -and they've had that 1 for over 5 months too!! So again, I still shouldn't have put out an entry for it yet. Er hang on... entries close in 1 week! Thanks again MNZ.
Does anyone think MNZ does us any favours?? Does anyone think MNZ doesn't want to foster other racing other than their Nationals??
I found out that Warren New told the MNZ office that the endurance race was cancelled - so they don't need a permit!! Gee, I wonder why the person applying for the permit wasn't asked if this was true??
MNZ is about as unprofessional as you can get!!

Scrivy

[Highlander]

A number of sites contain information and entry forms for competitirs but what about those of us that are more than happy watching?
No information about when we can get in (waht time do the gates open?) what will it cost to get in? etc etc.

There are number of threads buried in the competitive riding / racing section in here that don't find their way into the meetings and events or calendar.

It is almost as if they want to do it in private and keep spectators away.

[sidecar bob]

All good & factual points Scrivy.
I filled out a form & had my outfit inspected to get an ID tag & log book for my classic sidecar at the CMCRR festival in February. Over a month ago i was told it would be in my mail box in ten days.
A week out from the PMCC Taupo meeting i phoned MNZ every day for the entire week enquiring when i would be recieving it & at one point i was told "its out of our hands, we have done all we can now" WTF??? They want me to have a log book & tag, They are supplying said items & yet somehow ten months later its out of their hands.
I recieved a letter to give to the scrutineer from MNZ explaining the situation, but even as of today, still no log book.
As a customer focused business owner i find this situation fairly hard to deal with.
Am i being un reasonable?
Maybe i am being punished for making posts such as these on KB, i really dont know, & if indeed that is the case then that is not professional either.
Come on MNZ, give us something to sat WOW!! about!!

[Tony.OK]

A number of sites contain information and entry forms for competitirs but what about those of us that are more than happy watching?
No information about when we can get in (waht time do the gates open?) what will it cost to get in? etc etc.

There are number of threads buried in the competitive riding / racing section in here that don't find their way into the meetings and events or calendar.

It is almost as if they want to do it in private and keep spectators away.
Thats very true Highlander, maybe event organisers need to start thinking about both sides of the pit walls.
I had a look in the Events thread and I'd suggest it needs a specific sub category for Racing events so its easy to spot, wouldn't need much info either...................Event dates, race timetable, gate fees.


Go to www.mnz.co.nz
All meetings that have had a permit issued are on the calendar

But the information there doesn't give anything useful to the public, only the date and club names, maybe MNZ could spend an extra 5 minutes and put in some relevant details or perhaps a link to event websites.
I tried to look at the permit page to see what info they gather but couldn't even open it to find out.

[scrivy]

A number of sites contain information and entry forms for competitirs but what about those of us that are more than happy watching?
No information about when we can get in (waht time do the gates open?) what will it cost to get in? etc etc.

There are number of threads buried in the competitive riding / racing section in here that don't find their way into the meetings and events or calendar.

It is almost as if they want to do it in private and keep spectators away.

You are correct Highlander.
I've put some info in there now.

Scrivy

[Highlander]

I see that. Thanks.
Dead keen to go and watch these events and support them by paying entry fees (so long as it is a reasonable fee not hundreds per person = thousands per family :eek:).

Have niether the kahunas or dollars to participate though.

[BM-GS]

Looks like it's not just me, which is good!

Go to www.mnz.co.nz
All meetings that have had a permit issued are on the calendar

Not the easiest calendar to drive, and you have to select every single date to see what's happening unless you dick about for ages finding that there's a filter to let you see different classes. Though they list both Auckland and Pukekohe under "city"... no classes running, times, info, just a note of the organiser.

It seems that there's a big hole (a black hole sucking the info in? - cos none gets out!) in the promotions area. I can see that MNZ want to get the racing side sorted rather than advertise stuff straight away, but if they only make money from competitors, they'll never make any money!

Spectators are to be encouraged as they turn up with cash and have no trade-off to make between "can I afford to enter a not-quite ready bike?" or "should I spend he cash on the bike and race the next round?" - they just appear, throw money at the gatekeeper and proceed to try to throw more at anyone flogging anything once they get inside. If done reasonably (it doesn't even have to be good, as anyone who visited any event at Donington, UK ~5-10 years ago can attest) people will keep turning up.

So long as there is a spectacle and some merchandise, money wil change hands. To be honest, I'd bet that any racer with a box of T's (with a pic, race number & venues for the year) by his pit could make a few bucks (if the "organisers" allow it). It's great that the public can wander round the pits & see/smell the bikes & outfits and get a feel of the occasion, rather than have the racing but no atmosphere. Don't turn it into a circus, but like all "sports" it's got an element of entertainment about it, and that's where the money comes from.

So far I have the w/es of the 7th of Feb & Mar in the calendar, though I have no idea which day is better and what classes are running at each event. Feb is "classics" and Mar is new stuff.

[vtec]

Wow a big rant ... At Vic Club they post on their website as soon as everything is confirmed. So normally by Jan there is a list of dates if not earlier.

I think he's right and what's needed is a website that shows ALL upcoming events for all sorts of motobike racing. I'll look into building one, it's got to be more user friendly than the MNZ website. I could do with the experience.

[Nasty]

I think he's right and what's needed is a website that shows ALL upcoming events for all sorts of motobike racing. I'll look into building one, it's got to be more user friendly than the MNZ website. I could do with the experience.

Ok to be more user friendly thank MNZ would be so hard!! :whistle: