Some more ideas on growing the Nationals

[Shaun Harris]

Not as simple as you are making it out to be mate, but I think we all know that.

There are several contributing factors that hurt Puke this year.

We need to look at the big picture and come up with a plan. Talking about it here is just the bouncing of ideas stage; however without execution it is worthless. I am not convinced that this forum has enough substance to take it any further than the bouncing ideas stage, sad but true. Without backing ffrom MNZ etc, we are all just full of wind.

Great points again man, I am SURE this thread is being followed/read by a person who can read between the lines. and DOES get of there arse and make things happen

EH JIM

[Rcktfsh]

Youre right leave it the same its a winner !!

I'm in no way suggesting that improvements can't be made but am concerned that the "baby could get thrown out with the bathwater" with some suggested remedies. What alot of people seem to be forgetting is the quality of racing the nationals provided this year, in this regard the format works. Gareth Jones results in Europe are ample proof of that, as an example following is his webpage race report from last weekend.

Jones the Bike adds more success to European cam-paign with outstanding podium on debut in the IDM, German Superbike Championship at Oschersleben.
Gareth Jones and the RT Motorsports teams ‘fairytale’ start to the 2009 European season continues to go from strength to strength. Not content with leading the ONK ‘Dutch’ Cham-pionship by 16 points after 3 rounds, or taking on the teams in the World Superbike paddock and battling his way to an excellent 7th position in the FIM World Superstock 1000, this week the 22 year old Aussie Ace opened his account in the highly competitive German IDM Superbike Championship.
The IDM Championship which attracts the best rid-ers from Germany, the Nordic Countries, Austria , Switzerland, Eastern Europe, Belgium and France including 2 times world champion Jorg Teuchert and Martin Bauer.
In his first visit to Oschersleben Gareth learnt the track quickly and raced to 5th place in the first race having qualified 12th after electing to use his race tyre rather than a specialist qualifying tyre in the 2nd qualifying session in order to simulate race conditions.
Jones, the 2009 NZ Supersport champion and NZ Superbike GP winner is no stranger to hard racing, In the winter he raced both Superbike and Supersport for the Bernard Yamaha team and in race 1 he worked his way quickly through the field before a nip and tuck battle with Philipp Hafeneger on the Suzuki held him up for 4 laps and allowed the leaders to get away from him. Gareth finally passed and took an excellent 5th place.
In Race 2 Gareth made a great start and closed the gap on the leaders earlier, out breaking the pack on the first corner to move through into 5th place. He then consolidated his position before fighting his way through the leading riders in this championship in the second half of the race. The race between Gareth and Werner Daemen on the faster BMW, Rizmayer on the Suzuki and Nebel on the KTM will long be remembered by the 15,000 fans and when Gareth crossed the finish line in 2nd place only 7/10th second covered places 2 through 5.
What makes this podium finish even more incredible is that Gareth is still riding the 2008 Ya-maha R1 and the only bike ahead of him was the German factory Yamaha 2009 R1 of Jorg Teuchart.
The truth of the matter is that privateer teams are not supposed to go to one of the top Interna-tional championships on last years bike against all of the local factory teams, with a young rider making his debut and first time out get on the podium—unless you are special, today was a very special day.
Quote from Team Manager Rob Vennegoor
“ I am absolutely delighted. The team has proved once again that we belong in the highest level of competition. We can be competitive in the World Superbike paddock, in the IDM pad-dock and we are leading the ONK „Dutch‟ Championship at this stage in the season. Although we are using the 2008 Yamaha R1 we are getting everything we can out of its capability and we continue to improve.
In Gareth, we have an outstanding rider who is fast, with a level of maturity beyond his years who works with his engineers to ensure we all understand what is required of the bike. The team then works to deliver the optimal racing package for the race and can rely on Gareth to exploit it to the full..
Today we made a small piece of history when Gareth became the first ONK championship rider to podium in the IDM, and we can all take pride in it, as a team.
However, we have a job to focus on this season, which is to win the ONK, but with the right financial support package we could easily be competing successfully in any of the champion-ships and winning. At present with the balance of rider and bike the only limits to our ambitions are financial.”
Quote from Gareth Jones
“Riders live for days like today, I came to Europe to learn the tracks and race against the best, and the riders in the IDM are fast. The more hard riding I get the more I can feel myself devel-oping. Most importantly I am enjoying my racing, which is a pretty important thing if it‟s your job and is a testament to Rob and the team.
When we arrived in Oschersleben I had never seen the track before and this was my first time in the IDM paddock, I didn‟t know any of the riders except for Kai Borre Andersen whom I had beaten in a tight race at Assen in the ONK championship.
We came here to do a job which was to prepare for the ONK „Dutch‟ Superbike round later in the year. For that reason we decided to use race tyres rather than the qualifiers which were available to us with the result was that we only qualified 12th but I got 20 consistent laps in, rather than 3 or 4 quick laps.
I am confident in the bike preparation so although there were some great riders ahead of me I always felt that I would be competing at the sharp end because historically I have always done quite well in longer race formats. I believe I can gain places as the tyres lose grip and I feel strong mentally and physically after racing 4 rounds in a day all winter in NZ .
In race 1 I made a good start but had to make my way through too much traffic and became separated from the leaders and against the best riders it‟s difficult to recover, I therefore had to accept 5th place. In race 2 I decided to race from the front and I realised that there was a tactical need to get into position to attack early on so I went earlier and had a challenging race against 3 bikes which had more straight line speed. Agility versus speed is always a great test and today I came out on top. I am looking forward to more rounds in the IDM championship when possible.
I am now looking forward to the next challenge, racing the street circuits in Hengelo and Oss on the next two weekends I have had some success in the „King of the Streets‟ series in New Zealand and I enjoyed the format but it will still be a great learning exercise.”

[Quasievil]

I'm in no way suggesting that improvements can't be made but am concerned that the "baby could get thrown out with the bathwater" with some suggested remedies. What alot of people seem to be forgetting is the quality of racing the nationals provided this year, in this regard the format works.

The Quality of racing is second to the event itself ie no event no racing, the event is not responsible for the quality of racing the riders in attendance are, the event and its success or failure reflects the quality of riders (ie international riders) and the quantity of spectator, sponsorship dollars etc etc.

The event is the issue not the racing, make the event and the follow on from it is almost automatic.

It seems to me sofar from this thread that the riders want their cake and they want to eat it to, they want to race on all the tracks in the country (but bitch about the cost) and they want to increase the exposure for the sport (but dont want to change anything) enjoy the benefits of this increased exposure via way of spectator numbers , number of riders, increased media support linking to sponsorship opportunities ( but dont want to change anything)

I firmly believe that the whole nationals event need to be thrown out and re invented, towards getting the Sport (our sport) into the spotlight, so we as racers (I include my motarding self) can enjoy the fruits of it.

those fruits I need not explain further as I have already, but to summaraise its MONEY, money from the media , market sponsorhip, attendances, and personal racer sponsorship the list does actually go on.

If you make the right event success in ALL AREAS will follow.

I still cannot see why a Club level qualification process and a national one weekend BIG FUCKING SHOW (B.F.S) event would not work, I would like to know what you all think about this?

[Benk]

I still cannot see why a Club level qualification process and a national one weekend BIG FUCKING SHOW (B.F.S) event would not work, I would like to know what you all think about this?

Sounds awesome to me. Would be easier to promote & cheaper to compete in. Win win. Only problem would be if the actual nationals racers would be keen on this?

[Quasievil]

Sounds awesome to me. Would be easier to promote & cheaper to compete in. Win win. Only problem would be if the actual nationals racers would be keen on this?

Depends on if they wanted to be the national champion or not, lol hey but Im just trying to contribute best as I can, Im a nobody in this league

[steveyb]

All of the talk about saving money and this and that.
What we need are more classes so that everyone can race whatever they have.
In so many things we follow the lead of the USA, TV, Movies, Music, American Idol, so why not in racing too.

I think this is the perfect template for what we can make our sport here.

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/...?article=36596

Enjoy.

Steve

PS: for those who lost their funny bones

[Shaun P]

All of the talk about saving money and this and that.
What we need are more classes so that everyone can race whatever they have.
In so many things we follow the lead of the USA, TV, Movies, Music, American Idol, so why not in racing too.

I think this is the perfect template for what we can make our sport here.

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/...?article=36596

Enjoy.

Steve

PS: for those who lost their funny bones

Yep American idol is my all time favourite... if we make enough classes everyone could be a winner too

[jellywrestler]

[U]Do the whole nationals race event over one long bloody weekend

Can you imagine anyone bothering to build a bike for one meeting?
Interesting idea but the wrong direction I'm sure.
A series is a great thing; I travelled to all the rounds after teretonga and watching the races in all classes evolving throughout the series was great.

What was lacking was spectators. Advertising to the converted is where most of the effort has gone recently, although I did see a bit on telly. How about getting into a national chain where all forms of life visit on a regular basis, gas stations would be the simplest and most effective. One doesn't need lots of money to get into their distribution network either. I'm suggesting a poster in every petrol station of one brand throughout NZ, and to top it off tickets available there too, discounted if one buys a certain amount of motion lotion that'll scratch the sponsors(supporters) back.
Once joe blow walks out of the gas station with his cheap ticket he'll tell his mates, with a bit of luck they'll grab a chilly bin and go along too, more spectators more impact for the sponsors. More spectators more justification to the TV folk that this sport is popular and it snowballs from there.

Talking the right way to said national distribution people I'm sure it could come down to a little more than printing costs a lot cheaper than through a lot of other medias.
How many times have you and your mates gone to a gas station this week as a opposed to the local motorcycle shop??

[Drew]

Ask yourselves this, how come SOT and the Taupo Roadrace Spectacular are more popular than any nationals round?

Sound of thunder is a BEARs event, and has PRIZE MONEY.

Road race spectacular...three days thrashing, for piss all over $100, why wouldn't heaps of people show up?

[Quasievil]

Can you imagine anyone bothering to build a bike for one meeting?
Interesting idea but the wrong direction I'm sure.
A series is a great thing; I travelled to all the rounds after teretonga and watching the races in all classes evolving throughout the series was great. What was lacking was spectators. Advertising to the converted is where most of the effort has gone recently, although I did see a bit on telly. How about getting into a national chain where all forms of life visit on a regualr basis, gas stations would be the simplest and most effective. One doesn't need lots of money to get into their distribution network either. I'm suggesting a poster in every petrol statio of one brand throughout NZ, and to top it off tickets available there too, discounted if one buys a certain amount of motion lotion that'll sctrach the sponsers(supporters) back.
Once joe blow walks out of the gas station with his cheap ticket he'll tell his mates, with a bit of luck they'll grab a chilly bin and go along too, more spectators more impact for the sponsors. More spectators more justification to the TV folk that this sport is popular and it snowballs from there.

Talking the right way to said national distribution people I'm sure it could come down to a little more than printing costs a lot cheaper than through a lot of other medias.
How many times have you and your mates gone to a gas station this week as a opposed to the local motorcycle shop.

No I cannot to be honest with you, but then they still have a bunch of other races to do as well, Paeroa, Wanganui not to mention the club racing scene (which many dont bother about) and isnt that one of the other problems with the NZ racing scene, the leading racers chase the popular race meetings Paeroa, Wanganui and the Nationals and turn their backs on the club races.

Anyway it seems a bike will become easier to build anyway with potential development limitations.


I hear you about posters etc but mate I think this is a minimal effort that will offer minimal results to be fair it all helps but who is going to pay for 10,000 posters?
Bikers already know about the Nationals and only a small percentage actually go to the racing, to make it work to a level that will make a change is by tapping into a new market, ie motorsport fans generally as well as people that want a day out to see a spectacle of a show, To do this you need to have something big something exciting and something that the punter will pay to see.
There is no value in walking out a gas station with a cheap ticket, perceived value will be low, charge $45 a ticket per day and perceived value is higher, couple that with a **SHOW**, some media hype and promotion via positive sponsor dollar and you will not only capture a new market but you will turn the whole motorcycle racing scene around extremely quickly, and that filters deep into the industry also.
Examples??? how many people are at the paeroa street races, how many go that arent into bikes?? the answer is heaps on both counts, the reason is this, they go as they expect a great days entertainment, a spectacle A SHOW.............imagine if this went a few steps further by way of the NZ SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP, throw a three day event at the market and I guarantee the entire racing community will do there utmost to get there.

Maybe I think to big, but I still see it as the answer to get the scene off the ground

[t3mp0r4ry nzr]

Sounds awesome to me. Would be easier to promote & cheaper to compete in. Win win. Only problem would be if the actual nationals racers would be keen on this?

an event like this should be able to attract reasonable prize money. My thinking is: glory of winnig a 2 day event in front of 000's spectators (who are not just family and friends, actual joe public) and TV camera's AND good prize money vs dragging you arse and sundry around the countryside for 5 rounds, taking the home the trophy, BUT no-one knows about it,no prizemoney and a 10k VISA bill. What would the racer pick?

Would it really matter what the regulars think? Even a tight arse accounting student of scottish descent type, such as myself, would stink some money into a mint setup to have-a-go. Im sure many others would too. And hey if you have an out standing day/s of riding you may go home with a nat. title!!

Also think of the prize money attracting "hired guns" from overseas and then say that such an event wouldnt be supporting rider development.

Such events as the Taupo International MX certainly dont hurt the MX scene when the young-uns see their idols battling it out on NZ soil and want to do the same!

still a crazy idea? maybe too crazy for NZ, alas.

admitedly a subjective view but you get the drift

[Scouse]

That he is a current rider at the sharp end ( in this century! ) gives him a LOT of credibility.

And so remind me when was the last time you did any road racing?

[Shaun P]

And so remind me when was the last time you did any road racing?

[Drew]

And so remind me when was the last time you did any road racing?

To my knowledge, Robert has never raced a road bike, but you have taken his comment completely out of context, making yourself look quite the cock.

Knock off the trolling folks, I really hope this thread turns into more than just idea bouncing. My motive is purely selfish, I want bigger events, prize money, noteriety (yeah right).

Does anyone know the figures for an hour segment on telle, to cover the national events we have now, (that will likely not be changed in the next couple years)?

Seek sponsorship ourselves, some of us are sending proposals out anyway, why not add to it, asking about event promotion too?

[Scouse]

To my knowledge, Robert has never raced a road bike, but you have taken his comment completely out of context, making yourself look quite the cock.

Knock off the trolling folks, I really hope this thread turns into more than just idea bouncing. My motive is purely selfish, I want bigger events, prize money, noteriety (yeah right).

Does anyone know the figures for an hour segment on telle, to cover the national events we have now, (that will likely not be changed in the next couple years)?

Seek sponsorship ourselves, some of us are sending proposals out anyway, why not add to it, asking about event promotion too?

No I haven't taken taylors comment out of context he was clearly having a snide underhanded swipe at the present CEO of MNZ and as a freind of Paul Pav I will bite back. so go and fuck yourself drew.