Health check for national roadraces & roadracing in general

[Nodster]

''-as regards pr work etc, this is really up to the individual clubs, some clubs do their best, but they cannot determine what their local or national dailies or weekely papers will accept!'' I know where you're coming from Baylon.....Here in north Co.Dublin home of the Skerries & Killalane I got in touch with a few of the local papers last year enquiring about covering local riders in the area,of which as you know we have a few talented lads,& why there was little or no coverage. I was told by one that there was no space.....

As someone who handled the PR on behalf of the 2 Stroke Racing Supp. Club for a few years, the local freesheet had no interest whatsoever covering road racing, while on the otherhand the Fingal Independent was only to happy to give coverage, since then Jack Corry has a cracking double page covering every form of local and National bike racing news every week.

If you want anything covered that Jack hasn't already covered, no harm sending any news to jack corry 45@g mail. com (broken up avoid spammers!)

[scrzz]

Could the MCUI or some other group sell the Irish Championship to clubs, and put up a final position prize.
My thoughts on this would be,
The MCUI advertise the series as one, cutting down on each club having to do its own, one PR person/team, one advetising budget etc.
One overall sponsor the series or each class, gaurenting them a wide coverage in the press and at each race or race promotion.
The series would be run at all national road races with riders able to drop the worse three results, one in the south, one in the north plus one other.
The riders would enter at the beginnning of the year, pay their entry fees for the year and gaurnetee to take part in 80% of the meetings.
Drop the Moto 450 and 250cc classes, give the 125s another year to see where they are going.Hold all classic races on the practice day and give the moto3 (125s), supersport 600s, superbikes, supertwins, junior support and senior support two races each. Limit entries so that there are no extra races, ie non qualifiers, b races etc, unless they can fitted in at the end of the programe, so that the main races run their full distances.
Clubs to take all advertising from the circuit and programes, grandstand seats etc.
Lower prize money, the surplus to be put into a final position pot.
Start money for riders based on championship positions after previous race, this would be in place of the prize money and may encourage riders to take part in the next race, rather than pocketing the money and disappearing for a few weeks, or months
Get the governments and tourist borads onside,introduce a standard compulsory admission charge for specators, make season tickets available at a lower price, same with programes. Admission charges and programe sales,to be collected and retained by the overall organisors.
Help from tourist boards for cross channel and foreign riders, advertise the races to be a part of a holiday in Ireland, the way they do with golf, fishing or music festivals etc.
All races to be televised and sold to commercial TV companies, giving more chance of big sponsors coming on board.
The individual clubs would only have to prepare the circuit and pay for the championship, any unforseen circumstances such as a meeting cancelled due to the weather, or low spectator turnout would be a loss to every club and not just one, but profits from each race would be fairly distributed to the riders over the season.
Maybe I am dreaming of the still suffering the effects of the red wine from last night, but I think it could work, but someone with more sense than me will see the holes.

[Homer]

"The individual clubs would only have to prepare the circuit and pay for the championship, any unforseen circumstances such as a meeting cancelled due to the weather, or low spectator turnout would be a loss to every club and not just one, but profits from each race would be fairly distributed to the riders over the season."

No club would do all the donkey work for zero return. What you seem to be saying here is if the day is profitable the riders benefit and if the day runs at a loss then the clubs suffer.
You seem to forget how much work goes into running a race - 10,000's of man hours all time given for free. If the clubs, using your business model have no opportunity for profit then it ain't gonna happen. If however you are suggesting that one company runs the whole series, the only way it can work is if the clubs are paid for their services, as are the riders and this will require each and every spectator to pay their admission fee to each event; and for this to happen, we need a change in the law first.
While 80% of the spectators view this sport as a free day out (as is the case at present) unfortunately the sport is going nowhere fast.

[scrzz]

" this will require each and every spectator to pay their admission fee to each event; and for this to happen, we need a change in the law first.
While 80% of the spectators view this sport as a free day out (as is the case at present) unfortunately the sport is going nowhere fast.

That is the main thing that needs changed for road racing to prosper or even continue. all the poloticians that turn up the NW UGP etc should show their real support by introducing a charge as soon as psoobile.

[Baylon McCaughey]

this was a talking point at the Cookstown 100 press night, and i mentioned likewise in my local newspaper the following week, about the fact that there were some MLAs in attendance, ( glory hunters i call them) show their face at events, but are they actually doing anything to support the fact that we need a leglislation to charge in!!
No doubt some smart arse will contradict this, but i ask them, what is the soloution!

[rockmount]

also at the weekend, we had mondello, knockhill, which quite a few locals travel to, and a British championship moto cross at Desertmartin, which had a twenty quid admission fee!!!

I went to Knockhill, £49 boat and admission, 250 mile round trip .. and I'm afraid I have to say it was brilliant I went to Cookstown practice and race day, Tandragee, and the NW200, and bought programmes for them all. I have to say I didn't really enjoy any of them that much, and left early. I like to take photos, and that's just not practical any more, at the NW200 at University corner I counted more than 18 marshals (please don't get me wrong I have the utmost respect for marshals), but really ?? I was also at the TT, and anyone that goes there knows you can't fail to enjoy it.... As for the UGP, the last time I went there, some shady character tried to charge me for parking at the road side, and I was tormented by another dodgy bloke without any form of ID or credentials demanding cash for standing in a field (that was a practice day)... haven't been back since, and have no intention of going back ...



PS ... Started going to road races with my late father in 1974 ..

[harold]

sinti what a sad person person u are running down the bush races if u had any idea the amount of effort it takes to r un the race but u seem to b one of these doom merchants who will b whinging when more races if u wanted to read why didnt u bring a copy off playboy and give yourself a buzz as all the hype about armoy would rather watch jeward dunlop side show

[norstar500]

Firstly may I say hello to Baylon, good to meet you at last at Bush and I have seen the photos.
Been following this thread with interest, as a rider and ferry traveller to the events, mainly the Liverpool to Belfast day sailing, with a caravan. We all know it is not cheap but it does help when there a two events on consecutive weekends, as this makes the expense worth it but to come over for a single event as in the case of the UGP/Dundrod event, there is only one classic race which means only one practice, when calculating value for money it does not work out to well!
When you get the events as per Cookstown and Tandragee, then Mid-Antrim and Bush, there is time for a few days holiday in between, have some enjoyable race meetings, pity about the weather but we, or the organisers have no control over this, but what a good job all these event organisers have done to get the meetings up and running in the first place and then to get though a race programme as they did was brilliant, so well done to them all.
I have not raced at Armoy yet, so would be a newcomer, as I have been at most of the other events this year, so I would get the extra practice but it is a stand alone event with nothing else on the weekend before or after to make the trip viable.
So if the events could be grouped together, a difficult thing to organise with other events taking place, it would help the riders who travel over to compete.
The classic entries seem to have suffered more than the other classes but I don't want to see just one race, as this would kill the classic classes altogether, I heard talk at Bush that this could happen.
Just my thoughts, I know there is no easy answers but I hope the classic races can continue as they are, as with all the classes of racing on the pure road circuits.
Roy Phipps