CCS MW Gate Entry Costs

[G 97]

The Daytona situation is crazy.  100,000 bikes/bikers and 95% have no idea or just don't care about the Speedway activities.  Hopefully the 200 got a little more exposure as Daytona opened up the infield last year and had camping and a huge rally sight / vender area located inside.

I didn't even know you could ride sport bikes on the street. 

[Super Dave]

I think that maybe we should look at what the local circle tracks are doing as far as promotions and such.  They don't have big stars (not that that doesn't help) or big parties (that would probably help too), yet they usually have a pretty good turn-out.  Some basic local radio ads, contacting local clubs and promoting through dealerships that kinda of thing.  But it take a person to do it.  Just a thought.

A lot of dirt tracks are racing on Friday and Saturday night.  And there's beer.  Beer is the star, but the people are at least somewhat interested in racing.  Doesn't mean that the race track is making much money though.

Radio, etc. costs money.

Back to the regional road racing...

Riders, or so called "teams", in regional racing series should promote themselves.  Do it through your dealership or whatever.  You can be the star.  Make a flyer.  Bring your bike with a racing schedule to a warm Saturday to your sponsoring dealer.  Anything.

Why should the race sanction provide promotion?  They are providing the rules package, manpower, scoring, etc.  Racers have a lot to gain by promoting themselves.  Afterall, it's the racer that's unique...anyone can go see a GSXRwhatever.

[Super Dave]

100,000 bikes/bikers and 95% have no idea or just don't care about the Speedway activities.

Don't care.

It isn't their thing.  Just because they ride, it doesn't make them motorcycle road racing fans.

[Jason748]

A lot of dirt tracks are racing on Friday and Saturday night.  And there's beer.  Beer is the star,

Hey now.... Don't forget about boobs too, when it get's late enough and enough beer is gone....

[Doctor]

Plain and simple- there are more spectators at a Trackday at BHF than there are for CCS Races.

Free brings people to the track.

25 bucks a day will get you into the 2008 MotoGP Race at Indy.....food for thought.

[Mongo]

Bullshit, there is no way there are "spectators" at a trackday.  There may be a lot of friends and family but they are not there spectating anything.

[dylanfan53]

That's right, dammit.  Those people are "watching", not "spectating".  You can call them "watchers" or "lookers" or "gawkers".  You can call them "people who spectate", but you're only allowed to use the word as a verb.  I spectate, you spectate, they spectate...but they aren't "spectators".  Don't *ever* call "watchers" at a trackday "spectators".  Don't you get the difference? 

They don't pay $25.  They pay less to enjoy the afternoon at the track with their family and friends.  Hell, they probably sneak in with Monopoly money.  They're the unwashed, the ignorant, those who don't grasp how the Weekend Value Price Package of $25 is going to save the sport.  If they don't want to make the most of their money by camping out in the boonies, pissing in a rusty trough and being there first thing in the morning to watch us wake up, scratch our crotches and set up canopies then screw 'em.  How dare they ask for a reasonable gate fee just to attend the races.

They're not our target market anyway.  We want the true spectators.  Those who understand the concept of maximizing their dollar by spending all weekend at the track, no matter that they have a life...no matter that the races are "boring as hell" as Mongo eloquently puts it.  We definitely want to charge them more than trackday "watchers".  They understand us.  They get it....all five of them.

While we're at it, one step above them is fans.  Fans are fanatics.  The "el kwayda" of motorcycle racing.  I say we jack up the gate fees even more on those suckers.  If you're a fan you're going to understand how valuable the "Extra Value Special Weekend Value Price Value Package" is.  $50 sounds about right.  If it's a family then screw 'em good.  If they can afford all those kids they can afford a 25% surcharge per head to cover the cost of the extra liability all those little shits bring to the track.  Hell, they'd probably sue if one of them skinned a knuckle falling off a damn big wheel.  Up goes the cost of liability insurance, not to mention Band-Aids.

We don't need fans.  What self respecting racer wants a hand changing tires and spinning a wrench anyway.  If they don't want to pay up we don't need 'em and we sure as hell don't want them to get interested in the sport.  They and their little snot nosed "fan"atic kids would probably just grow up liking it and want to take a race school to get licensed.   Then they'd bring their friends and eventually buy leather and boots and helmets and fuel and parts and drive up the price of bikes and parts and who knows what else.  Holy SHIT!!  What if they liked it so much they wanted to cornerwork!

Thank God we have people looking out for the sport's best interests.  I just hate large crowds and big grids.

[Super Dave]

Well, I don't know, Don...LOL!



Honestly, CCS, WERA, AFM, MCRA, CRA and all the rest...

It's sportsman racing.  It is set up for the competitor.  The track and the organization, although they'd enjoy having "spectators", aren't designing the event around spectating.  It's an open paddock.  Go where you want, park next to your racer friend, even ride your street bike among the race bikes.


Given that at Blackhawk, there are 150 plus racers, which might be a small number, I know there are many, many more in crew and then actual people coming to see friends and family race that make up a larger number than a track day that has 150, which would be absolutely huge track day riders plus their friends. 

As for the sports best interest...it still has to pay the insurance.

[red900]

dylanfan53    I love you..  That was freaking awesome

[Burt Munro]

You ran out of Prozac again didn't you Don?   

[dylanfan53]

...and it's only the beginning of the off season... 

[Mongo]

Give me a break, get the same number of riders at a race as at a trackday and you have the same number of people hanging out.  Get the tracks to charge sanctioning bodies what they charge for a track day - if BHF takes a chunk of CCS' gate then why don't they charge a gate fee for trackdays to get that same money? I know they're not charging more for rental.  How about insurance, get them to drop our rates to what they charge trackdays and I'll personally guarantee we'll drop gate fees.  Hell, get both of those things and we'll drop entry fees too.  I don't know about Kevins finances but ours are quite simply crap - with rider and entry counts that made money 10 years ago we can barely pay the bills or lose money.  So where exactly are we supposed to get that income?  Thin air? 

As usual, we have yet another person with no clue who is more than happy to tell us how much better they can do things.  Well I have a challenge for you, do it.  In a couple of years when WERA and CCS are still here and still running races you can disappear like all the others who insisted they could di it cheaper and make it bigger and better.