A need for more fans..but how?

Good afternoon all,

We got home last night from an interesting weekend at Laguna Seca for the AMA Superbike Championship Finale. Even though some championships were already decided there was still some incredibly exciting racing.

But, there really weren’t that many spectators. It’s a great venue, there was great racing and really…this is one of the premier roadracing series in the world. So here is the question… how does the promoter, in this case Corona beer, get more fanny’s in the seats? When Heather and I picked up our credentials the gentleman there told us that we didn’t need a parking pass because this was small event and it wouldn’t be a problem. Well, he was right. So, the question still stands..how do you get more spectators?

The DMG, Daytona Motorsports Group, thinks they have the way. Change the class structure, make it look more like NASCAR(?), give the riders nicknames, etc, etc…but my thought goes a lot further than that.

If more Americans rode on two wheels, whether it’s a scooter, sportbike, cruiser…the interest in all things two wheels becomes more interesting. I mean, hey, there are scooters that have paint jobs that look like MotoGP bikes! If local and state governments would work to make cities more two wheel friendly, more people would ride motorbikes. That in itself would do so much for traffic issues, parking issues, the environment and save you and I a lot of money at the gas pump. Just look at Europe. When we were in Italy last year and Mexico the year before that, scooters and small displacement motorcycles were everywhere. In Mexico, the police ride 250’s and your pizza is delivered on a Honda 125.

Motorcycle manufacturers need to work harder at pushing the government to make riding a scooter or motorcycle more friendly, and safe. What I mean by friendly is make lanes for bikes on major roads and freeways, create parking for bikes that is free, give tax breaks for going on two wheels. You can put four motorcycles in the space of one SUV.

Because much of Europe is on two wheels, they relate to two wheel sport. Would it work here? Only if the governments and manufacturers work on it. It is a project well worth working on for so many reasons.

Just a thought.