Agree ... having a pit area over the road is a naff idea. Seeing / hearing riders coming in is all part of it. Also, Rheola would be rubbish for general spectating because the whole thing is in the woods ... You get crowds at the Nationals, why would anyone want to come and watch there?
Do you get non bike related spectators? What would put people off from coming to a wicked course to watch? Even in the trees you can see a fair ways, and wandering about watching in the trees is much more fun than standing still on a blustery moor. Don't be so negative!
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Rides: DH - SC Bullit.2/Totems/Hopes. XC - SC Heckler/Pikes(Push)/XTs. Road - Kaffenback. Ride fast, take chances. Just don't blame me when you fall off.
The woods thing is a non-argument really - after all Bringewood and Hopton have both hosted the nationals and are in the woods. Personally I haven't noticed much difference in the number of spectators between regional and national series races and the national champs - all of them are basically attended by racers, parents, boy/girlfriends, and mates of racers. Sad, but true.
Also, Rheola would be rubbish for general spectating because the whole thing is in the woods ... You get crowds at the Nationals, why would anyone want to come and watch there?
i dunno, but they hold the rally there and that gets spectators.. in the woods..
well, no maybe its a different kettle o fish, but if people wanna watch they will.
do people not think we should be worried about getting DH racing on a National level sorted for the riders first - seen as how we are the ones paying the money.
Once we are happy, then we start to worry about spectators.
The priorities have to be getting the best tracks with the best uplift. everything else comes after this in my opinion.
do people not think we should be worried about getting DH racing on a National level sorted for the riders first - seen as how we are the ones paying the money.
Once we are happy, then we start to worry about spectators.
The priorities have to be getting the best tracks with the best uplift. everything else comes after this in my opinion.
I second this.
Also 95% of the spectators who turn up are relations or friends of racers somehow, it's not like if the race was held elsewhere you'd get crowds and crowds of people turning up who don't usually show up to races.
Orge.
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Les Gets 2005 - LOVES THE DEATHBOX!!
How many Emus does it take to change a lightbulb? None! They'd rather sit in the dark and cry!! MWAHAHAHAH
do people not think we should be worried about getting DH racing on a National level sorted for the riders first - seen as how we are the ones paying the money.
Once we are happy, then we start to worry about spectators.
The priorities have to be getting the best tracks with the best uplift. everything else comes after this in my opinion.
I second this.
Also 95% of the spectators who turn up are relations or friends of racers somehow, it's not like if the race was held elsewhere you'd get crowds and crowds of people turning up who don't usually show up to races.
Orge.
Good points.
However, if you are looking to bring in wealthy out-of-industry sponsors so that we can bring down the costs to riders and improve all aspects then you have to look at things like spectator numbers, facilities, etc. I think many races would attract some spectators if they ever bothered to advertise or promote outside of the specialist media.
Basically if you want DH to be a low-profile but high cost sport then you put the riders above all other considerations... otherwise some level of compromise will always be needed.
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The only time my wheels leave the ground is when the bike goes on the roof-rack!!
Bridgnorth we had thousands of spectators just short of space
There were loads of spectators at the Cum Carn national last year, don't think there were all friends & family, if you could get that sort of turn out to watch again it would really help with the atmosphere.
Just needs pushing in the local media (i say just, its a hard job to get the press intrested but it might be big news if its a slow story week.)
BBC radio love stuff like this just needs a bit of an angle to get them intrested, once you got them you might pick up the local Tv.
There were loads of spectators at the Cum Carn national last year, don't think there were all friends & family, if you could get that sort of turn out to watch again it would really help with the atmosphere.
Unfortunately I think that the number of spectators at Cwmcarn was probably one of the only positives of that race - and I doubt the spectators left with much of a positive impression of our sport!
surely I can't be the only one that thinks DH is actually quite boring to watch??
I love the sport, but it looks good on videos and I could watch it all day when its presented well with a decent sound track and you just get the high lights.
But even with my enthusiasm for the sport and knowledge of the riders, I don't think you'd catch me driving anywhere to stand on a hill to watch someride past every 30 seconds.
last time the series had a major sponsor all it did was pay for the TV coverage. Last year it seemed like all the CRC money went on was flags and a new podium.
I'm not even really bothered about prizes, its all about getting in enough runs on decent courses with good (friendly) organisation.
However, if you are looking to bring in wealthy out-of-industry sponsors so that we can bring down the costs to riders and improve all aspects then you have to look at things like spectator numbers, facilities, etc.
But do we want an NPS where all you have is a s**t course to ride but one that is spectator friendly where riders are only riding because it is the NPS and so they want to keep their sponsors happy and get points?
I'm with FLi - courses first. I'd rather pay more to ride a good course. And thats assuming that there would ever be a drop in entry prices (which I think is more than unlikely).
i dunno, but they hold the rally there and that gets spectators.. in the woods..
well, no maybe its a different kettle o fish, but if people wanna watch they will. [/quote]
My Dad says that every time he's rallied in Rheola there's been loads of spectators, but there are lots of places to park and the stage is a lot longer than the DH. He was really surprised at the difference between rallying at Rheola and the DH tracks - he knows Rheola as fast, open and flowing, but (inevitably) we race in the trees, not on the fire roads that he knows.
It really comes down to who knows about the events - People know about the Rally of Wales through the WRC on TV (if you can find it), magazines and weekly papers such as Motorsport News. But more spectators can cause problems as well and you need marshalls to make sure they don't get into dangerous places. Do we need more overhead at this time ? It can now cost quite a bit to spectate at WRC events as well to cover overheads.
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