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So what’s left of pro SX if all the privateers were gone? Nobodies going to pay Feld ticket prices to watch 10 Factory guys race, and contrary to that I don’t think a lot of people are going to pay to go watch the “minor leagues” of SX with a bunch of privateers in a stadium.
I don’t know how on earth anyone parallels MotoGP or F1 to US MX/SX. They’re not even in the same zip code as far as annual revenue and fan viewership, hell even NASCAR still has tons of “privateers” at the highest level.
What do you consider factory?
There were at-least 12 full-blown factory riders last year
Add in Beta, Triumph, and Ducati - that's 6 more, were almost at a full gate of Factory Riders (before injuries obviously).
I don't listen to Gypsy Tales much, so I'm not sure what his stance is on no-privateers, but it looks like we are getting closer to having little to no room for privateers in the 450 class anyway.
I think a minor league could be done, and Arenacross used to be that and would fill the stands pretty well. But AX now is a former shell of itself, either it doesn't offer enough money, or riders' egos are too big to race it, but right now you have 2 competing series, with amateur-friendly tracks, and little to no big-name riders, and it's easy to see why Arenacross isn't what it once was.
And then there's his voice........w/muffled crap in mouth accent, petty I'm sorry, its like food with the wrong texture to you only.
Then you ask who is this guy? Where'd he come from and why? In my whaah whaaH whaaH I just don't like the guy from Pulp Mx intro voice.
Not sure how your counting works. Current factory 450 teams:
Honda 2 riders
Kawasaki 2 riders
Star Yamaha 3 riders
Hep Suzuki 2 riders
KTM 2 riders
GasGas 1 rider
Husky 2 riders
Beta 2 riders
That is 16 riders with Triumph and Ducati coming soon. Doesn't seem like much of a stretch to get to 22 well supported riders.
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There's already a B market series. It's called arenacross.
Everyone wants to talk about how they wish there was a secondary series. There is. There has been. Hell, there are two of them right now killing it, and another one is on the move into being a contender.
Great, let’s say you’re able to pull 22 Factory riders for your Factory only series.
What’s your format to entertain the fans with only 22 riders?
What happens when 3-4 riders are injured mid season, or before the series actually starts?
How does Feld or any promoter maintain a profit in something like this?
Still need the same amount of dirt, equipment, and personnel to build the track, still need to pay stadium rent, still need to have all the race staff and medical personnel on hand whether you have 22 riders or 200. You’ve got a million people bitching on here every year about $80+ SX tickets, I don’t see how you’re going to convince them that paying just as much for a 1/4 of the show is worth it. My $0.02.
The Dungey podcast in my opinion is the best interview Dungey has ever done.
Props to him for knowing his audience and being respectful of them. I’m a fan but always have been
I recall attending the Arlington SX in '03(?) and there were only 3 healthy factory riders. I guess you would have those 3 guys run qualifiers for gate pick in the heat race, and the heat race would determine gate pick for the main. And then throw in some super pole stuff, maybe a dash for cash, cheerleaders, dancers, flames, sumo suit wrestling, a DJ, etc.. Sounds like a great show.
I totally agree with you, it is a niche sport but we can make it as big as it can be. NBC didn't spend millions to highlight guys pitting out of a Sprinter van. Most won't understand it and think I'm ripping on those guys but I have huge respect for anyone who can make a night show. Hell, I have huge respect for the dudes in C practice that don't make the night show. They come to the local track and yard everyone. They just need to be showcased in a different environment. Why not have a minor league for SX that isn't Arenacross.
I agree with the whole privateer thing , would be a lot better with every manufacturer having a factory team ( possibly a full factory and a satalite team , club for example ) and a separate series for privateers , imagine watching MotoGP and some dude gets lapped twice who’s rolling round waiting for a cheque 😂
Triple Crown, problem solved. Injured riders, you do what you do now, hire replacements.
define killing it? I can only base it on what I see on TV (which is limited), but there appear to be very few fans.
Now imagine how much AX would be killing it if Derek Drake, Freddie Noren, Kyle Chisholm, Vince Friese, Grant Harlan, etc. were racing it.
I’m not saying it’s easy. It’s just much easier to present the sport to potential sponsors if you have 10-12 Factory teams that are there year after year. It looks like we are going that way so the next 3-5 years will be interesting
Format to entertain the smattering of fans in the seats before the night show? Two words: Super Pole. Can you imagine RDL with the camera actually following the guy on the hot lap? Super Pole establishes gate picks for the heats and the heats establish gate picks for the main. Possible triple crown?????
Injured riders? Factory teams would be expected to call up guys from the feeder series.
22 factory riders, anyone injured is replaced for that round by someone on the forum that we vote for. I'd watch that every week.
A super pole could work, but you’re still missing a huge chunk of entertainment time that the current SX format boasts by condensing heats and eliminating LCQs. It seems like Factory teams pulling up a privateer to replace an injured rider is going by the wayside these days, so now you’re going to have to convince the OEMs to budget for a fill in, they pull the best guy out of your “B” series to move him to the factory series to replace a factory rider, and now your “B” series just lost even more excitement because the guy winning that is now going to run 12th-22nd in your Factory series.
Then we still have the smoking gun of how is a promoter going to maintain the same ticket prices/profit while incurring all the same expenses and offering the fans less of a show?
Gypsy guy comes across as using daddy's money to start a moto podcast so he can tell pro racers about his own "wild" adventures and dumb ideas.
.
If Jase edited himself out I'd be a listener. It would also be 1 hour long
Pit Row
You don’t need daddy’s money to start a podcast for $500.
Good luck getting guests without any money!
triple. crown.
I don't think they would pull from the B riders, as those would be different teams, you could have Factory Honda in supercross, and Phoenix Honda in Arenacross, if a Factory Honda guy got hurt, doesn't guarantee that they would use a Phoneix Honda guy to replace them.
I am hating you right now!!!
Other than listening to a couple riders interviews I have never had time to listen to a pod cast before.
I am about to the end of Davie's time and now I am hooked.
I don't agree, but.
So AMA SX factory only riders filling 1/2 a start gate, and Areanacross for privateers?
What would the format of the sx show be. Practice and one main event, 1 1/2 hours, what ticket price would you pay ?
5 questions for the press conference. I LOVE this idea!
Originally I really wasn’t a fan.
However as others have said, the content lately has been very good.
I have been in this sport in Maryland since the 1970's and seen the Coombs family growing all along the way. I remember Davie doing articles for our local AMA district 7 monthly paper Cycle News years before he started his news paper Racer X that later became Racer X magazine.
OK if you are a true Motocrosser or a fan listen to this entire podcast! There are a lot of pieces of this puzzle publicly revealed.
You can and will learn a LOT from this interview.
Agreed, it was solid.
The one thing he said I don't think I believe.... when he discussed his 09 race bike he said it had 40 or 41 hp. Does that not seem low to anyone else? Stockers had that just a few short years later.
Yeah dude.. very few fans.
Since you're from Plano... Dallas AX at Fair Park earlier this year. 600 entries each night. 35 pro riders. 3000 tickets sold. Hicks, Harmon, Miller, Nelko, Alessi, Talviku, Gordon, Curler, Floyd, Marquier, Orres etc. Insane racing.
Now imagine if you actually came to the races to see for yourself.
Dude has a good podcast but he's got to stop talking and let the guest do the majority of the talking. Trying to assimilate to the guess during the podcast is cringe
You saying everyone on his show gets an appearance fee? Doubt it.
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