Last Night's Format All the Time Would be a Deal Killer for Privateers

KDXGarage
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1/20/2019 9:16am Edited Date/Time 1/21/2019 11:27am
I think last night's format made for exciting racing, BUT...

I watched / listened to practice and qualifying yesterday. The top 18 went to the night show, plus four from an LCQ. No one that watched just the night show (TV or app) saw 23rd on back. If you didn't qualify, your sponsors got no TV time. All those 23rd to 40/44th guys would have to tell potential sponsors it is likely your company name would not be on TV.

I don't think that is a positive for the sport, though the format might make good TV.

What are your thoughts on it?
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Tarz483
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1/20/2019 9:19am
I think the LCQ'S need to be shown even if it extends the whole show
Forty
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1/20/2019 9:19am
Not to mention the nightmare for factory Kawasaki.

We have 3 tires that last 20 minutes
8 tires that last 10 minutes
10 tires that last 8 minutes
1 tire that won’t finish a race!

Etc.
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mxb2
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1/20/2019 9:23am
Tarz483 wrote:
I think the LCQ'S need to be shown even if it extends the whole show
Tv limits schedule. Plus people would still complain.
sumdood
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1/20/2019 9:27am
3 times a year works for me.
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The Shop

racerx317
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1/20/2019 9:31am
I have thought about this a lot and believe there is a way to highlight them better than an LCQ. In reality, their sponsors rarely get a mention during an LCQ anyway... especially if they aren’t in a qualifying position. May be good to do a short rider profile that is pre-recorded for the riders to introduce themselves and highlight their sponsors. They can que those up for those that made it through the LCQ during the time that they did for Wilson this week.

This is better exposure than they would ever get during an LCQ. Can’t see the sponsors on the bike from the camera as they race past and those outside the top 4 in an LCQ get zero mention so that would be irrelevant as an argument to give them air time, imo.
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TDeath21
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1/20/2019 9:36am
Isn’t it insane that you can be a professional athlete and be the 25th best in your respective sport and struggle to make ends meet? I know it’s because our sport is small, but it’s just insane. 25th best doctor in the world? Millionaire. 25th best engineer? Millionaire. 25th best MLB/NFL/NBA player? Millionaire. 25th best golfer? Millionaire. 25th best tennis player? Millionaire. 25th best lawyer? Millionaire. 25th best scientist? Millionaire. 25th best SX racer? Struggle to make ends meet for a few years to live your dream. Give it up. Then search for a middle of the road job, probably with some hardware in your body you picked up along the way.
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Johnny Depp
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1/20/2019 9:36am Edited Date/Time 1/20/2019 9:43am
They can race on Sunday in the Futures. Or the 250's.
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kaptkaos
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1/20/2019 9:38am
All that they need to is drop Makeup to Mud and show the LCQ.

Ive been saying for a while we dont need privateers in 450 SX. This is the premiere, highest level of dirt bike racing in our country, we need to fill the field with Factory riders. You wont see privateers walk on in any other premiere sport.

Make the 250 class a stock class and let Privateers rule the Lites, otherwise just run the 250 class all year long and call it what it is, instead of calling it a feeder series.

You will say it will cost jobs to make the 250 one coast, but those jobs, rides, sponsors, and dollars need to go to the 450 class if the 250 is really a feeder class.

I much prefer to watch Triple Crown over both of the prior formats they have tried.

Just show the LCQ's and try to watch a privateer during the day on the crappy NBC GOLD app if it doesnt crash on you.
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Frank
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1/20/2019 9:47am
How many other big money professional motorsports tailor the event to accommodate "privateers"? Would nascar make sure I get tv time if I show up in my wifes camary sponsored by Joe's Chicken Shack and try to qualify? Sorry but save the privateer thing for the outdoor nationals not supercross.
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Texas Built
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1/20/2019 9:56am
They need to ditch the Makeup to Mud segment and fill it with a privateer profile segment. Why does some nobody chick who rides in the PNW and can barely keep her bike upright get 5 miutes of airtime, but privateers get none.
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racerx317
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1/20/2019 10:12am
They need to ditch the Makeup to Mud segment and fill it with a privateer profile segment. Why does some nobody chick who rides in the...
They need to ditch the Makeup to Mud segment and fill it with a privateer profile segment. Why does some nobody chick who rides in the PNW and can barely keep her bike upright get 5 miutes of airtime, but privateers get none.
I get why they’re doing it.... it promotes riding dirt bikes in general. However, it is really too specific and caters to too small of a demographic. Realistically, if the feature is about helping to build the sport... I think it would be wise to feature some riding clubs or tracks in the area and interview a variety of riders and families at the track showing that there are places to ride and good people at the track to help newbies get into the sport. This spot doesn’t accomplish that goal very well at all. I agree that... if they aren’t going to use that spot to promote the sport better... they should absolutely give the riders and their sponsors some love to help get more money into the sport.
devotid
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1/20/2019 10:48am
Frank wrote:
How many other big money professional motorsports tailor the event to accommodate "privateers"? Would nascar make sure I get tv time if I show up in...
How many other big money professional motorsports tailor the event to accommodate "privateers"? Would nascar make sure I get tv time if I show up in my wifes camary sponsored by Joe's Chicken Shack and try to qualify? Sorry but save the privateer thing for the outdoor nationals not supercross.
This is why I love this site and moto folk in general. Seems to be smart logical people in here.

Get that "Privateers dont make enough money" story out of here. Every single one of them could be doing something else and not risking it for a highlight real with Ralph.
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diz330
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1/20/2019 10:51am Edited Date/Time 1/20/2019 10:52am
No one hears about or sees the sponsors anyways from 23-40th place. I could not name one sponsor of tevin tapia or josh Greco and I have been watching supercross for years both on tv and in the stadiums. Unless you are friends with the guys or root for one of them for some reason I think a lot of people look past them. Basically just names on the screen to me. Also couldn't tell you what gear Ronnie Stewart wears and he was in the main last night.
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TooOld4WFO
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1/20/2019 11:38am
There are many ways for a rider to promote his various sponsors outside direct/limited exposure while actually racing.
I can list them but just talk to one and he can certainly tell you what he does for his sponsors.

If sponsors are concerned with being seen on TV then they can step up and sponsor top talent. Obviously how much or how little a rider gets support from his sponsor is based on many things. His relationship with the sponsor, how he promotes the brand at the track and lastly race results. I am sure there are more ways.

A privateer can take some lessons from Dean Wilson who currently is engaging in a brilliant self promotion campaign.
His grandpa Earl bit was featured last night along with a quick view into his life. I can’t overstate the importance of social media for any struggling pro. Self promotion along with getting his sponsors on video is a powerful tool. He doesn’t need to be a big name, just aggressive in his campaign.

In closing there are many ways a privateer can get exposure for their individual sponsors outside making mains. It just comes down to how creative and aggressive they are.
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Indy mxer
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1/20/2019 11:52am
Fwiw, I like the triple crown!
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TbonesPop
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1/20/2019 12:08pm
They need to ditch the Makeup to Mud segment and fill it with a privateer profile segment. Why does some nobody chick who rides in the...
They need to ditch the Makeup to Mud segment and fill it with a privateer profile segment. Why does some nobody chick who rides in the PNW and can barely keep her bike upright get 5 miutes of airtime, but privateers get none.
racerx317 wrote:
I get why they’re doing it.... it promotes riding dirt bikes in general. However, it is really too specific and caters to too small of a...
I get why they’re doing it.... it promotes riding dirt bikes in general. However, it is really too specific and caters to too small of a demographic. Realistically, if the feature is about helping to build the sport... I think it would be wise to feature some riding clubs or tracks in the area and interview a variety of riders and families at the track showing that there are places to ride and good people at the track to help newbies get into the sport. This spot doesn’t accomplish that goal very well at all. I agree that... if they aren’t going to use that spot to promote the sport better... they should absolutely give the riders and their sponsors some love to help get more money into the sport.
My personal belief is the make up to mud is being done for a couple of reasons. In a sport dominated by alpha males, it typically hasn't shown a lot of appeal to women with respect to actually riding the bikes. That's limiting your business potential to ~50% of the population which isn't good marketing. I have a daughter and wife, and would love for them to be more engaged in the sport. I think this also caters to the PC society we live in today. I'm not trying to go political, so lets not go there. Just saying this does cater/favor to the PC police. I'm not saying it is the best in terms of execution. But I understand why they are doing. My guess is this is also why they have toned down the Monster girl roles to an extent. Overall, There was plenty more "dead air" in the program last night to include more racing and more privateer segments. Why not have a "dash for cash" among some of the privateers. That was always a great part of the Arena Cross program. It doesn't have to be a winner take all. Take your top 8 riders (privateers) who don't qualify, and run a dash for cash segment and the higher they go in the bracket, the more money they get. While doing the bracket racing, you do a segment on the riders. More racing, less dead air, etc
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chump6784
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1/20/2019 12:22pm
As a viewer I got to watch the 22 fastest sx riders in the world do 3 races each. I don't really care to watch guys who are rolling every jump by the half way mark
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ando
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1/20/2019 12:35pm
TDeath21 wrote:
Isn’t it insane that you can be a professional athlete and be the 25th best in your respective sport and struggle to make ends meet? I...
Isn’t it insane that you can be a professional athlete and be the 25th best in your respective sport and struggle to make ends meet? I know it’s because our sport is small, but it’s just insane. 25th best doctor in the world? Millionaire. 25th best engineer? Millionaire. 25th best MLB/NFL/NBA player? Millionaire. 25th best golfer? Millionaire. 25th best tennis player? Millionaire. 25th best lawyer? Millionaire. 25th best scientist? Millionaire. 25th best SX racer? Struggle to make ends meet for a few years to live your dream. Give it up. Then search for a middle of the road job, probably with some hardware in your body you picked up along the way.
Insane? No. It’s a good reality check on the relative value of various “jobs”, and something that should be better understood by those saying that everyone down the line on the starting gate deserve to be paid more.
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ando
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1/20/2019 12:42pm
KDXGarage wrote:
I think last night's format made for exciting racing, BUT... I watched / listened to practice and qualifying yesterday. The top 18 went to the night...
I think last night's format made for exciting racing, BUT...

I watched / listened to practice and qualifying yesterday. The top 18 went to the night show, plus four from an LCQ. No one that watched just the night show (TV or app) saw 23rd on back. If you didn't qualify, your sponsors got no TV time. All those 23rd to 40/44th guys would have to tell potential sponsors it is likely your company name would not be on TV.

I don't think that is a positive for the sport, though the format might make good TV.

What are your thoughts on it?
I doubt that anyone in the group from 23rd onwards is going to experience any meaningful difference in their sponsorship exposure.
ando
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1/20/2019 12:45pm
I’ll tell you what I think is the real disadvantage to privateers in this format - the two bike rule.
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1/20/2019 12:58pm
The privateers have been dead for years in the conventional sense

The sport is not a sport.
Hardly any racing IS.

If you look at the trends trickling into amatuers - it's all about money. The families with it, in general - are the ones who have kids who make it. Not totally true of the "champions" but in general you have to have access to means

The 8 year privateers all generally have means of some variety.
Bagget's dad isn't poor...
Tomacs dad did all right....
Bloss's family is loaded
mosimans' family is loaded
dakota alix's family good money


It's a sad reality - but you start with 2 million if you want to end up with 1. People are addicted to racing like any other drug - and for that reason the sport hasn't truly become a sport.






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1/20/2019 1:04pm
Didn’t know they zoomed into 20th place to get that close up of the sponsorship decal. I’m gonna look more closely for it now.
lostboy819
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1/20/2019 1:05pm
TDeath21 wrote:
Isn’t it insane that you can be a professional athlete and be the 25th best in your respective sport and struggle to make ends meet? I...
Isn’t it insane that you can be a professional athlete and be the 25th best in your respective sport and struggle to make ends meet? I know it’s because our sport is small, but it’s just insane. 25th best doctor in the world? Millionaire. 25th best engineer? Millionaire. 25th best MLB/NFL/NBA player? Millionaire. 25th best golfer? Millionaire. 25th best tennis player? Millionaire. 25th best lawyer? Millionaire. 25th best scientist? Millionaire. 25th best SX racer? Struggle to make ends meet for a few years to live your dream. Give it up. Then search for a middle of the road job, probably with some hardware in your body you picked up along the way.
Who is the 25th best rider in the world ? Most of the guys not making the mains are not even in the top 100 riders in the world and most are even farther down the line than that.
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ktmwoods
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1/20/2019 2:57pm
They need to ditch the Makeup to Mud segment and fill it with a privateer profile segment. Why does some nobody chick who rides in the...
They need to ditch the Makeup to Mud segment and fill it with a privateer profile segment. Why does some nobody chick who rides in the PNW and can barely keep her bike upright get 5 miutes of airtime, but privateers get none.
You guys need to get over your hate for Make Up/Mud. Yea it is a bit corny, but appealing to women is literally the only way to grow participation numbers in dirt bike riding (didn’t say motocross). The industry needs entry-point consumers and if they can appeal to the female demo, more
bikes and parts and gear get sold, more sponsors come in and more dollars are freed up to support pros: factory and privateers alike.
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vetmxr
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1/20/2019 3:12pm
They most likely have money to start with.....or their family does..........
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1/20/2019 4:19pm
They can race on Sunday in the Futures. Or the 250's.
No riders get paid on Sunday except the A Open class. The 250 SX Futures class which gives A riders the opportunity to race on a real SX.....uh......track has NO payout. NADA, exactly what they will get when they get to the big show, just pay to practice and then hit the seats.
uk125250
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1/20/2019 4:24pm
I like the format. They should have it this way for the whole series.
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resetjet
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1/20/2019 6:06pm
Privateer class and one main. Which is basically the lcq. Problem i have with lcq it that guys who figure they will wind up 23-40
May not come at all......
KennyT
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1/20/2019 7:16pm Edited Date/Time 1/20/2019 7:18pm
I think 99.99% of the fans show up to the races and tune in to the TV to see the stars of the sport, not the privateers. It’s no different than any other sport in that regard. It’s a professional racing “business” and they need to make it as entertaining as possible. Watching riders who are 5-10 seconds off the pace is not entertainment

The split 250 series is a joke. Not near enough talent to break it into two series. Hopefully one of these days they will combine it like it should be.
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