Mr Happy

A lot of people seem to think the sport is what they see on television or pay to watch at a track. The sport is more than that. Most of the rot is because it's nigh on impossible to take part at a grass roots level. The British Motocross championship isn't the highest level or in the greatest of health yet there are thousands of people getting out and taking part in amateur racing, practice and Enduros every weekend on brand new bikes with a massive aftermarket industry supporting them. The sport is supported by companies selling bikes and parts to people like me with the disposable income to buy them. The sport helps promote them yet it shouldn't be the be all and end all. Really, now, the industry only sells to the few who take part in the sport at the highest level. Without the grass roots then there is no real way the sport can continue to support itself. With more amateur events clubs can drawn on a greater pool of talent when it disappears overseas, or even permanently replace it. And even if the clubs disappeared the sport should still survive without them, people getting out and having fun at the weekends riding at their local tracks. How many people really get out and do that? From my house the nearest tracks where I could run a bike are at least 2.5 hours away. The local amateur club only runs races at Kings Lynn which is nearly 3 hours away. There are 20+ MX tracks and 6-7 MX and Enduro clubs within an hour and half radius. Why should I drop £9k on a new Jawa, that I have to struggle to get a chance to ride, when a new CRF450 is £7k and I can ride it every day of the week. The sport is suffering because it hasn't made itself easily accessible to newcomers.