First up, just in case my comments are mis-understood, I really appreciate the work that Neale does on driving the Viper Monza round and the drive of the current Viper committee!
I have sat back and read a lot of forum threads over the years about Pre90 classes, Suzuki foot pegs, Heaven fall-out, etc but this thread is one far too important to me, too abstain from.
So, a few observations from the past 6 years of participating in Viper, having transferred down from NSW and the Heaven club, to help build some context.
1. The numbers of riders and bikes appear to have dropped over the past 2-3 years, including some of the bigger names of Viper (Fox, Cook, Elvis, Bull, etc...)
2. It appears that there has been a resurgence in classic (VCM and Vinduro) and I believe, an increase in there number of rounds and quality of tracks (This is just what I have observed via photo/race reports from OZVMX, so is anecdotal).
3. There are many guys who ride in VCM, Vinduro and Viper, or who own bikes for each category
4. The number of Viper rounds has increased this year
5. Viper race meetings are well organised and it is awesome to ride on some of the premier MX tracks in Australia (as compared to what happens in NSW, QLD and NZ)
We all have our own drivers and constraints when it comes to how many races we participate in (for example; I have three children under the age of 7, I am the sole bread winner at the moment, I am a bunny on the track and hence I am not in it for the glory: This all adds up to me cherry picking a couple of rounds each year that I ride in).
My opinion is that a combination of the economy (I know that I think twice about pre-entrying given the cash out-lay for a day license and entry and whether or not the weather will be shite or OK), the combined number of Victorian based Viper, VCM and Vinduro rounds this year, the timing of the rounds (i.e. one weekend after the other in many cases), the weather this year (Viper race day = heavy rain), and a generational change within the VIPER ranks is all creating, hopefully, a short term decline in numbers.
What is the solution, because at the end of the day, we need solutions not problems?
I can think of several (each with pros and cons);
1. Drop a couple of rounds from each VCM and Viper series and combine 1 to 2 meetings (and maybe some classes) on “safe” tracks (as a trial) to see if the number of classes and bikes can co-exist together.
2. Reduce the number of rounds for each series (my tens cents worth is that 2 rounds is not enough, 4 rounds would be good)
3. Combine Viper and VCM and combine some classes so to make a full day of racing
4. Leave it as is, and hope the numbers will increase as the economy turns the corner
At the end of the day, I do not want to see pre78 or Pre90 go away in Victoria, mainly for my own selfish reasons, so if we need to change (and that involves some short term pain), then lets do it for the greater good!
