Man I have read some twaddle in my time, but this lot takes some beating.
The irony is that when the big push for Pre85 and Pre90 was on, a lot of noise was along the lines of "if you dont let in the newer eras the sport will die as the old bikes and riders drop out"
Reality is the Classic Nats 2012 had champion level entries in every class including Pre60 All Powers, Pre65 250, 13 riders and 263+8 riders. Pre 75 250cc attracted 43 entries alone.
Nearly every age group had championship fields (the up to 30 and 30-39 being the exception) Superseniors (over 70yo)had 8 ffs. 50-59 age in 250cc had 28 riders.Pre75 125cc 50-59 had 16 entries but -30 had only 3
So much for old bikes and old blokes dropping out if there's no new eras.
Pre 78 went ballistic, now being the new bikes in "Classic" with 33 250s and 24 125s and 38 263+.Lakes could meet their quota with Pre78 alone.
Part of the mantra from the Pre85 and 90 lobbyists was ( longer races, more tracks suitable for our superior suspention and brakes) which is exactly what Lakes is offering.
The economy. Yes we all know its tough out there, and we feel for those who are genuinely sruggling, however it was tough 9 months ago and the punters turned up in droves.
There has been a lot of talk about how the local clubs should provide 70/80% of the entry.
For the statistically minded herewith is how the Classic Nat demographic went.It is calculated on classes entered ( a more illustrative stat than rider entries). Ive separated Central/North Qld as alot of them travelled further than Sydney riders for instance. WA is also separate as their logistical effort is so great. NSW, Vict. and SA are grouped.Qld metro includes Sunshine and Gold Coast.
NSW/Vict/SA 32%
North Qld 7%
West Aust 4%
Metro Qld 57%
Im not offering any conclusion as to the contrasting support for the 2012 Classic and the 2013 Post Classic.A lot of the reasons for the lack of entries for the Post Classic are valid, but they were mostly equally valid 10 months ago.
