Suzuki Classic Dirt 10

[nada]

Can someone state how bad the numbers were, like are we talking 20 percent down on last year? I think this year has been harder financially for a lot more people. I also think the weather from last year did play a bit of a negative part on the event this year. I am in NSW and have a property 30k's from Lithgow so i am not judging the area. But that was pretty shitty. Did the previous years in Qld or mid north coast have better weather? Maybe leaving a better taste of the event...
Brett

Yeah fair call, would, info be good to know! but, as all QLD'ers will say, the weather is better up there all the time I should know, i just moved from Yeppoon to NSW:)

[Ted]

Can someone state how bad the numbers were, like are we talking 20 percent down on last year? I think this year has been harder financially for a lot more people. I also think the weather from last year did play a bit of a negative part on the event this year. I am in NSW and have a property 30k's from Lithgow so i am not judging the area. But that was pretty shitty. Did the previous years in Qld or mid north coast have better weather? Maybe leaving a better taste of the event...
Brett

If you call freezing nights the first year and pissing rain with foot deep mud the next year good weather then so be it.( QLD)

FFS....You cannot blame last years weather for not showing up

[Simo63]

Can someone state how bad the numbers were, like are we talking 20 percent down on last year? I think this year has been harder financially for a lot more people. I also think the weather from last year did play a bit of a negative part on the event this year. I am in NSW and have a property 30k's from Lithgow so i am not judging the area. But that was pretty shitty. Did the previous years in Qld or mid north coast have better weather? Maybe leaving a better taste of the event...
Brett

CD8 was pretty wet .. in fact I recall dragging a few NSWelshmen out of the pits in my 80 series.  Top blokes they were too 

[b490]

Bummer  :'(.....was really looking forward to riding there  again ,
         ..... rain , hail  , or shine.

 Regards ,
                  Steve

[oldyzman]

By the way, I was just asking about the weather in prev years as i have only been lucky enough to go to CD9 so far... Well we can rest assured its not due to the ordinary weather then...
Really sorry to hear that it got canned for all involved. Please keep this in mind gents. For the better of the sport. Its a real sensitive time for the organisers and helpers and we really have to be careful that this does not turn into a crap fight.

[Nathan S]

NSW has two active VMX clubs, both in good health (if not "gangbusters").

Not quite. Penrith now only run one full classic meeting a year and this year even it was piss poor compared to recent years.

I was talking about Heaven and Northern Districts...

[09.0]

My own personal opinion is that if an event is forced to cancel due to low numbers, attempting holding that same event within the twelve months following is probably not the way.. Re structure, re think, re invent and grow interest from far and wide before the event is held again. All the location argument is a load of garbage, people will travel anywhere for something that they really wanna get to!! Pre 90 inclusion could be an option? Maybe not too but I guess it's worth considering along with lots of other things to ensure that when this event is held once again it's so attractive a proposal to all punters that almost can't refuse being there. Commiserations to staff and directors at VMX mag, this could only make an already tough business environment even tougher, keep up the great work, keep the faith and good luck.

Cheers, Brendan

At the risk of Queensland bashing, if it was held up here it wouldn't have been cancelled due to lack of numbers so location has to be a factor. It must be frustrating in many ways for the Vmx mag guys, especially all the two bobs worth people want to throw in. Pity the (NSW) fool that complains that Classic Dirt won't come to town in the future. He won't know what hit him.

So is anyone interested in NSW to have some form of get together in their own back yard as per my suggestion? Maybe somewhere further north even to entice a few more Queenslanders with a ride day thrown in? Wouldn't mind doing a heaven meet even. Bulladellah?

[Graeme M]

I just can't imagine location being a factor.  Wallerawang is relatively central for many east coasters and it's within an hour or two of Sydney and surrounding districts.  Yes SE Qld would be popular with Qld riders but not so good for those in NSW, Vic and SA.

Weather? CD has unfortunately had a tough time with weather considering several have been held in very heavy conditions. But that has never stopped people turning up before.

Amenities? Maybe, but unless everyone has suddenly turned into princesses I doubt it. The first two CDs were held in paddocks and went right off.

What's left? Too many events to spread across too few people. I say that in a more 'competitive' environment people have to be sold on the idea of why they'd spend their dollars on an event. Which brings us right back to promotion. People gotta know it's on, they gotta know it'll be great fun, they gotta know it's worth their while and their money. And I think promotion has to start a loooong way out from when an event is on.

VMX mag had Buckleys of rounding up the required extra entries when they only asked a few days out from their Go/No Go date. That's not criticism of them, I'm just making the point that it's unlikely there were a lot of undecided riders just needing to be prodded into action. The riders that were needed either didn't know, or hadn't been sold on the idea.

Again, just my two bobs worth.

[bazza]

Graham you have a point, but costs (land, MA?fees?) if overheads are a factor dont hold in that state or town.Having been to all 9 events it was obvious we were spoilt by connondale as a venue,facilities etc

[albrid-3]

Why not consider combining CD10 and the Australian vintage Titles together each years as one large event, it would lift the load of funds for the competitors, and something to look forward
too. Plus the work load in running one large event would easier than organizing two events.

[huskibul]

    The whole group we were with last year loved wallerawang as a venue - had a ball ! weather was a bit cool (good for a fire/beer)  wind was a one off and a piss-off ! IMO the main reason i think people werent queing up this year would be financial , it was for me and id bet many more are feeling the pinch !

[oldyzman]

Dido B40 "financial"

[John Orchard]

My girlfriend & I paid the entry fee early, booked a hire van, booked the days off work, booked accommodation, I won't be entering anything interstate again unless I get a guarantee it is running 'no matter what'.

I bet others will feel the same way, as I said previously THE CD10 EVENT HAD TO RUN NO MATTER WHAT, for future events, especially after the Post Classic & Classic Title debarkles.

I feel for the organizers but there is no else left to take the blame, either .....

* They didn't do enough promotion.
* They didn't charge enough to cover costs.
* They couldn't keep overheads to an acceptable level.
* They didn't drum up enough sponsors

I guess if numbers are needed to bring in the income then open it to 'Pre 90', if they want to keep the restriction on classes then keep the overheads down or bump up the entry fee?

[Graeme M]

You make an interesting point John. Again I offer no criticism of anyone in making this observation, but if numbers were the problem, and by that I mean paid up entrants, there WAS an option for continuing by simply asking riders to stump up the extra. For example, if numbers are capped at 600 but only 300 pre-entered, that means that those 300 only needed to pay double the entry cost to make it happen. Given that would have been what, $30 a head, it's not a big ask when you consider the weekend costs most of us maybe $1000 or more per head to attend.   Hells Bells, I'd have paid $250 just to keep it all happening, I like it THAT much.

Anyways, the organisers made their call and all of our thoughts won't help that. But I hope that our discussion offers up food for thought around how to make it happen next year. I for one am happy to do more to promote it via this forum and the ausvmx.ning.com website.

[FourstrokeForever]

Why not consider combining CD10 and the Australian vintage Titles together each years as one large event, it would lift the load of funds for the competitors, and something to look forward
too. Plus the work load in running one large event would easier than organizing two events.

I think this idea has some merit. It could even address the issue that some have raised that there are simply too many events on in one calender year

Ok, I grant that not everybody who rides an old bike wants to race but lets just say, for the sake of it, the Nats are usually a 3 day event and CD for 2 days. Now, if somehow it could be organised that the actual race for titles was to be had for half a day Saturday and half a day Sunday, this would allow plenty of time for the punter to have a ride on the track, no matter what class of bike it is.

To my way of thinking, there would be a great enthusiastic crowd for the races already in place. The usual social aspect of the CD could continue as it always had without interfering with the races.

 A separate "pit area for race bikes only" could easily be bunted out near the start for those racing. Race bikes could be scrutinered on the day prior and kept in the pits, much like parc ferme' at enduro's. In other words, once a race bike has been scrutinered, it can not leave the pit area until either the end of the meet or retiring from racing.

The event could be classified as a genuine "festival of vintage motocross" with commercial stall holders, a swap meet and anything else the promoters might conjure up.

Keep the usual processes in place for interested clubs applying to host the " Classic Nationals Championship" and once announced, the CD organisers jump on board with that club to do what they do. I see no reason why the 2 entities could not work together. The added benefit would be that whole show would travel from state to state each and every year. The host club would have a better than even chance of actually making a few coins with the envisioned larger crowd and being able to share some of the costs with the CD organisers. I can't see why social riders could not fly under the same "MA race permit" for the sake of keeping costs down.

Sure, the racers will need to pay more to cover transponders and the like, but I think that is totally understandable and workable. It could be as simple as the host club collecting the entries for the racers and the CD mob collecting entries for the social punters.

These are just ideas of course. Nothing more. But, I do believe it could be the thing the movement needs to keep "moving forward".

All that's needed is some co-operation and dedication to get the show back on the road to recovery!

What do you lot think? Please, try and keep it all positive. By that I mean keep all the interstate rivalry out it, we get enough of that with our footy codes etc....

Food for thought,
Mark