City of Penrith MCC Classic Dirt Track Charity Day 3/4th August

[firko]

The Nepean Charity meeting was huge five years ago but it seems to have lost its zing......it might have been fun to ride but there seemed to be a lot of missing racers. I don't know what others think (bar Noel) but to me it was flat and lacking in atmosphere. I can't recall ever going to a vintage meeting that finished at 2.30 in the arvo. The Charity meeting used to have a full pit only a five or six years ago and it was a purely pre 75 meeting then.

Methinks some serious promotion is needed.












 

[Graeme M]

You know Firko, that's a damned good point. I am not trying to criticise the Penrith club or any other club, but promotion IS important. Just see how the Troy Bayliss Classic went to see an example of that.

This is actually an issue that I think is something that clubs need to think about. I think the web is part of the reason for this lack of promotion. Years ago, we used to get regular newsletters from our clubs. We used to see clubs PR people pushing their events. Articles in newspapers. Heck in my hometown we'd even make sure there was a bit of a promo run on the local TV or radio station if we had a decent event coming up. Nowadays, clubs throw up a facebook page and think that's all they have to do.

My local club seems to given up entirely - there is never an update to their website, I haven't seen a newsletter in years, there hasn't been an email from them for more than two years, and a couple of emails I've sent to them have gone unanswered. How many club websites have I visited only to see old, useless information? How hard is it to find out if an event is even on?

Nope they don't bother. Because they've got a Facebook page.

Wanna get the vibe back? PROMOTE the heck out of your event. Let people know. And do it more than a week before the meeting...

[Shaun G]

Well I had a great weekend.

Apparently there were actually 4 more competitors than last year but it is true that numbers were not huge.

This meant though that we were able to enjoy a relaxed atmosphere which included a lunch break.

The 2.30 finish was more to do with an efficiently run meeting. As with all CoPMCC meetings these days, everyone had a program with their individual heats and grid positions so there was no waiting around for people to get called up for races. The lack of stoppages except for Steve's accident also helped the day run well.

Sorry Firko but I reckon the atmosphere was great as was the racing. We got to see some real young guns like Corey Taggart, Jake Siminato and Lee Hunter embracing the old bikes. And it was great to see Kevin Horton back at Nepean riding at the front just like the old days.

The regular CoP Sydney Dirt Track Series events have become something like an open meeting which is fantastic. I kinda like the classic only event the way it was on the weekend relaxed and laid back.

Between the two we get the best of both worlds.

Cheers
Shaun

[Sorelegs11]

The absence of the Griffith,Cowra and Temora crew all at the last round at Temora and Grassy in the states took a fair few racers out of the event but that aside to have a couple more entries than last year seems a good thing.
Saturday night was a hoot and other than 2 out of 3 of my bikes going south and the little sl175 being kinda slooowww I had a ball.
Could not beleive I only got lapped 3 times by the winner ni the 25 lapper!
As Roy said, the weekend is about having some fun-casuall racing and if you want to go hard you can.
I guess its only as good as you make it 

[pancho]

 I had a good time on the weekend, got one good hole shot on my slider and ended up with my usual 3rd place trophy (just)

 The old RT1 showed some potential with startling power out of the slow corners  ( all my corners seem to be slower these days).

 Got held up a bit to long for the clutch at the start line for the 2nd round outing on the RT1 and it took off straight over the gate to my annoyance  but after it cooled down it behaved and went quite well.
 
I agree with Firko about the 'Vibe" and I think that a lot of the old big personalities were missing, we need them spectating and  wandering around the pits saying hello to everybody. That is a big part of the enjoyment of these events.

 I was expecting to see a lot more  overnight campers.
 cheers pancho.

[firko]

Sorry Firko but I reckon the atmosphere was great as was the racing.

I guess it's what you make of it yourself Shaun but if the Penrith club and the racers are happy with the roll up on Sunday there's a serious attitude problem. I'll accept that there may have been a half dozen Riverina based riders missing due to the Temora date clash but Jonesy, myself and some other old racers we spoke with were concerned at the flat feel and lack of entries. The Charity meeting came about a few years ago initially to raise some money for Cancer research in support of Les Richter's wife Lisa who was at the time sadly dying from cancer. In later years it supported Magoo's family and other worthy cancer based causes. The entries for those first few years were amazing with not a spare spot in the pits, shitloads of spectators and well over 100 entries. What makes it even more notable is that it was a purely pre 75 meeting for those years. We had full fields of almost every class including the hard to fill pre 65 and 2v slider classes. In those days the meeting included classic bike and memorabilia displays, a film night and the meeting was seen to be an annual reunion for many of the old dirt track veterans......it was a great social event as well as a race meeting.

I've been around this sport for a long time and I can never, ever remember a meeting finishing at 2.30. I can however remember meetings going right up to curfew time and trophy presentations going on in the fading late afternoon light. As one of the people behind the original concept of the Charity meeting I'm so disappointed in what it's become that I feel sad. Sundays effort just plain wasn't good enough so, what needs to be done to bring the meeting back up to the status it once enjoyed as one of the biggest non championship meetings in Classic Dirt Track ? First up and most obviously, we need to get the missing racers back. I'm part of the problem myself as I've got a couple of bikes ready to go and so have a few of my friends so I'm not shooting arrows at others without including ourselves, by our not competing we're a definite part  of the problem. Somehow, Penrith Club has to do some serious PR work to get vintage riders back onto the hallowed Nepean dirt. Perhaps a Facebook campaign and a ring around to many of the missing racers asking them why they were missing and working on getting them back would be a good start. I saw very few Hunter region racers, very few from the Illawarra, and of course there was the missing Riverina racers (who had a good excuse for their absence). I'd be hyping the meeting up to as many clubs as possible, drumming up the point that the meeting is the biggest non championship meeting on the classic dirt track radar. I'd be pushing the charity aspect even more, perhaps picking a particular charity for naming rights such as "The Breast Cancer Awareness Charity Dirt Track Challenge" or something along those lines.

To accept Sunday's laid back club day as the best Classic Dirt Track we can produce shows that the bar has been set pretty low these days. The Nepean Charity Meeting really does need a boost of numbers, pizazz and promotion or it'll fade away altogether. As the only classic dirt track meeting on the Penrith/Nepean calendar that doesn't have moderns to pad out the entry, losing it would be a tragedy for the classic movement.
 

[pancho]

 There a lot of thinks you have said there Firko that I entirely agree with.

[Sorelegs11]

If the cyber racers got the garage queens out and rode them there would certainly be a boost in entries and spectators. 

[firko]

If the cyber racers got the garage queens out and rode them there would certainly be a boost in entries and spectators.   

If you're aiming that at me, I'll cop it fair and square. I had intended to come back to racing at this meeting but I decided that I wasn't ready yet due to my lack of on track time.....it's been over 10 years since I've raced dirt track so being 63 and not yet 100% healthy I want some laps under my belt before I get back into a racing situation. As for others, I'm sure they've got their excuses as well but the problem is a lot bigger than a few missing cyber racers.

[Sorelegs11]

I am not aiming it at you Firko but I know plenty of blokes with bikes that talk it up all the time and always have a reason not to attend as a spectator or a competitor.

With any event whether its motorcycle racing or any other sport attendances are down for many reasons.

At the  Hunter club rounds this year there have only been 1 or 2 older bikes turning up when 2 years ago there where 2 grids in both classes that were run.
I can plead guilty to not going to the last round based on the finances.
My poor tuning ability and constant mech failures are starting to have me thinking of the merits of racing in regards to costs and time, but being in the situation where I can do a bit at work helps.
But after a weekend like this one just gone all doubts dissapear and My focus is on getting things running for the next round.

Bring it on! 

[Shaun G]

Sorry Firko but I reckon the atmosphere was great as was the racing.

I guess it's what you make of it yourself Shaun but if the Penrith club and the racers are happy with the roll up on Sunday there's a serious attitude problem. I'll accept that there may have been a half dozen Riverina based riders missing due to the Temora date clash but Jonesy, myself and some other old racers we spoke with were concerned at the flat feel and lack of entries.

Yes you're right I made the most of what was on offer. As everybody knows this is the only Classic only event on the Nepean Calendar so it's not as if there was not sufficient notice given. Regardless of promotion you would have to be oblivious of the sport to not know it was on. Therefore if you can't be arsed to enter it doesn't really help to complain about the meeting.

CoP run their events with a small but extremely dedicated group of people. You only have to look at the success of the normal club rounds to understand that these people do an outstanding job at running BIG meetings.

To say the club has a serious attitude problem because they feel that the event was a success, despite a smaller than what you would like to see roll up, is just plain wrong. Instead of placing blame squarely on the club I reckon you might need to have a serious look at those who left bikes parked in the shed for the weekend and perhaps ask what could have been done to help build participation at the meeting.

There were a number of guy's there riding a classic bike at dirt track for the first time including both young and not so young. Every one of them I spoke to said they were having a great time. A particularly quick one of them is now looking for a classic bike after being given a ride by a Northern Districts member on one of his bikes for the weekend.

This is growth of the sport happening as a result of this event.

I too would love to see full fields of sliders, 2V or 4V I don't care as well as Pre '60 and '65 bikes. But I am a realist and know that if the people who own them now are not willing to get them out and ride it is most likely that they are destined to eventually be lost to just a memory. The new blood of the sport can't be expected to hold the same passion for the old iron.

After 2 big days of riding I was pleased with an early finish. From the 2 hour practice on Saturday plus the 25 lappers. To riding 3 classes each with three rounds, plus one class holding a final, plus 2 'novelty races' at the end of the day I did around 160 laps of the track and was well and truly satisfied. Then to be able to arrive home after presentation and back the trailer in to my drive in daylight capped off a sensational weekend.

Sorry to get on a rant but I just don't like seeing people who put in and put on an event have shots taken at them from the sidelines.

Shaun

[Grasy 6]

Great to see a good roll up of competitors at the Charity Meeting (blessed with great weather). Great to see Kevin Horton back on the scene . Always a great meeting & fire drum yarns. Well done Roy & the committee.

[firko]

I think you may have misunderstood what I meant by 'attitude' Shaun. I know quite well the work that Penrith club put into the sport.....I can't fault their work ethic one bit. What I meant by "attitude" (which on reflection isn't the word I should have used) was acceptance that the meeting on Sunday was a great meeting when, compared to previous events, it clearly wasn't. I'll stick to my original opinion and still say that it was flat and devoid of atmosphere. I understand that the racers let the event down but is anyone within the club hierarchy concerned at the drastic drop in entries or does the club hold to the old Aussie cop out, "She'll be right"?  I've done my ''mea culpa'' for not competing and I can back a couple of other mates for their absence through personal pressures but surely there's a reason for classic dirt track to take such a huge dump in entries in recent times? If I was back at the helm at Penrith I'd be working hard to right the situation above everything else. If it wasn't for vintage racing Penrith Club might well have shrivelled up and died in the late 80's....I hope that's not being forgotten. I'll be doing my level best to try and get as many of my old racing mates (and myself) to come back at future events....I only hope others can also see fit to return to the fold as well.

[Purple Dave]

After 34 years out of the saddle, I had a great time, meeting up with some OLD combatants and fellow forum members......the meeting was probably a week or two too early for my bike, as we still haven't sorted out the correct carby settings.....I think everyone that attended the Saturday night BONFIRE DRINK enjoyed themselves and I hope Roy enjoyed his Black Sambucca before bed......I know I did......The meeting ran like clockwork, thanks to all involved........Expect a competitive performance from me next time.......I'm feeling fitter already......pushing an SC 500 around the pits for 2 days is the key to fitness !!!

[Purple Dave]

Even though THE BEAST was Pinging its head off, I got a few laps in...........