Hopetoun GP cancelled?

[Flipper]

Just checked on the Veri website, and was surprised to see a note about the Hopetoun GP being cancelled this year.

Very disappointed - this event is great fun, and I was looking forward to blasting around in the sand again.

Does anyone know what's happened to cause the cancellation, and will it return next year?

[fred99999au]

Yep, me too. I only have one bike registered and I only discovered last year that is is intended for desert racing. Plenty of power but the turning circle of the titanic means great straight line stability.

Do we know what happened? It was touch and go profitability wise last year I believe, but last year was less punishing for me the the first one.

[kdx Geoff]

The new VERi committee held it's first meeting last night and the issue of the Hopetoun Vinduro was raised.

At the 2015 AGM at Harrow the issue of low participation numbers was raised by the committee and at that time it was agreed that instead of cancelling the ride for 2016, the event would be run but if the numbers remained low, it was likely it would cease to be on the calendar in the future.

There were only around 26 entries last year and this affected the viability of the event in the future.

There were 2 other issues this year also affected to ability of the event to be run, one of which was the dunes section of the ride being fenced off by (I believe) a local environmental group.

There is a solid core of riders that have participated in this event in the past, and its unfortunate that the Hopetoun ride has been cancelled this year.

There were also discussion's last night around the events for 2018 but unfortunately for those Hopetoun supporters, it is not on the 2018 calendar.

[Flipper]

Thanks for the update - very sad to hear though.

I was hoping that the later date might have been enough to encourage more entries.

The dunes being fenced off would be a huge blow too - that section was a highlight of the event, and very entertaining!

Guess I'd better cancel my booking at the campground...

[VMX247]

The dunes being fenced off would be a huge blow too - that section was a highlight of the event, and very entertaining!

One of the disadvantages of technology, is mass accessibility  of wildness areas.
The onslaught of offroad vehicles has had a big impact in the great southern of WA.
I read and see everyday areas being excluded and closed for rehabilitation.
Enjoy it while we've got it.
Cheers A

[Curtis]

Im pretty upset, was keen to put the paddle tyre on the XT500 

[80-85 husky]

paddle tyre eh?? that would have been interesting