One thing different than last year is that there doesn't seem to be any dark clouds hanging over at the moment and this is a good feeling to be heading into the new racing season with. If you remember last year it almost seemed doom and gloom as we saw the exit of the top two riders in the series and a major team that supported those two riders. It certainly was a heart breaker but the show must go on so to speak and it did. And what a show it was.
The 2011 season began with one of the biggest rookie fields in recent history. Several of the top Pro-Am riders decided it was time to make the move. The AMA Pro ATV racing was moved to Saturdays which seemed to be a big hit for everyone. It allowed the pros to come in and do their job and then Sunday was all about the amateur and youth riders. The format, the racing, the racers and the championship seemed to be a homerun.
The 2012 season begins in around two months at Millcreek Motosports Park in Alabama on March 24th and 25th. For the most part the news we are hearing seems to be on the upbeat positive side. The contingency programs from the manufactures are on the rise as Can Am has stepped things up and as always Yamaha is offering another great contingency deal. Sponsorship deals are being sealed and have been sealed and everyone seems to be at least happy all things considered. There are some that are struggling and unfortunately we may see some not get the program put together, but from what I have seen in the industry is more and more support coming back.
Another huge jolt for ATV racing as a whole is the fact that Racer TV will be back again next year and things are looking better than ever before. If you follow things in the off-road side with GNCC you may have read Racer TV Producer Jason Hooper's contribution about the big change from Versus to NBC Sports.
The following is an excerpt from that article to key you in on what great things are happening:
First, and most importantly, RacerTV will be back for another season on NBC Sports Network starting this spring. I won't lie and tell you that some of us weren't concerned that we'd get cut from the lineup during this changeover-some shows did get axed, like the awful T. Ocho Show and their Sports Soup talk show-but they were happy to have us back, which is awesome. We get emails every now and then about how we should switch to this network or that network, but the truth is it's not as simple as picking up and moving somewhere else as a lot of networks aren't openly accepting new programming.
There will undoubtedly be some programming changes aside from the RacerTV coverage with this change, and I can't promise that your favorite hunting or fishing show will still be on the network. But with the addition of major sporting events like the Olympics, and with our friends in the other side of the building in Morgantown at MX Sports Pro Racing moving the coverage of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship to NBC Sports Network, there will without a doubt be more eyeballs watching than ever before and that is an awesome thing for our sport.
As Versus, the network has been in the neighborhood of 75 million homes (for reference, SPEED is in 77 million and FuelTV is only in 26 million) so all along we've been right up there with some big networks as far as total reach. But, the battle has always been getting people to realize that they actually had Versus because they had never wanted to watch anything else on the network. Now, as NBC Sports Network, we sound more legit and there will be better programming and more viewers and I'll be driving around in a limo and no time! Okay, maybe not the last part, but you get the idea. I'll wrap this up as I'm sure you are all bored of hearing about TV numbers, but we've heard some rumblings about this being a bad move and I want to do my best to douse those flames early on.
Thanks for laying it out like that Hoops!
How huge is that? ATV Motocross may never be "main stream" but it will get a little more exposure which will hopefully broaden our fan base.
A couple of other notes for the season is that in effort to help make it more affordable for racers and families the championship is now a ten rounds rather than eleven. The championship begins a month later than last year giving folks more opportunity to prepare. And for the first time at least in a long time AMA Pro ATV Motocross will run under the lights for a night race at Ballance Motocross in Bowling Green Kentucky. This is something that should really put a whole new element into the series and hopefully the weather is good. (Please don't let that jinx things!!!!)
Another note for riders looking for a little instruction: Yamaha riders Thomas Brown, Taylor Kiser and Walker Fowler will host a one day riding school in at Dirtyfoot Adventures in Fort Meade Florida on the 21st of January. Whether you're a woods or mx rider, Taylor, Walker, Thomas and Dirtyfoot Adventures have you covered. Click here for more details.
That'll do it for now. Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.
