BDBGoalie Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 Sorry, I meant in addition to taping.As far as the bike starting I guess I'll find that out when I'm home next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 (edited) in truth, it is $20 if you arrive for the start of the race day if it were WERA. That may have changed, but that is what it used to be and then $10 at noon or halfway through the day and $10 for spectators...I don't like paying a gate fee for WERA either. What other amateur sporting event do you pay to attend? AMA pro racing barely draws a paying crowd. The notion that you can build a fan base with $10 gate fees is silly and bad for the sport. If AMA pro were as popular as the NFL, then you could get away with charging High school football prices for amateur events. But this isn't high school football where all the parents, students, and the townies show up each week. I will pay the gate fees because I have to, but whether it is the track's fault or not, fewer people are being exposed to road racing because the fees. If you get everyone's kid out racing, then yeah, you'll get their parents to pay. Until then, I think it does more harm than good. Edited April 17, 2012 by redkow97 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moto-Brian Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 I don't like paying a gate fee for WERA either. What other amateur sporting event do you pay to attend? AMA pro racing barely draws a paying crowd. The notion that you can build a fan base with $10 gate fees is silly and bad for the sport. If AMA pro were as popular as the NFL, then you could get away with charging High school football prices for amateur events. But this isn't high school football where all the parents, students, and the townies show up each week. I will pay the gate fees because I have to, but whether it is the track's fault or not, fewer people are being exposed to road racing because the fees. If you get everyone's kid out racing, then yeah, you'll get their parents to pay. Until then, I think it does more harm than good.Dude, you are so off base that it is funny. I don't mean to make you sound like you don't know what you are talking about, but EVERY Amateur sporting event related to racing is a pay event. You CANNOT compare racing to ball sports. But, if you want to, there are fees to play in every system around the US. My kid plays to pay in everything he does. Tell me why he has to pay hundreds of bucks to play a single sport? Same reasons...AMA Pro Racing BARELY pulls a paying crowd? WHAT???? SERIOUS??? 10k to 30k plus of fans attend every AMA Pro Road Race event on the circuit. AMA Pro Racing SX? Have you looked at any stadium that is filled lately since say, 1970? Really??? Barely isn't the word I would use. THEN... THEN to compare to the NFL... Here's the bottom line. The sport is expensive. If Johnny wants to play a baseball game in localville, USA and there are what, 2-3 people per player that shows to watch, you have maybe 70-100 people watching in a public park with the ability to come and go and watch from anywhere. Same with playing Midget League football or soccer at a field in a park.High school is a pay to watch event. Fenced in, students still pay, parents, etc. What, maybe a couple of thousand people attend? Do you bitch because you have to pay to get in? Players do not, but again, each of those kids have had to pay to play that sport. They don't get to keep their helmets, they don't get to keep anything. In some cases, not even their jerseys. You as a parent could be considered the player as you are paying to have them play and THEN you have to pay to get into the field to watch your son play. Every game...Road racing isn't a sport that is played in a field behind a City Water Station. It isn't a sport ran in a public park. The INSURANCE for one race alone is more than what it costs to run even a top tier High school baseball team for a whole season. You can avoid the gate fees by pulling your car along side the road out front and watch from the fence. That saves $10.First and foremost, these organizations DO NOT - repeat - DO NOT cater nor wish to really attract spectators. Reason being is the insurance. But, that $10 helps with a shit load of things on both paying the track and paying the insurance. Honestly, wait til the day that some doucher takes his KX85 that he brings to stroll around the pits to watch and flips it in the infield doing wheelies and breaks his neck. You think the $10 per person might come into play?As for paying to play, we as the "show" as some think it is becomes rather silly to think of that way. We are not the show. Now, you figure out how to get say, 10k people to watch us race at Nelsons and you will probably get the race org to drop our gate fees.BUT, even the AMA Pro Racing requires their guys to pay to enter. How? Race license. You pay to race with them. That fee also gets you in every event with that hard card. THEN, you pay to have a SET NUMBER of crew members. It's expensive. THEN, you are REQUIRED to have pit shirts with the set sponsors on them. That's a cost to get in and race also. THEN, you need to pay entry fees.All of this is because of a few different things on AMA's side. You can argue that if there are 30k attending Mid-Ohio for example, AMA should have enough that they don't or shouldn't have to charge Josh Hayes to race that event. They should WANT him to race and pay HIM to race. But, he races for money. In any business, guess what? You pay to make money. No different.Gate fees make sense. The guys that bitch about paying to get in? They haven't been doing it long and do not understand the behind the scenes things and certainly don't know about what goes on in other sports.Then to make it an argument that it isn't a good business model to attract new spectators and yet, that's not the intention, is another sign of being out of touch. Now, to look at it another way, those spectators are paying $10. For the amount of racing they get to watch and the length of time that sport takes in a day, they are getting more bang for the buck than anything else that costs a lot more. Don't go comparing road racing at a club level to NFL football. That's stupid. Comparing it to High School is better, but again, as exampled above, the rules are the same. The sports are polar opposites, but the end results are the same. Pay to play, pay to get in.I'm done as this is typical of new racers that feel they are the show and shouldn't have to pay to get in. I've been on that side also when I started. I couldn't figure it out. But, I played a LOT of baseball and of all the people, my dad explained that it was actually the proper way to do things. Then, Sean explained it to me when I asked and as the 18 years have come and gone, I have learned a lot about the behind the scenes stuff. You just look really bad to be on here bitching about it as it looks like MS is trying to make a buck off you in a wrong way. Like they are being greedy. That's completely off base and nowhere near what they are trying to do. If you knew the costs and knew what the risks were for this business model, you wouldn't be complaining... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moto-Brian Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 And, as far as getting more spectators is concerned, yes... The race orgs can do a better job. BUT, more people running around is more of a risk that they are going to have to use that insurance. Using that insurance can get to a point where if they use it more often than not, they can risk losing it all together. Lose insurance? We lose a place to race. Again, not the focus.What the orgs NEEEEEED to focus on is attracting more racers. More racers makes them more money and allows them to stick around and allows us a place to race. MS is doing that every year that I have seen. And, I have been UBER critical of them for a while. Last year showed me that the few times I have been racing with them even back to when Bob was around, they are better than ever before and have addressed almost every issue I have had.That's getting better. That's doing things in the interest of attracting more racers. That's the overall goal.How about worrying less about the stupid $10 gate fee and worry more about your race program and what you can do to make YOU better. Or, take that energy and try and get more racers to come to MS. I don't ever see any posts from you actually promoting MS to anyone and suggesting them they should come out and race. Instead, I see a lot of this type of stuff. Take that focus and make it positive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 Read closer. I promote the hell out of taking it to the track. Last year I brought Imprez55 and his bike his first track day. A Moto series event. As I've said several times, I understand the gate fee, I just don't like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ama146 Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 i would pay 2x the gate fee at nelson if it meant they would repave it in the future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue03636 Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 It would have to be more than just a repave. If they repave the fast guys will now be going faster and the walls will be closer if they crash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ama146 Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 i mean at one time the track was not shitty and the walls were in the same spot then wernt they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue03636 Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 yes, the 70's and the bikes didn't go as fast.Ask Brian, I think he raced back then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FurY Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 I still need to do a track day... good info here. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helmutt Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 ok...i guess ill have to check with local drag strips and see what they say...i want to do a little drag racing and some track days next year too, so i wanna find a helmet i can do it all with...may end up with another shoei if some places are finicky about not having snellI'd buy a Snell/Dot (or the like) anyway just for the peace of mind your noodle is protected that much more, and to dismiss any contention against a non-qualified helmet. For drag racing (what I've been told) you will basically need the same riding gear as required for a trackday, but with the addition of a tethered kill switch. Not sure if you can simply drill a small hole into your OE kill switch to attach a loop of safety wire that you can clip on the tether or not, but I have seen it done this way. Most tethers are mounted on the right handlebar (as not to disturb clutch lever position) and hardwired between the ignition and OE switch, and it IS a requirement for drag strips in case of a rider/bike seperation so it shuts the bike down immediately. Just check your local strip to see which they require you have before simply showing up unprepared and be denied running Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 This is just a badass documentary regardless, but taking a look at the bikes being raced (and the gear the riders are wearing) gives you an idea of how much technology has sprinted forward since the track was built.http://www.theriderfiles.com/?p=10210 Everyone who has any intention of ever riding at Nelson should watch this regardless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moto-Brian Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 yes, the 70's and the bikes didn't go as fast.Ask Brian, I think he raced back then. You're right. And, on those double shock rear ends and 35 hp bikes, we still pulled faster lap times than you do.BOOM!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moto-Brian Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 This is just a badass documentary regardless, but taking a look at the bikes being raced (and the gear the riders are wearing) gives you an idea of how much technology has sprinted forward since the track was built.http://www.theriderfiles.com/?p=10210 Everyone who has any intention of ever riding at Nelson should watch this regardless.We raced the last night event there. It was VERY sketchy. The fog that came in, the erie feeling when running in the very back area of the track, the fact that the reflective tape got pulled up in certain turns, etc. All were crazy and the track was pretty much the same as it is now.I think my fast time on the 750 in the dark was a high 1:15 or 1:16 low... That was when we had someone like Vesrah or Velocity come up behind with the lights. I think Tray pulled :12s!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue03636 Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 I think my fast time on the 750 in the dark was a high 1:15 or 1:16 low... That was when we had someone like Vesrah or Velocity come up behind with the lights. I think Tray pulled :12s!!Ok, that makes me sick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler524 Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 This is just a badass documentary regardless, but taking a look at the bikes being raced (and the gear the riders are wearing) gives you an idea of how much technology has sprinted forward since the track was built.http://www.theriderfiles.com/?p=10210 Everyone who has any intention of ever riding at Nelson should watch this regardless.That was an awesome video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSB67 Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 For drag racing (what I've been told) you will basically need the same riding gear as required for a trackday, but with the addition of a tethered kill switch.I hate tether kill switch requirements even more than gate fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollywood33 Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 I think my fast time on the 750 in the dark was a high 1:15 or 1:16 low... That was when we had someone like Vesrah or Velocity come up behind with the lights. I think Tray pulled :12s!!Holy fuck! Can you imagine running those times at Nelson in the dark??!! Jesus, that's insane... and would take watermelon sized balls.Also, that video was badass! (Now imagine running Nelson in the dark while it's raining! Holy shiiiiiiiit!!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.