ATV "supercross"

[BlasterEaten250]

So I was sitting here thinking, bikes get a lot of publicity with the supercross series because they can pack a bunch of people into a stadium and everyone can watch the whole track at one time and it is a good set up for TV. Could this work for quads too? I'm not sure if they could fill the stadiums at first, but someday I think it could be a pretty big thing and take us to the racing level that bikes are on. Just a thought ;)

[mamaknothead]

I think this is a good idea and it would work. We need one of these promoters to start a series like the bikes have. Good thread

Back in about 2004 or 2005 there was a Pro Quad Statium series race here in Houston Texas in the Astrodome. All the big names were there at that time, Farr , Natalie, Ellis and many more. Anyway this event packed the statium with around 30,000 spectators. Reason I remeber this is our local quad org. flagged for this event. The race was awesome but for some reason the promoters canceled the series after the Houston event. I guess since the first race didnt bring the numbers that the Super Cross events bring they pulled the plug. Shame they didnt give it a chane who knows by now it may have been as big as the Super Cross.

[blacknblue#2]

montreal supercross.....happens every year and always a big deal. Ive never figured out why it aint turned into a series in either canada or america. i guess the ppl with the money still think any redneck can ride a quad . It sucks i know

[BlasterEaten250]

I mean I could be wrong, but I just have a feeling it would draw a ton of people... more than the nationals. Especially if it could get some TV time. More people watching means more sponsership money/bigger purse which means more racers and it'll only grow from there :cool:

Just a theory.

[BlasterEaten250]

I've watched some videos of the Montreal races and in my opinion the track would have to be changed a little bit in order for a person outside of the quad world to get interested. The average speed of the race doesn't seem very fast because the track is so tight. If they could open the track up a little more and make it slightly wider it would make for better side by side racing and higher speeds. I think to the average person this would be a lot more fun to watch.

[Ichoptop]

It will never happen. Manufacturers dont have the money to dump into a huge quad event since most of the money made off of an ATV is the 4x4 market. They do it for the bikes because there is a huge return for...say Honda if a Honda rider wins the series. Then every kid that year who buys a new bike will buy a Honda.
If the manufacturers wont put in the money then neither will the aftermarket nor other sponsers (Red Bull, Monster and the likes).

A great example of marketing is Monster Energy. They put together such a great marketing campaign that 1 in 5 bikes is black and gree with monster all over it. Every bro that has a lifted truck has a monster sticker on it. There are peopel wearing Monster gear that haev never thrown their leg over a bike. So a wise marketing campaign has payed off. I would be willing to bet that they make more money off Monster Gear then they ever do on the actual drink (which tastes kinda crappy).

[BlasterEaten250]

I completely agree with you, but sometimes they need to spend money to make money.

I don't really expect it to happen, it's just fun to dream about :p

[smr]

actually they used to race them at SX events in the early ninetys. They would run the course reverse of the bikes. Then all at once it stopped.

There was another indoor series called Micky Thomson series that ran quads also..it got some TV coverage.

[yellowzo3]

I believe there were a few of these quad SX races in the earlier Huevos movies. It seemed pretty cool, but I'm sure it costs a ton of money to hold a race in a stadium.

With the current state of atv racing, I doubt anyone is going to pony up the funds to sponsor a SX race. It would be awesome to see a legit setup for the quad guys though.

And if we do get back on TV it won't be on any time slot near primetime. I remember watching the races on ESPN and all of us on here were up at 9am to catch the race on tv :p

[KingpinsEx]

They should pick a mellower track in the SX series and do a pro quad invite like they used to do in motocross at Steel City. It gets alot of exposure to quads and shows they can compete with the bikes. If it was televised that may be all it needs to take off.

[BlasterEaten250]

Originally posted by KingpinsEx
They should pick a mellower track in the SX series and do a pro quad invite like they used to do in motocross at Steel City. It gets alot of exposure to quads and shows they can compete with the bikes. If it was televised that may be all it needs to take off. That would be awesome to see!

[rollie]

Montreal supercross is sick!!!!! but it's once a year, quads, bike, endurocross, and freestyle, and last year there were still some empty seats, they deff made money, but its not sold out like you'd think.

Another problem is if anyone but FELD wanted to do it i would be tough because FELD owns a bunch of dirt in each city that a race is in,and they reuse that dirt every year.

Another problem is the lack of Pros in the ATV scene right now

Another problem is there would just be one ATV class :450's so you would have to be an elite rider just to get into an event

Another problem is that arenacross is kind of a stepping stone for many riders to try out the stadium races, quads would never have this.

The last and biggest problem in my eyes is that the bikes that all the pros ride atleast LOOK SOMETHING like what you can go out and buy, if i guy see's a race quad on TV and is like omg thats sick i want one! he's going to go down to his local dealer and be like :huh wtf is this haha

I agree the best way to do it is make a class in the FELD series for ATV's. problem being the track would have to change considerably, not because the riders couldn't do the jumps, but the bikes just wouldnt have enough to come out of a corner and hit a 70ft triple, and lets be honest, if there not hitting the big jumps, no body is going to watch.

[scottproquad]

or make um with the bike supercross as another class 450s 250s pro quads all on the same track. that would be great

[motofreak2772]

I think the older montreal tracks were better for the quads. Check it out if you haven't seen it before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNVXEONEYbE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SQ0WuyyE_g

And this isn't a new idea. The problem is getting support for the idea. We would need sponsors and fans. I'm not sure how they go about renting out stadiums but I doubt it comes cheap. A lot goes into promotions and organizing the event as well. In order to do this you would need a lot of volunteers and donations in the beginning. It wouldn't be impossible though. The bikes had to start somewhere too.

[motofreak2772]

Originally posted by rollie
Montreal supercross is sick!!!!! but it's once a year, quads, bike, endurocross, and freestyle, and last year there were still some empty seats, they deff made money, but its not sold out like you'd think.

Another problem is if anyone but FELD wanted to do it i would be tough because FELD owns a bunch of dirt in each city that a race is in,and they reuse that dirt every year.

Another problem is the lack of Pros in the ATV scene right now

Another problem is there would just be one ATV class :450's so you would have to be an elite rider just to get into an event

Another problem is that arenacross is kind of a stepping stone for many riders to try out the stadium races, quads would never have this.

The last and biggest problem in my eyes is that the bikes that all the pros ride atleast LOOK SOMETHING like what you can go out and buy, if i guy see's a race quad on TV and is like omg thats sick i want one! he's going to go down to his local dealer and be like :huh wtf is this haha

I agree the best way to do it is make a class in the FELD series for ATV's. problem being the track would have to change considerably, not because the riders couldn't do the jumps, but the bikes just wouldnt have enough to come out of a corner and hit a 70ft triple, and lets be honest, if there not hitting the big jumps, no body is going to watch.
The problem would be lengthening the event with only one class. The way I see to fix this is to include a pro-am class. Another idea would be to have like 3 10 rider qualifiers. The top 3 from each would move on and then LCQ could make up for the final guy. Or instead of a Main Event have two motos. But have two sets of them and the top 5 from each moto will race together in the second moto, leaving the last 5 guys of each moto to battle out for places 11-20 in a race of their own.
I know what you're saying about the bikes and wanting to buy them but this isn't true for all sports. Look at car racing. They bring in more fans than motocross and no one complains about not being able to buy a nascar, formula 1 or trophy truck type vehicle at the local car dealer haha.
As for the track I feel the main problem is passing. There needs to be pass friendly designed tracks specifically for quads. Sections need to be designed to allow riders to pass and to prevent riders from blocking. It is way to easy for the guy in second to take the inside before a big jump and force everyone behind them to roll the jump and put himself in first place. That's just boring to watch. If they put inside berms before big jumps riders could try to make the pass from the inside without messing up the outside line. And of course a wider track would make for better passes in rhythm sections.

[BlasterEaten250]

Originally posted by motofreak2772
I think the older montreal tracks were better for the quads. Check it out if you haven't seen it before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNVXEONEYbE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SQ0WuyyE_g

And this isn't a new idea. The problem is getting support for the idea. We would need sponsors and fans. I'm not sure how they go about renting out stadiums but I doubt it comes cheap. A lot goes into promotions and organizing the event as well. In order to do this you would need a lot of volunteers and donations in the beginning. It wouldn't be impossible though. The bikes had to start somewhere too. Those two video's were really fun to watch, especially the first one!

[motofreak2772]

Originally posted by BlasterEaten250
Those two video's were really fun to watch, especially the first one!
Yeah, the track seemed pretty sweet. If only they would have put the corner after that one triple like 10 feet farther back, the racing would have gotten a lot more interesting haha.

[KingpinsEx]

I think the key is promoting it. Look at any of the national series, if you don't get on this website or the national series site, you don't know about them. The atv racing industry has a lot to learn about advertising.

[backwoodsracer]

The bikes are more fast paced in that small arena, and dont lock/pile up quiet as much and its much easier to clear/clean up when it does happen. It's just not the same with atv's id much rather watch them perform at there best outdoors on a bigger track.

[KingpinsEx]

The quads could def. do it, not saying on a pro bike track though. I ride at an indoor track often that is designed for bikes and do every jump there. Most of the jumps have very short runs ups, but the LTR does not have any problems clearing them. I don't think you have to worry about atvs piling up to much, other than on the start. And it is still exciting when they do. I love supercross, but I think indoor atv racing that "style" of track would not only be a blast, but also more entertaining to watch than the bikes with the best riders in the world competing. Maybe I'm biased but when the WPSA tour was going on, I would not rather watch anything else on tv than a sat. atv motocross race.