by Andy Bowyer
Rev Up: Toronto
Thursday, March 21, 2013 | 5:25 PM
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Hello, everyone, and welcome to The Rev Up. Six rounds remain in the 2013 Monster Energy Supercross Series, and we head to beautiful Toronto, Canada, for the sixth season in a row. Before we get to that, I want to choose a different line on this week’s column. All of you take a long, hard look at this number: 60,312. The Indy SX ranked as the number-two motor sport in America last weekend—against the likes of Sprint car dirt racing, professional drag racing, and NASCAR’s Nationwide Series. While you will be hard pressed to find the official attendance for the Nationwide stock car race in Bristol, Tennessee (maybe the most popular venue in their series), it was estimated to be less than 60,000. Only the Sprint Cup race saw larger attendance than the Indy SX. That’s comparing apples to oranges, but, adding to our rich competitive aspects and points battles, the amount of fans turning up for Monster Energy Supercross in 2013 has been a resounding victory.
This is a great time for supercross. While there isn’t anything like seeing SX action in person, you can absolutely feel it while watching live on Speed. Our media effort rivals any sport, period. The reporting, photos, and live virtual offerings are outstanding. From NCAA Basketball to the NFL, NASCAR, MotoGP, BMX—or any of my sport passions—I think a fan can find the most on the web, easily and substantially, right here in moto.
A massive crowd flooded Indy last weekend.
Andrew Fredrickson photo
How about the GoPro cameras? Very soon they can revolutionize supercross with live streaming video/audio of the rider of your choice. They can actually do it now, but they don’t have a WiFi-equipped camera light enough for the racers to accept. They will soon. Can you imagine how insane it'll be to have goggle view from your favorite rider, live in HD splendor on your monitor or smart TV display? All sports are using this technology and it looks like it fits moto perfectly. You'll be able to tell when RV really gets a section or if Millsaps drills the whoops. Some amazing things could be coming soon.
I was able to attend Dallas, Atlanta, and St. Louis consecutively, and I was in the pits around 10 a.m. at each one. The coolest thing was seeing a lot of smiles on the faces of the circus unfurling their tents. The second coolest thing was standing in the press box atop the gargantuan domes and seeing them brimming with fans. The fans are the significant spoke in making our wheel spin. The core fan base of our sport is kind of gnarly, and fickle. They are hyper-sensitive and political, but they are merely the epicenter of that 60,312 I mentioned above. No motorsport fills their venue with a core fan base—they fill it with outside enthusiasts and people simply looking for a good time with their families. But, those core fans attract a lot of outsiders. Ask a core fan what they’re doing this Saturday night, and without a blink they’ll say, “Supercross, live on Speed.”
Monster Energy Supercross heads north of the border to Toronto this weekend.
Andrew Fredrickson photo
No race analysis this week. Just wanted to talk about how strong the sport seems to be in 2013.
Right now there will be 30,000 to 40,000 Canadians (no adjective needed) buying tickets to Round 11, and they will be met with a good time. Canada is a huge moto nation—they love some supercross. This is a good thing we're a part of. If you won't be one of the lucky ones in the stands this weekend, come over to www.racerxonline.com to watch, listen, and read about it.
Thanks for reading. See you next week.
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Supercross Eh!
Andy,
SX is the greatest sport to watch exciting never a dull moment. My only complaint is the short mains. SX should have timed mains 20 min plus 2 laps these 15.5 average rase times do not allow enough time for a rider to work up from a bad start or crash.
Or bring back the Semi's...... Little more race and less talk !!
Toronto is about an hour and a half's drive from the Buffalo, New York US border and about 4 hours drive from the Detroit, Michigan US border. Quite a few Yanks come up to watch as well.
The crowds seem to be big.
The problem is that the majority of people in those crowds don't race and don't own a dirt bike. That's where it hurts our sport.
Supercross and Motocross are pretty industry driven sports, unlike corporate sports like Nascar and the NFL etc etc.
We need those people in the stands to buy bikes and parts and gear etc etc. If we really want to see this sport grow.
But having a packed stadium is a great start. Just wish some of that money could help out racers and teams with expenses.
Ya buddy. I'll be there and I'm dragging along 10 others. Can't wait! And in reply to persona I do owns dirt bike. And I live in Guelph ON Canada.
Own a dirt bike* (apparently I just can't type well)
I think they should open the roof...Let all the Carbon Monoxide out... Then again leave it closed maybe half of the posters will not make it back ! LOL
AWESOME--makes me proud to be a part of that over 60,000 in attendance last week.. Heck yea.. You dont see those number in So-Cal.. so take that Feld, move some more races to this part of the country.. Red Bud is just a few hours up the road, and is the highest attended outdoor National of the year..so move some races this direction...quit taking the Nationals out West, and move some more supercrosses this way, its obvious the hardcore fans are here and the East coast..Look at Red Bud (I even heard a Red Bud chant inside the Lucas Oil stadium) Unadilla and Southwick...
Supercross = Monster Trucks to the casual fans. Owning a dirt bike to them is as practical as owning a monster truck. All they want is people flying through the air, spectacular crashes, energy drinks/beer and boobs. I do enjoy watching the races, but motocross is superior to Supercross in the minds of 90% of the racing population. I'll always wonder how many awesome outdoor championship battles we've missed because Supercross maimed the best riders.
The core fans pulling in others is also true.. My 2 sons were directly responsible for selling another 5 or 6 tickets.. They have been bringing people to the house on Saturdays to watch the races, and the day before, Friday night, they all bought tickets online off my computer and went. it was great, and those two boys very patient girlfriends will be spending this Saturday in our living room again, watching supercross live on Speed.. LOL.. Very patient girls indeed..
As a 44 year old Euro and non-american liveing in the south of England,40 miles south of London i want to thank SPEED for showing live supercross and able to watch over the internet.It make's for a good reason for staying up late into the small hours of Sunday morning (time difference between US and GMT)I remember the old days when i had to wait 3 months for a VHS release of Ricky Johmson and Jeff Ward battling it out at the L.A. Colloseum.Time's have changed for the better.
Maybe one day i will get to the state's and watch one live until then i look forward to watrching Toronto this weekend.Thanks also for the podcast's every week,yes motocross fan's over the water listen to them too.Thank's Racer X.
I organize a group purchase for Toronto every year. When you buy 16 or more tickets you can buy directly from the Roger's center and skip the Tickmaster fees. We're up to 29 people this year. It would make me fell better if some of the proceeds supported the privateers or no-factory teams.
non-factory
@persona, I don't know if you are talking about supercross in general or the Toronto supercross when you say there aren't many riders/racers in attendance. I can assure you in Toronto there are tons of riders and racers in attendance. I've been around the motorcycle business/racetracks for over 30 years and the faces in attendance in T.O. are like a who's who of motorcycling in Canada. A family reunion.
Must be leaving the race review up to me...lol
BD’s BS
The Ryans Express finally arrived at Indy. The supercross champ (RV) and the outdoor champ (RD) were only inches and mere hundredths of a sec apart throughout most of the race, ending up 1-2 at the checkers. That is what many fans had expected, when season got underway, unfortunately it took longer for it to materialize than we thought it would. I think it was worth the wait and now I want to see more of it on Speed from Toronto….
Ryan Villopoto has the red plate that the points lead brings, the most wins and most everyone on here agreeing, he has this one all but wrapped up. I have learned never to doubt RV, as he is defiantly something special, but there is still a lot of pressurized racing to go in Krunch Time. We have seen many surprises unwrapped before our eyes this season, so at least for now, let’s hold off handing him the championship trophy….
Davi Milsaps has not given up on the year’s title and is still a contender. His results may have suffered last few weekends, but his odds are probably still better now than they were at the first of the year, when no one gave him a chance to be in this position. Now that he is able to ride during the week and get back on his program that might spark the magic he needs to wind up this year the Cinderfella of supercross…
Ryan Dungey is still in it, with a chance to win it. He has done enough, to keep the title from getting away from him. With only one win, making several podiums and spending a few nights on damage control have him still in contention. He needs to win or at least finish ahead of RV soon. RD knows this and his urgency showed at Indy, passing more aggressively and giving RV all he wanted, but he will have to do more to earn this title..
Barcia and Stewart still expect to win another race, while Reed just wants to win a race. The Ausie has to be frustrated the way the season has went, untimely falls and unsettled setting have derailed him, even though he has shown flashes of his old speed. With these riders trying giving it their all to get to the top step of the podium it will have some effect on the contenders, wonder who it will damage the most. I guess we will see, maybe as early as this weekend in Toronto when the racers venture into the Great White North…
While I am always jealous of those who are attending the races each week, for now, my jealousy is temporarily suspended. With the races headed north across the cold Canadian border, I write this, while on a business trip, sitting in a condo, overlooking the white sandy gulf shore beach of Pensacola Florida…aaahhhh…Enjoy the races everybody!!!
PS: To Trey, Dean and all the rest of the racers who are out with injury, your talents are missed and appreciated by all of us who call ourselves fans. To you, we send our Best Wishes for a full and timely recovery!!
Finally a title to BD25's "column"!
I've seen this a couple of times now in your "columns", and in true RacerX tradition, it is time to welcome you as a columnist by picking apart your spelling.
The word is definitely, not defiantly Mr. '25. Good work, and may it pour rain in Pensacola as I sit in 33 degree weather with opening day 11 days out.
@mx40...My thoughts exactly and Feld is giving them what they want, a circus of dirtbikes.
This will basically be Barcia's home race and I look for some extra motivation from him.
Thank you BD25! good article, Ya keep up the good work, As long as Supercross grows Motocross will soon follow . I know I was a piioneer of our sport but if Supercross helps that is good.
Andy-
"smiles on the faces of the circus unfurling their tents". Is that a slam on me, agreeing with me or just coincidence? I would just like to see some of that growth go towards making better racing for the racers in the crowd, better purse for the guys with no big buck contracts and better safety barriers.
Hometown race! Great seats this year and almost everyone is healthy!
Hope all the boyz stay safe and cant wait for the track party friday and then 1230 free practice all the way to the 10:00pm 450 main.
Cheers to the USA for letting us be included in this awesome series! Thanks from true fans from Canada! Full Throttle Eh!!!
While I agree with Andy that the coverage on SPEED has been spectacular this year, NO ONE is addressing the problem of what will happen when SPEED and FUEL cease to exist on Aug. 17, 2013. If it moves to CBS Sports, which it probably will, this will be a huge step backwards.
persona: I guess all the millions of NASCAR fans own and drive a race car??? You sound like one of the old schoolers who can't handle the very thing the sport has been working to attain for decades. Great racing involving changing stupid rules, longer mains and such will bring money to the sport.
mit12: I completely agree.
MX40 siad: "I'll always wonder how many awesome outdoor championship battles we've missed because Supercross maimed the best riders".
I say, AMEN!
@ wstewart34
Now what do you mean by SPEED and FUEL cease to exist??? That would suck! Please clarify
MX is way more exciting than SX! By a long mile.
BD's BS is a column to read! Way to go!
@RCRDDW
Obviously you don't understand how it all works. NASCAR is the #1 watched spectator sport in the world. Backed by HUGE corporations like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Home Depot, Lowes, Sprint, etc etc. NASCAR gets paid by other big corporations like Fox and other tv stations to have their program "NASCAR racing", on their channel. Those people in crowds shop at Home Depot, Lowes, by Coke and Pepsi and Budweiser etc etc. They also drive Chevy's, Fords, Toyota's and Dodge's to the race. You get it yet?
This sport doesn't survive on the tickets sold at stadiums that money goes to Feld. This sport survives on bike manufacturers, gear companies, and industry product and a some help from Energy Drinks.,Without people buying bikes and industry products our sport suffers. I think it's awesome that the stands are packed but would be even better is if we could get those people to guy bikes, gear, parts, etc.
@Preston.
I know you do work at a national, but they're a different breed at those. I have been to many supercross races and i can assure you that at least 50% of those people are just the Monster truck crowd. Nationals are different, it's more core. Supercross is it's own entity when it comes to :fans". Nationals will always be the core of this sport.
Couldn't agree with you more MX40. Hangtown is two months away!
@bd200~the problem with SX in the east is finding a large enough domed stadium to do it in. Apparently the promoters won't do one in Detroit (or Pontiac) until they recover from their economic woes. Not sure why Charlotte doesn't have one anymore. Chicago or Milwaukee would be a nice place if there is a domed venue in those cities, and surely New York must have some place with a roof on it large enough to race in.
@BD25~When speaking of RV and RD you said, "That is what many fans had expected, when season got underway." If you go back to some of these earlier posts in the first part of the series NOBODY was talking about these two as rivals, so to say it is what fans expected is very inaccurate. All but a few talked about JS and RV and occasionally CR. Even after Dungey's win not many were convinced he would be much better than 4th or 5th, mostly because nearly everybody on here is a JS groupie or RV groupie. But what I have noticed in the last 3 weeks is that Dungey has caught the attention of many in the silent, stealth sort of way he does it.
The manufacturers , AMA and Feld should make a video to show at the SX races and on TV to show people how easy it is to get into racing at the local level. Some of the people there that don't ride might give it a try.
B-KR I am still just a fan like you, not a journalist (obviously) but I will always take help when offered so thanks for pointing that out, shows you can not always trust spell check..lol.
jw62157 True, on here Dungey kind of flew under the radar, due to the abundance of JS and RV fans, who seem to be the most vocal, plus many underestimate his supercross skills. I do think there were a lot of fans outside this forum, who thought a battle of the Ryans was coming though, after all, they have all the titles since 2010. Surely I was not the only one...Thanks for your input..and for reading my BS
NASCAR #1spectator sport is laughable! It's not even close ! NASCAR draws between 5 and 20 million a race,f1 draws half a billion! In 1996 700 million watched Jacques villenueves debut! Anyway getting back to supercross 47000 showed up last year in Toronto , making it the biggest crowd ever in Toronto for supercross . I think it's time outside the industry sponsers started taking us moto crossers serious as we are very loyal to company's that help our sport . Then maybe the privateers could earn better start money as they so deserve!
@B-KR
Actually, BD25 is "purrfikt" for RacerX because of his lack of writing ability.
Just a joke guys ... Long Live RacerX!!!!!
yeah, I always read BD25's columns and was at one point even going to ask what the title was. This time he provided one!
@BD25, all good! Keep up the good work.
@ Warren579
I don't know where 700 million watched anything when generally the Superbowl has a little over 100 million watching it. I'm seeing numbers that say hundreds of millions are the number who watch the F1 season, not a race. Maybe you meant 70 million?
By spectator sport, I think he was talking about attendance at the event. Probably should not have used "world" and just went with U.S. though as who knows what draws big crowds around the world.
B-KR Your rain mojo may have worked! As I prepare to leave this morning, on my 1000 mile drive home, it is cloudy, cool with chances of rain and I will be greeted at home by temps in the mid 30's with rain and snow mix for the weekend...
Osteo Good one!!! As they say Truth hurts...lol..
Thanks to all for putting up with my long winded posts!! Maybe I share to much, but I do have passion for our sport, to me, SX/MX are the best ones out there...
Indy had more attendance than three California rounds put together. Bring more races to the Midwest where the real fans are and f@#k four of the five California rounds.
No formula1 has close to a billion people watch the races each weekend. They were going over the numbers last week on NBC Sports. People all over the world love formula1, only America watches Nascar. Nascar is the number one viewed sport in America
@BD Bevo did the Red Bud chant during the 100% Goggle interview and I was up in
the announcer booth with Erv and spoke briefly about our Red Bud scheule and got to throw out the "REEEDDDBUUDD to the crowd. It was fun.
It's great to see everyone has an opinion, really shows passion for the sport we all love! We have a bus full of supercross fans 50 strong heading to Toronto tomorrow night, can't wait!
Will be headding out in about 5 hrs. 470 mi drive for me to Toronto.
To everyone coming to our race welcome,glad to have you ! Us Canucks are grateful to have the best riders come here and put on a great race! Ps the best restaurants are in king west,have fun.
@meankx,
A while ago, I saw a post that said FUEL and SPEED were going off the air. I didn't believe it, so I did some research. SPEED and FUEL are owned by FOX. With the new CBS Sports channel, and NBC sports Channel, FOX has decided they need to compete head to head with them. Therefore, on Aug. 17, 2013, Speed will now be Fox Sports One dedicated to ML baseball and NASCAR, and FUEL will be Basketball and MMA Fighting. MX can't compete with stick and ball.
http://www.apexspeed.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54690
@Larry --I heard it again after the race in the crowd leaving the stadium, its awesome..
@billC-- be careful and have a great trip.. Heres hoping its got great dirt and some good racing.. then get back so we can bench race some more..LOL!!!
@WStewart34--I read that on here about a year ago maybe.. This sucks, hope they find room for Supercross and Motocross.. 60,000 plus in Indy and Atlanta and they cant show the races on Tv will tick me off...Fuel cant show basketball over the summer, its over, and it wont be 24/7 MMA, so maybe we will still get it then..
@fitguy100: Hey Fitguy, a couple months back I was flying out of Heathrow airport, I think headed west, and I look down and see this insanely beautiful Supercross track below us. It was so perfectly prepped looking, like it was a factory practice track most likely, only a really really nice one, like I have never seen before. Any idea whos it is?
Thanks bd200!! I will take another RD/RV battle no matter who wins I will be happy and if Sap's and JS are in the mix even better...Then add in Barcia, Reed....OH man I Can't wait!!!
.Also i am going to try and hit a lot of Nats this year. What ones can you get to??
To BillC and the rest coming to Toronto. Have a safe strip and enjoy the race.
I just gave up 4 primo lower level seats to my brother in-law....so I could watch my kid in the provincial hockey championships. You'd be surprised how tough a decision that really was lol
Been downtown a few times in the last month to Leaf games etc....forgot how fun T.O. is. Good restaurants and watering holes. Enjoy folks.
@ BD and Bill C- come see me in the tower at Red Bud Nationals. Will be there all
week end long. Wanna meet you guys...say Hi. Try to do it the morning of the National
it gets a little busy during the event.
Ripdown LOL i know what you mean!! I could not watch a Nat live on TV last year beacuse my little girl had a dance recital But you gave up WAAAAAY more than I did. Good on you!!
LarryWitmer If i make that one I will for sure stop by!!
@BillC-- I will be at Red Bud for sure--there every year.. I am 90% sure I will got to Tennessee also this year.. To see a new track..