We are getting a lot of calls asking when we are opening, and what we are doing. We have a lot of work we want to do this season. So we wont be opening until the pro race July 1st. August 12th will be the first open practice. September 9th open practice, October 21st open practice. All events will be bike only this season. We realize it seems we are letting the summer pass us by, but the changes we are making will be worth it. Thanks hope to see you there.
O.I.R Update
- Thread starter OIR_Old
- Start date
What a way to thank all the quad riders who supported OIR last season, by kicking them to the curb. The support staff was made up of almost all quad guys, and the loyal men and women who showed up rain or shine sure appreciate the new schedule. It is hard to rank the seven deadly sins, but I'd put greed near the top...
PREDATORorPREY
PR Member
sweet
Meister
PR Founding Father
Went once last year for the pro quad day. Looked good! Hopefully with such a delay there are some real major changes.
Missin the boat (and $) by kickin the quad riders out for sure though. Specially since the style of that track suits quads quite well.
If theres worry about the track being tore up, learn from Malvern. Prep, bike motos, prep, quad motos, prep, bike motos, prep quad motos. Perfect track all day. They know how to keep a track in good shape these days..
Missin the boat (and $) by kickin the quad riders out for sure though. Specially since the style of that track suits quads quite well.
If theres worry about the track being tore up, learn from Malvern. Prep, bike motos, prep, quad motos, prep, bike motos, prep quad motos. Perfect track all day. They know how to keep a track in good shape these days..
No quads was the way to go in my opinion. Simple business decision when the Hands were pulling huge numbers of bikes regularly a few years ago and then last year a ton of bike guys didn't want to come just because the quads seemed to give it a bad name. Went there twice last year for races and the number of quads that they were getting didn't seem to be worth it to sacrifice so many people not coming. But can't wait for pro day and for practice I will be at both of them. Good luck this season!
I guess in a perfect world we could all just get along. Since we dont live in a perfect world decisions must be made, not all of them popular. My apology to Chris, of OIR, my post was not personal, it was at the direction the track took this year. You have to do what is best for you, and I understand that. I dont have to agree with it, but I get it.
SCHAFFERNOCKER
PR Addict
looking forward to it. Checked out an open practice last year and track was in good shape. Any teasers on the upcoming changes?
TimSr90
PR Addict
Do you think it might be remotely possible that the Hands moving on, and no longer being CRA might have influenced bike rider turnout at OIR just a little bit? you believe that just by kicking quads out, those numbers will magically return?
Toddco327
PR Addict
I know im not a track promoter or do i run one but for such a great place to be open only 4 times in a summer sounds like a waste. If these changes are being made they better be good and if they arent your gonna have a lot of people lose faith in the place. I was excited to ride there this year with the new owners but now to find out this.... im pretty stunned. I hope this place doesnt go the way of Loconn or any of the other great riding spots... but from the sound of being open 4 times doesnt sound good. God forbid there be rain on one of those days youll lose out a lot... fingers crossed the changes are worth the wait
The quad topic is allways rough, They are not gone forever. To defend our decsion other than our friends we really didnt have good quad numbers. All our friends and family are quad riders. My partner has raced for 20 years on quads. The general quad populatin did not support us last year. Last year being an outlaw was tough. The whole year was rough with everything we went through. We couldnt have made it through without all our friends and family who worked long stressfull hours for free. I hope to try and bring quads back, Id love to give them there own days. If you have a quad and you want tracks to ride on you have to go and support them. We arent perfect and we dont know everything. Running a track, promoting its not easy were doing the best we can. People are to quick to react sometimes. Give us time to find what will work best. We hope to build 2 tracks this year to help us better serve everyone. That will take a lot of work, so thats the reason for only for events. I hope this helps but im sure it is opening the flood gates for some bashing. Thats the price you pay sometimes. We are very thankfull for all of you that support us, and we are trying hard to adjust to please everyone. Dont give up yet, we arent. And yes Tim of course Hands and the CRA leaving made a huge impact. The Hands had a huge following and did a great job. We have nothing but respect for how they ran things. We are starting over from scratch these things take time.
I agree that the Hands moving on and the track no longer being CRA had an impact but as OIR said they didn't have amazing quad numbers regardless and after talking to many people who were dedicated to attending OIR in the past they said that the addition of quads was a major reason for them not showing up last year. Lets face it quads ruin the track and if I wanted to ride on slick hard pack I'd head to the local dirt track on a Saturday night.
Quads dont ruin a track. This topic of bike vs quad allways starts tons of bashing and negative comments. Many tracks run both and do it well, Malvern, Briarcliff and others. Someday we hope to be one as well. You must do extra prep for both, have a good layout, soil conditions all play a part. We need to respect all riders, everyone deserves there time on the track. Quad riders arent dumb hillbillys, all the bashing gets us nowhere. Support all your local tracks. In this economy just opening the gate cost money. We are so lucky to live near so many great tracks, and have so many great promotors. We need get back to what matters riding. Cant we all just get along ! lol
BriarcliffMx
PR Founding Father
The only real question is do you have whoops, and if you do, are people cutting them? How far from malvern are ya?
TimSr90
PR Addict
You are not alone in this perception, and I'm seeing the same thing at Smith Rd. I think the problem is that promoters do not have the patience, or the funding to do what it takes to BUILD a long term quad following. You can't take an institution that has operated for years and years not allowing quads, and make a post on a predominately anti-quad forum a couple weeks, or a couple days in advance and then get frustrated when turnout is low. When you decide to make a bike only track quad friendly, it requires a long term committment, and will take repeated events and tolerating small turnouts until until people learn that you are there, and trust that you will be open. Instants success will not happen. If you jump into it half heartedly, you lose both the bike purists, and the quad riders because neither will be happy.
So as a business, you have to decide whether you will be content to run as bike only, and settle for the turnout the Hands left behind, or you are going to have to break into a new market and make the long term committments to get an established reputation and build the relationships it requires to sustain a loyal following. There is no easy or magic strategy for instant success.
TimSr90
PR Addict
I'll also add one more tidbit where I think EVERY track promoter is missing the boat. There is a limited pool of MX racers, and everybody is competing for the same people, while nobody makes any serious effort or investment to bring new people into that limited pool. There are thousands of bike and quad trail riders out there who don't hang out on MX racing forums, and see MX riding as something you need thousands of dollars just to try out for a day. Who is to say how many of these people might regularly support a local practice or even get into racing if they were lured out on the track to give it a try in some low cost promotion, whether it be a very low cost practice day, or a "join the CRA and get your first race free" day, or something else aimed at getting new riders to simply try it out. And as I said before, these people don't hang out on MX forums, so they will never get the word unless word reaches them, whether it be in the Craigslist motorcycle section, the local newspaper, ATV and trail riding clubs, or passing out fyers at Off Road Rallies like Rumble on the Ridge.
I have personally brought dozens of people into the sport for the first time, and the two greatest obstacles is the initial cost of getting into the first race to try it, and the lack of opportunities to learn to ride on an MX track besides a few laps before your race or weekday evenings. Everybody knows we are racing 3 Wheelers, but the same applies. The other problem we fixed was by completing and circulating our entire year's schedule in January, instead of making calls and web postings on Tuesday night that we are racing or practicing Saturday, and we get the word our everywhere 3 Wheeler riders might find it well in advance. Of the 60 or 70 trike racers that have passed through OTC Racing, about 80% or them started at Smith Road Raceway.
Last year we managed to rustlle up 8 trike racers on short notice, long after our schedule was published to support OIR. Our racers were unanimous about including a couple of OIR dates in this year's schedule. I contacted OIR while making our schedule but it was not yet determined. I still tried to keep a date open to include them in our Battle Between the States Series in hopes of a repeat of last years opening date, right before Memorial Day so we could link it to the Smith Road Event. In May we finally get the news of NO quad races. I know it would only have been maybe a dozen or so racers, but the point is, for 2013 we won't be trying to hold days open, or squeezing venues into our heavy race schedule later on in the year because somebody "might have a quad race". My advice to any track is to get your full year's game plan in order, and get it out starting at the winter indoor races, and commit to it, and stick to it come hell or high water, and not make weekly adjusments based on turnout at the previous event. And, because you have it out in advance, you can promote the hell out of it every place you can post a flyer, or place an ad.
I have personally brought dozens of people into the sport for the first time, and the two greatest obstacles is the initial cost of getting into the first race to try it, and the lack of opportunities to learn to ride on an MX track besides a few laps before your race or weekday evenings. Everybody knows we are racing 3 Wheelers, but the same applies. The other problem we fixed was by completing and circulating our entire year's schedule in January, instead of making calls and web postings on Tuesday night that we are racing or practicing Saturday, and we get the word our everywhere 3 Wheeler riders might find it well in advance. Of the 60 or 70 trike racers that have passed through OTC Racing, about 80% or them started at Smith Road Raceway.
Last year we managed to rustlle up 8 trike racers on short notice, long after our schedule was published to support OIR. Our racers were unanimous about including a couple of OIR dates in this year's schedule. I contacted OIR while making our schedule but it was not yet determined. I still tried to keep a date open to include them in our Battle Between the States Series in hopes of a repeat of last years opening date, right before Memorial Day so we could link it to the Smith Road Event. In May we finally get the news of NO quad races. I know it would only have been maybe a dozen or so racers, but the point is, for 2013 we won't be trying to hold days open, or squeezing venues into our heavy race schedule later on in the year because somebody "might have a quad race". My advice to any track is to get your full year's game plan in order, and get it out starting at the winter indoor races, and commit to it, and stick to it come hell or high water, and not make weekly adjusments based on turnout at the previous event. And, because you have it out in advance, you can promote the hell out of it every place you can post a flyer, or place an ad.