Ho ho ho!
Published: 13th December 2006
Author: Words by Stevie Mills Photo by Sutty
Tis the season to be jolly (apart from at the end of this month's Blarney when Stevie gets all deep and meaningful)...
Yes, it's that time of year again when turkeys get scared, fat men in red suits are popular, credit card limits become credit card targets and the local motocross dealers make bucketloads of money!
And then it's out with the old and in with the new and 2007 will bring with it fresh hopes and fears that may well change fortunes for the better over the coming months. One such change will be the by now well-documented move by Gordon Crockard from Wulfsport to PAR Honda. While it may have come as a bit of a surprise to some, take a moment and reflect on the season just past. Both Wulfsport and GC gave and received equal value in 2006. Roger Magee's team have earned their place in the GP paddocks of the world circus largely through the efforts and return to form of the Crock Star. Equally, Wulfsport created an opportunity from which for GC to rebuild his career which he seems to have done.
As GC told DBR readers in his column last month, he needs to earn money to pay the mortgage and at the same time is under no illusion that time is not on his side if he is to complete the journey that he started out on a long time ago.
For my money PAR Honda have come a long way in a relatively short period of time - investing in Crockard shows that they are ready for the move to full-time GPs and trust in his experience to prepare them for the long haul. The owner of the PAR race team - Paul Rowlands - is himself a fighter, a true motocross enthusiast, competitor and successful businessman. Paul has his sights on the bigger picture.
The Events 22 show at the Odyssey Arena was a resounding success and the crowd were rewarded with an on-form display from GC throughout the weekend - I have not seen GC ride like that for years and it did my heart and lungs good!
Robert Hamilton will work on a 'big job' next year - the move from GOMX to the highly esteemed Pioneer Yamaha squad will give Robert the best opportunity possible to raise his game. It will be a tough job but Mike Foster will get 100 per cent respect and effort from his new signing.
Martin Barr will embrace the New Year. After resigning a MX2 deal with Steve Dixon's outfit, '07 should see Martin return to the form that brought him the much-coveted Irish Racer Motorcyclist of the Year award in 2006. Speaking of which, the Irish Racer/Dirtmx awards 'Night at the Oscars' will take place at the Ramada Hotel on January 19 - have you reserved your tickets yet?
So who is in the running for the top awards, more specifically Motorcyclist of the Year and Motocrosser of the Year? To be honest, I cannot see anyone in Irish motorcycling outshining Mr PR himself Jonny Rea. This young man claimed two seconds and a third at British Superbike level but following three wins at the end-of-season Sunflower meeting after signing for the factory Honda team Jonny crashed the very next weekend and needed major surgery.
As for Motocross Rider of the Year? Well, GC's third in the British championship and two fourths in GPs must surely put Ireland's most popular and successful off-road rider in the running. I honestly can't think of anyone else who could overshadow the Perfect Season of Philip McCullough who won all four national championships in 2006. In fact, the one low point in Phil's season came in November when his farewell ride at the Odyssey had to be abandoned when he injured himself during preparations for the Belfast SX.
The annual MRA AGM resulted in the main office positions being renewed and it also passed their race format for Ulster championship days - that's two motos per class. There will no doubt be a massive backlash from riders who feel that adding the cost of another two rounds to the series while giving less 'laps per pound' is unfair. However, all the club delegates that attended the AGM will have voted in this democratic process - that's the thing about democracy, be careful what you vote for as you just might get it! The main reason cited for cutting back to the two-race format was to allow for racing to finish earlier for the benefit of First Aid and track staff. Fair play, I agree with that (these people like to have a Saturday night too)!
It's always going to be an impossible task to please everybody with so many classes, championships, competitors and personalities to accommodate on race day.
Let's take a moment and get things into perspective here. It's Christmas - a time for reflection, family, friends and hope for the future. We live in a throwaway society, one that demands instant gratification at any price - play today, pay tomorrow or the day after tomorrow will do. The majority of kids nowadays know the price of everything yet the value of nothing and I can't help thinking that somehow that's our fault.
Sometimes we all are guilty of losing sight of just what is important in life - we are indeed the lucky ones in this part of the world. If our problems are based around whether we race twice or three times a day or on which colour of motorcycle we ride, how far removed from reality must we be?
From all at Dirt Bike Rider we wish you good thoughts and this wish - may your best days of 2006 be your worst days of 2007 (oh Stevie, that was soooo beautiful - SL)!