The Fans

Published: 08th May 2008

Author: Words and photos by JP O’Connell

Whether they’re burning in the sun, shivering in the rain, choking on dust or copping a mouthful of mud, it’s the diehard fans who keep planet motocross turning…

Like it or not this off-road world of ours is about as far away from the mainstream as I am from a Pulitzer Prize. Ask your average Joe who Billy Mac, Tommy Searle or David Knight are and be prepared for a glazed look before they hazard a guess “...were they in Big Brother 4?”…

Without the diehard fans who brave all sorts of weather and traffic chaos to see their heroes at work there would be no off-road sport so DBR grabbed a random father/son combo – Guy and Luke Smith - from the snowy autograph queue at a freezing Canada Heights to find their thoughts on motocross in general.

DBR: What do you do for a living?
GS: “I’m a commercial director. Motocross is a hobby - initially it was my hobby now Luke’s taken it up.”

DBR: Where have you travelled from this morning?
GS: “West Mersey near Colchester which is about an hour-and-a-half away.”

DBR: How much do you think today will cost you if you include fuel, food and merchandise on top of your tickets?
GS: “For the two of us it will be about £100…”

DBR: Do you think you are getting good value for money?
GS: “I think we are, absolutely. For one it’s a good day out, I mean the weather’s not very good but it’s still a great day, particularly for Luke as it’s a good opportunity to watch the best riders, to see how they ride, to see how they push from the start of the race to the end of the race.”

DBR: Do you both ride?
GS: “I used to ride, in fact I recently sold my KTM250F. I had a fall last season and hurt my back and haven’t really got back into it. Luke’s just turned nine and races a KTM65 having moved up from a 50cc last season so that takes up most of my time. Luke has two bikes that I have to look after so having my own just didn’t work!”

DBR: How many meetings do you attend as spectators each season?
GS: “This is the first one we’ve been to this season as we tend to race ourselves most weekends and just don’t get the opportunity. This one came along on an off weekend so we were straight here. We are going to definitely make the effort to go to as many as possible - I’d like to get to Desertmartin for example.”

DBR: How long have you been fans of motocross?
GS: “Thirty years. My father used to scramble a BSA Bantam and he passed on his love of motocross to me. I rode, then dropped it due to work and family commitments, then took it up again…then dropped it again to support Luke!”

DBR: How far would you like to see Luke take this?
GS: “However far he wants to take it and I’ll support him. You have to be quite tough with them sometimes but not too tough. If they fall off you need to get them straight back on the bike…it’s quite hard sometimes.”

DBR: Which is your favourite national track?
GS: “Desertmartin…although Canada Heights is right up there with it, maybe just squeezed into second place.”

DBR: Luke, tell us who you are rooting for today?
LS: “Stephen Sword.”

DBR: Do you think he’ll win the championship this year
LS: “Ummm…he might!”

DBR: Put your neck on the line and give us your hot tips for the British MX1 and MX2 champions this season.
GS: “Let’s go for Swordy in MX2 and Billy Mac in MX1.”

DBR: What will your day consist of?
GS: “We try and get here as early as possible so we can take our time and really take in the spectacle and atmosphere, especially for Luke. Hopefully he can get to meet some of the riders and get to see how the teams are set up, watch the practice and make a whole day of it…whether we make it to the end of today is another thing though!”

DBR: Is it good form to pick one spot on the fence or move around between motos?
GS: “We spend a bit of time looking for a good spot and then keep going back to it.”

DBR: How would you convince someone who’s never been to a motocross meeting to give it a try?
GS: “It’s exciting, it’s people who are on the edge but having a good time. I’d tell them to come along and feel the atmosphere for themselves. It’s one of the few sports where at this level you can get close to the top people in the sport which is great and I hope it stays that way.”

DBR: Does it annoy you that motocross isn’t more mainstream?
GS: “I have to say that I like it as it is because it’s kind of niche, that’s why you can still get up close to the teams and the atmosphere is as it is. If it became a two wheel version of Formula One it just becomes way out of reach to everyone, you sit way back in the stands and I think that would be a step backwards for MX.”

DBR: As a Brit what do you think of some of our top prospects leaving for the US?
GS: “It’s unfortunate but they’re riding for a living and they’ve got to do what’s best for their career and if the best opportunity for them to progress and dominate is going to America then they’ve got to go. I don’t think it’s a decision made just by the rider - clearly they have employers, people backing them financially and so on.”

DBR: What do you think needs to happen to keep the cream of the crop here?
GS: “I think that it’s a bit of a double-edged sword. We’ve just been saying how we like MX in the UK with it not being too commercialised and you can get close up. I think the only way to keep the riders here is to make motocross bigger in the UK and I think for that to happen it would have to change considerably, meaning it became more distant from the fan and I don’t think that’s a good thing to do.”