MotoGP—It can become the biggest sport in the world, just not here.

The MotoGP World Championship is a fantastic show. Not only are the speeds and sounds awe inspiring in person, it make a perfect television product. It is made up of three races per weekend (125cc, 250cc and the “MotoGP” premiere class). Each run in a 45 minutes race allowing them to be nicely fitted into a one-hour show with a quick lead-in and some of the post race interviews.

In addition to its tidy timing, the racing is just plain great. Every class produces close racing with drafting, out-braking and multiple lead changes. Even the MotoGP class has become closer, many say as a result of electronic aids making the bikes easier to ride than their volatile 500cc two-stroke ancestors. If multi-rider battles for the lead and down-to-the-last-round championships are the result of dumbing down the riding of the bikes, dumb ‘em down more. The racing’s great.

This shows and MotoGP is firmly the number three televised sport in the world behind World Cup Soccer and Formula One auto racing. Approximately 320 million people watch each MotoGP race. Compare that to a good NASCAR event’s 10 million.

And F-1 is watching their mirrors. MotoGP ratings have surpassed the motorsports television king in some countries, even in Italy—the home of Ferrari. No doubt the close racing and multiple lead changes are influencing this. With this good racing, an easily digestible timeslot and engaging personalities like Valentino Rossi, MotoGP could become the biggest regularly-run (not every four years like the World Cup) sport in the world.

…But never the biggest in the U.S. Yes it can grow. We’ve got Americans winning races and championships. Motorcycle sales are booming in this country. We’ve got a round of the series here. The audience can only get bigger.

Put a non-motorcycle-racing viewer in front of a MotoGP race. Give them a little background: Americans, high-stakes, worldwide popularity of the sport, 200mph+, etc. Invite them over for a second round. Watch what happens. They begin seek it out on their own. By the end of the season they are biting their nails hoping Nicky Hayden gets the win.

If we can get MotoGP on network (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX) new fans like this will come. They really need a mentor—someone to give them an introduction and explanation. But put it on a channel that many homes just have on all day, and MotoGP will win over some more fans.

Get Nicky back out making the rounds. Jordan Miller from Red Bull and Nicky Hayden’s manager, Phil Baker do an incredible job putting him in front of mainstream media and talk shows in and around the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. We need a Nicky clone so that can be done year round. He’s charming and charismatic. He’s a better speaker and personality than 90% of the sports figures in the U.S. I know a number of women who fell in love with him after his Today Show piece, and subsequently fell in love with MotoGP.

If people won’t pay $75 to come see what this MotoGP thing is all about, take it to them. Get a year-old MotoGP bike. Start it up in a promotion’s controlled downtown setting. Run it up and down the street a couple of times doing wheelies. People take notice of anything that puts out 125db. Hook them, and get them to come out to the track or tune in on the TV next weekend.

All these things will boost MotoGP’s audience in America. But no matter how much good TV, American’s or money you throw at this, it will never surpass our sports stick-and-ball staples. Why? It is too foreign.

American’s don’t like to follow things seriously that happen on a regular basis outside of this country. There are no sports that make regular visits outside of the U.S. that gain the following of our beloved Football, Baseball and Basketball.

Tennis is about the only sport hanging in there with the general American fans, even though there are only a couple of major U.S. appearances. But that has seen better days of our nation’s eyes on Wimbledon or the French Open.

MotoGP can make huge audience gains here. The quarter-million viewers per round can triple or even quadruple with a little work. But don’t be offended if it doesn’t become a household sport. Even if the UFC traveled to Turkey or Qatar, American’s would probably lose interest in that too. OK, we’ll maybe not if Liddell is fighting.

So take a friend and put he or she in front of a race this season. Let’s try to bring MotoGP up at least as big as we can here in the U.S.

 

Supercross and Motocross. Quantity, quality, or both?

On the eve of Round One of the AMA Supercross Championship, we look at the incredible success of Supercross and its strong fan base. But as more riders shift away from the Summer AMA Motocross events to run a Supercross-only season, we have to reflect on the jewel-in-the rough that AMA Motocross is.

The AMA Supercross Championship has become one of the strongest two-wheel racing properties in the world due to the extreme growth in off-road motorcycle sales, the promoting prowess of what was Clear Channel and is now Live Nation Motorsports and the sanctioning of the AMA. It fills the biggest stadiums in the U.S. for 16 winter and spring weekends. It provides the strongest ratings in U.S. motorcycle racing television. It also has the most non-endemic motorcycle racing sponsorship.

One of the big reasons behind this is the great fan experience. Where else can you see exciting motorcycle racing in a comfortable stadium seat with food and bathrooms nearby in a short-but-powerful program? It is a great way to watch motorcycle racing.

Attendance has grown as the industry has too. Fourteen-consecutive years of new-unit motorcycle sales growth and more than a 400% increase in off-road motorcycle sales has stocked the pond for adding new fans to the sport.

And the majority of the fans are motorcyclists—but not all. Many are there for the show, the action, the jumps, the noise or even, unfortunately, the crashes. They go to the monster truck events at the same venue the following week. They spend money at the event, but they may not be buying motorcycles. This is not necessarily good for the motorcycle manufacturers whose Motocross/Supercross racing programs is one of their biggest marketing expenditures.

Motocross on the other hand is not the comfortable, easily-digestible fan experience that Supercross is. It takes place outdoors on a track the travels up and down the hills of the natural terrain. One seat won’t show the fan everything, and the seat is probably just a dirt or grassy hillside. It’s likely hot and dusty, a couple miles of walking are needed to see the entire track and permanent restrooms are a rarity.

So it makes sense that the crowds of the 12 AMA Motocross Championships rounds are smaller—less than half that of Supercross. And growth is there, but not at the levels that Supercross has experienced.

To the motocross fan, though, this all-day outdoor dusty hike is heaven. Where else can you see the best Motocross riders in the world just a few feet away? You can get close enough to the track to see how much clutch they are using to get out of a corner or close enough to get hit by the roost off their back tires.

What this results in is fewer people, but a more concentrated pool of fans for the motorcycle industry. To withstand the more difficult experience of watching a Motocross race, it takes someone who has an incredible passion for the sport. It takes someone who is a rider and understands the conditions and appreciates the experience.

Data shows that the fans of AMA Motocross are more likely to own a motorcycle in their household, and they own an average of one more unit per household. They make up a more concentrated group of motorcycle consumers.

So while the motorcycle-related companies that sponsor Supercross and Motocross may get fewer eyeballs in their Motocross sponsorship exposure, they are getting a more-qualified audience. They may even experience greater efficiencies in reaching these potential customers.

But although the Supercross fan is not as likely to be a hard-core motorcycle enthusiast his or herself, and while the cost for reaching each motorcyclist may be higher in Supercross, all is not lost for the motorcycle business. These non-motorcyclists may become enthusiasts after seeing a Supercross race.

And data proves this to some extent. Supercross fans are 5% more likely to purchase a motorcycle in the next 12 months than Motocross fans. Many of these fans are likely new entrants to the sport. And branding them as they enter the sport will pay dividends to the companies involved in Supercross.

For the true fans, it’s great that we have both disciplines. It means being able to see more racing. To see it in comfort from a stadium seat with the family or to get right next to the track to see exactly how the riders can get through a section effortlessly that was so difficult when ridden by the fan on amateur day.

So get out and see both types of racing this year. One is not better than the other. They are better in their own ways—for the fans, and for those marketing to the enthusiasts that love the sport.

 

2007: Introducing Hardcard

This is Hardcard’s unique and insightful racing business blog.  Each week Hardcard executives will post their thoughts and ideas about racing business.  We’ll comment on current trends, strategies and examples of how business is being done.  We’ll also provide our thoughts and ideas on how racing, and the revenue its constituents realize from it, can grow.
Motorsport is a multi-hundred-billion-dollar industry worldwide.  Globally, two and four-wheel motorsports dominate sport television ratings.  Combine NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL television ratings, and they don’t come close to the global cumulative ratings of Formula 1, MotoGP and NASCAR. 
Fans of motorsport have stronger ties and are far more loyal to their sport than that of stick-and-ball sport fans.  Fans of motorsport live the lifestyle of the sport.  They buy motorcycles or cars that represent the allegiances to teams, drivers or riders.  When was the last time you saw a football fan make a $40,000 purchase to show he was a fan of a particular team? 
Motorsports fans’ dress is also influenced by the motorsports they follow.  Whether it is an F-1 fan’s Hugo Boss suit and Tag Heuer watch or a motocross fans Fox t-shirt, Thor shorts and Alpinestars footwear, Motorsports fans dress in the styles of their sport daily—not just wearing a cheap sports team jersey to the bars while drinking with the guys.
Motorsport drives consumer allegiances and spending like no other sport.  Hardcard knows this and how to reach these fans.  We’ll help channel that spending to make your brand more profitable.
Watch this blog for thoughts and insight on racing and how you can be more successful in this huge arena.