MRA SuperStreet Series = MRA SuperSuccess By MRA President Tony Baker In recent years the cost to get started in motorcycle road racing has increased dramatically, and as a result the Motorcycle Roadracing Association (MRA) in Colorado has watched the number of new Novice racers gradually decline from year to year. “We’re seeing our freshman class of Novices shrink each year, while our veterans are retiring or cutting back due to economic or employment changes, health concerns, or family considerations,” says MRA Vice President Scott Rybarik. “As a club that operates solely as a race series promoter, the only way we can survive long-term is to bring in new riders and as with the rest of the country, the economic situation in Colorado hasn’t been any help.” With this in mind, the MRA polled Colorado sportbike enthusiasts, track day riders, and even current and former racers to see what the biggest barrier was to make the jump from street rider or track day enthusiast to racer. The simple yet predictable answer was money. The enormous cost just to try racing was simply too great for most people, and so they sat on the sidelines and pondered what might have been. Consider that converting a street bike, or purchasing a used track-prepped bike, buying the necessary gear, taking an accredited race school, buying a race license, etc. can cost $10,000, even while being thrifty. And then, after committing a significant amount of time and money to get on track, the fledgling racer discovers that they are not as competitive as they had hoped, do not have the necessary time or money to continue, found racing more scary than fun and didn’t enjoy it after all, or their family went from skeptical to downright hysterical after they fell down in practice. In short, there are a laundry list of barriers preventing the typical sportbike rider from getting their feet wet in one novice race. With overcoming the above challenges as the goal, the MRA introduced the SuperStreet Race Series for 2010 and it has been a SuperSuccess! The SuperStreet series takes those rather significant obstacles out of the equation and gives sport riders a taste of real racing at only a fraction of the cost. In fact, the cost to participate in a SuperStreet Race Event is only $100! MRA Rider Rep Wyeth Jackson explains: “We’re taking the sportbike riders out of the canyons and integrating them into our existing race event schedule and giving them a chance to show their stuff in a safe environment and find out if racing is for them. Using standard track day bike preparation standards, we suit these guys and gals up, put their bike through a basic technical inspection and get them on track during an MRA race weekend. Our SuperStreet racers quickly discover that track days are great, but nothing compares to racing head-to-head for the very first time!” The $100 per event entry fee covers classroom instruction, technical inspection, on-track group and one-on-one rider coaching, starting/launch drills and finally culminates with the full-on, no-holds-barred and highly-popular ‘SuperStreet Race’! All of this interspersed throughout Saturday afternoon of the normal MRA race weekend. After completing two successful SuperStreet events the riders are eligible to petition for a Novice Race License, and so begins their racing career. The instruction and training is led by Yamaha Champions Riding School instructor, multi-time MRA #1 plate holder, and current MRA New Rider Director Mark Schellinger and his crew of veteran MRA racers. Now four rounds into the 2010 season, the MRA has had between 10 and 14 SuperStreet entries each weekend, and a number of them have already petitioned for their race license, bought a race-prepped bike and are appearing on the Novice grids. “Despite converting riders into licensed Novices, the SuperStreet class participation keeps increasing each round!” says VP Rybarik. “Spectators and veteran racers alike line the pit wall to get a first look at our future Novice racers, and the riders’ smiles after their races tell us we’re succeeding with this new class. “Clearly we’ve found a winner here. We’ve successfully bridged the gap between sport riders and road racers. Interspersing the SuperStreet training throughout our race day schedule gives the participants a true taste of a motorcycle road race event, from the racer’s perspective. Pitting them among our veteran racers has introduced them to the excitement, pandemonium, spirit and, of course, camaraderie of our sport and competitors. We believe this program is the new gold-standard for an introduction to road racing in Colorado. I’m proud to say SuperStreet is replenishing our grids and represents the future of our club!” For more information regarding the Motorcycle Roadracing Association or its SuperStreet series contact: VP Scott Rybarik at [email protected] The MRA is dedicated to promoting safe and competitive motorcycle road racing events for enthusiasts in Colorado and the surrounding area. For more information go to www.mra-racing.org or call the MRA hotline at 303-530-5678.