With the last round cancelled the 2022 Australian Arenacross series is done, I
reached out to series promoters Jess and Josh from Protraxx to ask about that last
round and also about the series in general.
I attended the first 2 rounds earlier in the year and covered them for the show, both good events were marred by firstly a flooded car park at round 1 and a venue watering system issue creating a dusty track at round 2. The quality of the racing though and the “vibe” of those first rounds were really good. Under lights, fireworks, freestyle, show rides and the likes of Metty and Mossy strutting their stuff, certainly made for enjoyable events.
Above – Metty giving it the berries
Here's what Protraxx had to say. Thanks, Jess for responding quickly and giving such open and honest answers.
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Do you feel you achieved what you set out to do and do you feel positive going forward?
Yes, by the last round we were very happy with how the event ran as it was what we had visioned and set out to achieve, we had managed to put together an unreal team/crew and pull off a great day/night for spectators and riders.
The last rounds venue Murray Bridge Speedway should have been the style of venue, to begin with, we learnt and will always continue to learn these things throughout our events.
Our goal was to bridge the gap between Motocross and Supercross, to make the event as close to a Supercross format event as we could, creating tracks that was suitable for all riders junior to pro. Placing our riders on mesh gates and giving the kids a platform to learn and also gain the confidence to step up into the Supercross field.
It is no secret that the supercross numbers have dwindles throughout the years and we see it with our Protraxx track building business as we build lots of Arenacross tracks for riders to gain experience and then return to the track to turn them into Supercross.
Overall and moving forward we would definitely make some changes and learn from the past events to grow.
Any news on next year’s series, how many rounds and would you go a bit further north with some rounds?
We have not confirmed what we will be doing next year yet, we have been looking at some venues and have been in discussion with Motorcycling Australia in the case we do decide to go ahead.
We have had the thought of running a single large long-weekend round or possibly two rounds, moving the locations around the country each year. For the reason of obtaining and keeping the rider numbers up. Supercross and Motocross events are different as far as obtaining entrants to follow the series across the country. As Supercross teams contain riders contracted to a team that is required to race the entire series.
The majority of our riders are everyday families, in this day and age and with the current financial crisis we are facing it is just not viable for most families to follow the series around the country.
I attended and covered the early rounds, and overall, my thoughts were positive. Round1 was great apart from the parking issues. Would you go back there? Personally, I was pissed by the time I got in, but as soon as
the action started it was all forgiven.
Oh man round 1!! (The rain bomb) there were parking plans put in place for that event, but the 60mm of rain the night before the event sent our plan out the window, that morning we did our best to move our competitors to where they were supposed to be parked but it just did not happen, thus causing your parking frustration.
No, we will not be ever returning to a motorcycle club again, the costs involved to make a motocross club meet the council standards is horrendous and a logistical nightmare to organise.
As crazy as it sounds it works out much better financially to run our events at a stadium or speedway venue. (Even with the bump in and out of dirt)
Fencing, amenities, parking, permits, staff rooms, seating, corporate rooms, garbage, Audio, ticket booths, disabled requirements, and screens, are all brought in costs at motocross clubs and the list to goes on.
Round 2 was also good apart from the dust, there was a rumour of a watering system issue in the week prior. Any truth in that?
Yes, this was the issue and an issue that kicked us down after the event
too. Running our event there also made us cement the idea of never returning to a motorcycle club.
Shame about the last round, anything on the conflicting event?
It was unfortunate that this happened. We had low rider numbers at Murray Bridge round 3 due to Junior Nationals the week before and a conflicting regional event that was postponed the week prior to round 3.
At round 3 we had issues from the neighbours where we were excavating the dirt from this set us back 2 days from bringing all the dirt in, between the low numbers and the setback we lost a lot of money financially.
We were not willing to risk another hit to the pocket, the upcoming weather and the rider numbers were all starting to become major red flags so we decided to call it leaving time for our competitors and spectators to cancel any accommodation they may have booked.
We are glad we did as now it is the week that we would be beginning to bump in and the venue is currently underwater.
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Some really interesting insight into the highs and lows of what was a massive
undertaking. I for one really hope they give it another shot next year and beyond.
Above – 125 expert pilot, Jack Deveson finished 3 rd in both round 3 and in the championship
Above – AXW round 3 winner and series runner-up Madison Healey
Here are some Championship results of note. (All available on speedhive)
AX1 1st Brett Metcalfe, 2nd Joben Baldwin, 3rd Matt Moss (Mossy didn’t attend round 3 but won the first 2 rounds)
AX2 1st Wilson Greiner-Daish, 2nd Blake Fox 3rd Kallam Orchard
AX3 1st Cooper Holroyd, 2nd Travis Olander, 3rd Brodie Petschauer
AXW 1st Taylor Thompson, 2nd Madison Healey, 3rd Ebony Harris
Go Riding
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