This is a subject very near and dear to me, as a long time enthusiast of the sport It's a subject I have been thinking about for many years, and I have done a lot of research into the history of the sport.
When talking about Growing the sport of Motocross it gets a little complicated, it isn't the easiest conversation to have because it's easy to go down a rabbit hole or branch off into a different direction than you had originally intended, this starts to happen almost immediately in most conversations about ways to help the sport grow because there are multiple sides to the sport, so it makes a difference if you are talking about professional or amateur motocross racing and it makes a difference if you are talking about ways to grow the sport as far as more participants or talking about how to help it grow as in getting more fans and attention on watching pro racing.
Even in amateur motocross there are two sides. There are the big amateur Nationals races like (Loretta Lynn's) and there are local motocross series in most states. So if someone were to say for example, that amateur motocross racing is down in participation or popularity, or say that there are only a handful of competitors in most classes at the amateur level, that could be debated depending on the persons thoughts of what amateur motocross means, because one side of amateur MX is doing great and gets huge turnouts and full gates.
(Lorretta Lynn's and other big national amateur events are doing very well with participation)
But on the local side it is actually down in participation and popularity, vs the past.
Some people would still debate that and say in my local area it's growing and doing great, and that could be true, there are a handful of areas around the country that have a strong local moto scenes, and many places had a spike in participation during the Covid times, but unfortunately it is definitely down in participation levels overall especially comparing now to the 1970's, 80's, and 90's, and that's true even after the pandemic spike.
It's easy to see why there would be more participants at the Amateur National type races because people come together for those races from all around the country, that's not the usually the case at most of the local motocross races, even in many areas where it once was popular, its struggling now, some would even say it's a dying sport.
As someone that loves the sport and truly believes that kids get a lot from it, I would like to find ways to increase the popularity of the sport and ways to increase participation levels nationwide.
So to clarify when I say I want to help the sport of motocross grow I'm mostly referring to the grassroots local level.
However I believe that by doing that it will help all facets of the sport, a rising tide raises all ships. It's a family oriented sport, with a strong social aspect, so helping to get the sport growing locally in participation will also bring in more fans, the riders all have family and friends that are likely to come to the tracks with them and as they become fans of the sport they are also more likely to watch pro level racing as well. I also personally believe that to even fully appreciate watching motocross racing that you have to have ridden at some point in your life. It helps at the very least.
Increasing participation will also bring more money into the sport with more sales bikes, gear, safety equipment, aftermarket parts, memberships, race fee's and more. From what I've seen and know about the sport, the people that are into it are usually very into it and down right passionate about it, so by helping introduce more people to it and letting more people try it the people that do get into it are likely to become life long motocross enthusiasts.
Also if more people start to ride at the entry level even on smaller bikes many of them are likely to move up to faster bikes as they gain experience and eventually advance to higher levels, which have become the normal levels, with even some even making it to the pro level, by introducing someone to a sport they maybe never would have tried otherwise we can gain more pro riders, I believe that there is a lot of untapped potential, I think the sport of motocross is a sleeping giant just waiting to be re-introduced to the masses again. There are many things we could do to help the sport grow that aren't currently being done, things like:
Lowering the barrier of entry.
Making more affordable racing bike options, creating more entry level classes, doing a better job of Stair stepping, Creative new marketing campaigns that show relatable sides of the sport to the general public, creating new ways for people to try riding for the first time.
creating more publicity and getting the industry on the same page, So we can all work collectively towards the same goals.
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