MOTOCROSS REVIVAL
Bringing The Past, Present And Future Together
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ccording to Webster’s dictionary, “revival” is an act or instance of reviving: a: renewed attention to or interest in something. It is also a new presentation of something old and the restoration of force or validity. It even has a highly emotional evangelistic aspect… as in the old-fashioned revival tent meetings. The forthcoming Motocross Revival meets all of these definitions, and more! Renowned motojournalist David Dewhurst has teamed with Vintage Iron founder and American Retrocross impresario Rick Doughty to take a step back in time and offer a heartfelt tribute to a magical period when talented and outspoken riders raced the most exciting factory machines ever built, while acknowledging the current resurgence of the motorcycle industry and to welcome the future of our sport into the fold… And then there is the greater cause for this evangelism: to help combat depression via the #MaxMatters mental health initiative. Dealernews joined David and Rick at Glen Helen for an inside look at what the Motocross Revival really means. “David Bailey and I had long discussions about running an event that recreated a bygone era, we were looking at the 70s, trying to make an event where it was more than just a race, it was a real ‘happening’ if you will,” says English ex-pat Dewhurst, who launched Motocross & Trials Magazine in the U.K. before coming to America to work for Cycle Guide back in the day. “It took us a long time to figure out where we wanted to do it because all the places we really hoped we could host an event of this magnitude just aren’t available. Saddleback, Sears Point, Hollister… None of those were available.” It may have been a golden era of MX, but the historic tracks that defined the era are now more than likely housing developments.
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“We ended up looking at some other tracks. But it just never worked out. David was frustrated by the whole thing and said he will continue to support the event, but didn’t have the time to deal with the logistics any longer and I kind of carried on with the concept. Rick and I have been friends for many, many years and we kind of took the concept a little bit further. It became “The Motocross Revival” and we ended up here at Glen Helen as the track of choice.” “Over the course of the last few months, it’s really starting to morph into a celebration of motorcycling,” adds Doughty. “We’re going to keep it in the dirt realm at this stage, but ultimately, we want to make this a celebration once a year of all things dirt motorcycle and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. It would be great for people that don’t even know a lot about motorcycling to come out and walk around and see all the different disciplines and bikes. “We’re hoping to have new models introduced here. If it’s got two wheels and it goes into the dirt whether it’s a STACYC bicycle or the new EV dirtbikes, we want everything here,” proclaims Doughty. “Old and new, we want all the people here and we want all the bikes here. We want it all inclusive. “It dovetails really well with what’s happened with COVID,” Doughty notes. “You know, everybody had all this free time and started buying motorcycles… you can’t even buy a used bike anymore because everybody has bought them up. They all need a place to all come together right and share that commonality. That’s exactly what this event is and what it will be in the future. “American Retroross is a club that that we’ve had going over the past 20 years and we’ve seen a big spike in participation in both 2020 and 2021. Again, having to do with the COVID effect, who would have thunk it, right? Something so horrible was so good for
