MOTOCROSS REVIVAL

Bringing The Past, Present And Future Together

According 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. “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.

“Our Retrocross approach is kind of like this event in that it’s all inclusive, we have classes for any kind of motorcycle. You can show up with any age rider. We just want to pull people in, put them on a track that’s safe for them, and let them have a great time. The vibe at our races is probably the best part of it. People come, they’re happy, they go home happy. And that’s what we want them to do.

“We don’t want them to go home feeling like, ‘Hey, I’m too old for this sport’ or ‘I’m not skilled enough’ or whatever. We have had a lot more families coming out in the last two years than we ever had before, and it’s just awesome to see because they’re all in their groups and their barbecue, and they’re having a great time. It just doesn’t get any better. Part of what this Revival event will facilitate is that coming together, that reaffirming of how great motorcycling is for the whole family and what a great sport it is.

“If you don’t have these events, then I think the drop off is going to eventually occur,” cautions Doughty. “We want to do all we can to hold on to those people and then bring more people in as a byproduct of being introduced to motorcycling. It’s our first foray, but it’s going be a great event. I think with our three-year plan, we’re going to see a lot of expansion.

“I don’t think there’s any manufacturer that isn’t interested in learning to ride programs that create new riders and create new buyers. We want to work with them, and maybe have some on site activities here at our event next year and the year after that. I think that’s really important. “One of the things that I think has been a great development for new riders is that electric STACYC bicycle. When I watch Supercross and they have the ads for those little kids… tykes, two, three years old, and they’re out there ripping it up on it… you know that they get infected with the motorcycle virus at that age. And then they’re hooked. They’re in it. And we want to give everybody the opportunity to get hooked on motorcycles.”

ROAD 2 RECOVERY

There is also a Road 2 Recovery aspect of Motocross Revival. “We’re going to have a silent auction, raffles, and we’re going to have a lot of different ways that people can participate in donating to Road 2 Recovery. All these funds are earmarked for the #MaxMatters Mental Health Initiative, which is going to be working with the riders and, and the racers to help them navigate some of the hardships that they go through like depression and anxiety.

“We take care of the bones and the muscles and all that kind of stuff, but we forget about what controls at all, which is the brain and especially with concussions added to that whole mix. It’s something that needs more attention. I had a phone conference recently with Road 2 Recovery and several doctors and they actually were thanking us for putting this together so they could participate. It was very humbling to hear a doctor say thank you for laying the groundwork to where we can really get something done.

“Last October we did an event where we raised $7500 so that money is already in the pipeline. It is going towards setting up some initial treatments, an 800-hotline and some peer groups where guys can get together and talk about some of their struggles.

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VINTAGE BIKES?

Because the original concept was to recreate the Golden Era, there will be a display of Works bikes and maybe even some of the original box vans. “We have support from both Honda and Kawasaki so far,” promises Dewhurst. “They’re going to be bringing out some of their vintage factory bikes and their old championship bikes. We hope to have Marty Smith and David Bailey bikes from Honda and Jeff Ward bikes from Kawasaki on display.

“We’re going to have a huge display of vintage bikes around the track here. We also are going to have some vintage box vans and we’re going to try and set up a retro looking pit area with some of these old bikes with the box vans. Again, trying to take us back a little bit to a bygone era and recreate the feel of 1970s and 80s motocross. “We’re also lucky enough to have Langston Motorsports sponsoring a full bike show. We’re going to have manufacturers bringing out bikes, but anybody that has a bike they want to put in the bike show, there’s tons of categories that, you can enter and it’s only $20 per bike. Bring them in and sign up. Easy as pie!”

“After 20+ years of developing our formula for fun racing. we have it down to an amazing program that is challenging but family friendly, safe but exhilarating,” concludes Doughty. “Old bikes, new bikes and everything in between!” Click on the Revival poster for entries and more information:

https://americanretrocross.org/

REVIVAL

The Motocross Revival event is much more than a vintage race or showing some old bikes. It is an opportunity to make a real difference in the world, through motocross, explains co-visionary Rick Doughty. He launched the #MaxMatters mental health initiative after his son lost his battle with depression.

“Max was the impetus behind this event. It’s another fundraiser for Road 2 Recovery and their #MaxMatters mental health initiative.” Doughty gives credit to Racer X Publisher Davey Coombs. “Davey said ‘hey, there’s a video that you really need to see… it’s called Revival and it was done by Fox Canada, Husqvarna Canada, Oakley, Shift MX and some other folks up there.’

“It is a story about a father and a son — not unlike my son and I — as he was battling depression. He attempted to take his life, but his father luckily was able to intervene at the last minute. Revival is his story of coming back from all that. And it was obviously near and dear to my heart and very emotional. The fact that it was called Revival and David had mentioned this whole revival concept that he and David Bailey were working on, I thought, thanks Max, you put those two things together for me. And now we’re going to do something with it.”

“Mental health issues affect millions of people worldwide,” notes filmmaker Joel Kim. “There was a time when Greg thought his own issues may bring his life to an early end. Fortunately, through sport, family, and a lot of hard work, Greg has moved on and found the light at the end of a long tunnel of darkness. Come along for a ride as one man finds his happiness again through the sport of motocross.”

Check out REVIVAL | A Motocross Video with a Message for Mental Health Awareness here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NIX__XlZvM

MOTOCROSS THE GOLDEN ERA

David Dewhurst has spent the past year writing a book on it, Motocross The Golden Era, “It’s coming along slowly, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel. I’m hoping to have it out ready for Christmas this year. I have finished 12 chapters, I’ve still got eight or nine more to go. But we’re well on the way.”

You can check the progress at the website, he adds. “If you go on there, you can subscribe and I send out a monthly newsletter and give away T-shirts and photographs… everything keeps you up to date on what’s happening with the book and motorcycling in general is there.” Between the twin labors of love with the book and the Revival event Dewhurst is in his happy place.

“We really love what we’re doing right now. I appreciate the opportunity to do this. It sounds a little pompous maybe, but it really is an opportunity to give back to the sport which has given both of us so much. I mean, it’s given us everything basically.”

“As Rick says, it is such a broad aspect of motorcycling, not some little narrow focus thing. And we hope we can generate this new enthusiasm for a sport which is almost split. We’ve got all these bikes in the background, brand new modern bikes and we’ve got all the vintage guys. We’re hoping to bring everybody together and just make it into a giant event every year.”