Terex Australian Supercross Championships promoters IEG took a big step into the unknown when they made the call to hold a round of the series in Darwin over the weekend.

It was something that had never been done before, and now that the dirt and dust has settled and the riders and teams have had a chance to reflect on the first two back-to-back rounds, we hit up a few guys who experienced the event first-hand to get their thoughts.

Jay Marmont supported the concept and said it was up to the teams and riders to support it to make it work. Image: Grant Reynolds/FiftySix Clix.

Luke Arbon – Serco Yamaha Pro Lites racer
I think it was a good idea to run the Supercross alongside the Superbikes, as it widened our audience, but I would’ve much rathered a night event. Not only would it have been a lot cooler and we wouldn’t have had to deal with the heat, but there’s something awesome about riding under lights with the bikes sparkling in the dark.

The track was okay, but it was hard to make time up; everyone had to stick to the same rhythms and inside lines. I think they did a good job for what they had to work with and it was something different to the usual Supercross races we see.

Jay Foreman – Motul Pirelli Suzuki race team manager
First of all, the timing was far from ideal and it was a big rush to even get there. After working hard during the last half of the motocross season and winning the MX1 title the boys wanted to relax, but there was no time for that. It was a scramble driving back to Newcastle, building a bike, getting it tested and set up, then hitting the road again for the opening round.

While I take my hat off to Yarrive [Konsky] for putting in such a big effort and trying to place our sport in front of a new audience, I was somewhat disappointed in the event. The crowd numbers were a long way from what they expected and I’d go as far as saying it was one of the smallest crowds I’ve seen at a Supercross; it certainly wasn’t for a lack of advertising, though. I’m not sure if it was the time of year, the heat or what it was that meant the crowd fail to turn up.

I think if they were to go back there again it needs to be held at night were the track conditions are more easily managed without dealing with 37-degree heat. Supercross belongs at night in a stadium where people can see the entire track properly.

Kirk Gibbs – Motorex KTM Pro Open racer
The track was definitely long and was a mix of being open with tight switchbacks. It was pretty one-lined though, with hardly any different options. I’m not a fan of racing Supercross during the day either. It’s more of a night sport, and it was tough racing in the heat. The afternoon sun on Saturday was a joke too – we were racing completely blink up the back straight into the sun.

As for the track, it fell apart on Saturday and was basically a Motocross track with triples, but on Sunday they’d prepped it better and it held together a bit more.

I don’t mind racing at Darwin, but it’s hard to get to. As long as it’s held at night next year the atmosphere will be better and the organisers would’ve learnt a lot from this year. I’m not too bothered about where we race, as long as the track is good, the event well organised and there’s a good crowd.

Luke Arbon said he would prefer that the Darwin Supercross be run at night. Image: Grant Reynolds/FiftySix Clix.

Yarrive Konsky – International Entertainment Group managing director
Darwin was an epic, ambitious dream that the Northern Territory Government believed in. We broke a lot OF barriers and can improve on the foundation we have laid for 2013. I wanted Australia to have its very own Speed Week and by all accounts we succeeded.

As long as we make tomorrow better then we are constantly building the profile of motorcycle sport in Australia. We are the first events management company in motorcycle sport in Australia to exceed 30,000 likes on Facebook, we are constantly on the front foot of improvement and change and we are proud to increase the profile of dirt bikes in Australia. We had over 7000 viewers watching our online race footage.

The weekend past we invested over $100,000 on TV between Supercross and Superbikes and we are equally proud of that as this is only our second season as Supercross promoters of the Australian Championship. The success of the event has led to early discussions on next year’s Darwin event which will most probably see various changes to improve its viewership and desirability.

Dale Hocking – DPH Motorsports owner
My biggest concern was with how much the weekend dragged out. It was really hot and there was a lot of sitting around and wasting time waiting for our next race. We had to be there at 8am, then sat around for seven hours waiting to ride; it didn’t make sense to me.

I talked to Sam [Martin] and Boyd [Hocking] and they both said the track wasn’t watered enough and became more like a Motocross track with the amount of rocks there were in it. Josh [Hill] said to me he wished he’d had his suspension set up for Motocross and there were that many rocks out there that he decided to back off, as he didn’t come all this way to crash.

The mechanics’ area was also in a spot where we couldn’t see the track, which made it tough.

Jay Marmont – Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Open defending champion
I think one of the most disappointing things about the weekend was the amount of negative attitudes surrounding it. To start the 2013 series on such a bad footing was disappointing for someone who loves Supercross and has done well at it. A lot of people were walking around with their bottom lips dragging, but I thought it was awesome to go somewhere different and meet fans who were excited at the opportunity to watch us race.

The crowd was down on what we expected, but it’s a long day for people to be at the Superbikes and the Supercross, and it didn’t have the same atmosphere not being under lights.

I know it’s a big slog to get to Darwin and it costs a lot of money, but the Darwin government chipped in and are keen to make it bigger and better next time. It’s up to the teams and riders need to get behind it and help make it work.