National pro racer Robbie Marshall has been around the traps long a long time, has seen more than his fair share of events and now is reinvesting back into the sport by helping organise, promote and run a two-round Queensland Supercross Championship with Rob Haworth.

After hearing some rumblings about how this two-round stand-alone series is gaining some significant traction in the Sunshine State, we hunted Robbie down to get the inside word on the upcoming events.

Robbie Marshall in action during the MX Nationals earlier this year. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

First of all, Robbie, tell us a bit about this Queensland Supercross Championship we’re hearing about.

Earlier this year I saw in the Queensland calendar there were a couple of dates scheduled for a Queensland supercross race. I hadn’t heard anything about it and no-one knew what it was about.

Rob Haworth called me about it and asked if I’d consider doing one of the rounds at my parents’ property. One thing lead to another and after speaking with Motorcycling Queensland I’ve put my hand up to run one of the rounds and have a crack at running my first event.

Why did you decide to step up and make it happen? Are you the main organiser or are you and Rob Haworth halving the duties?

I’ve always wanted to run an event, whether it be a race or a freestyle competition. But there’re a few reasons why I took it on. I haven’t liked the way the sport’s been heading for while now; everyone’s always whinging about, it but no-one’s doing anything to try and change it.

I decided maybe I could make a difference and bring back an event that’s full of fun, made for the riders, and gives juniors and up-and-coming riders a chance to ride Supercross, which is a big concern in my opinion.

We all rode Supercross as juniors and nowadays there’s not really a chance for those kids to ride it, which really sucks. As far as the championship goes, Rob and I are working together with a lot of things and making both rounds consistent with the race formats etc. But Rob is the promoter of his round and I’m the promoter for the first round.

What can people expect over the two rounds?

Full-size Supercross tracks, traditional race formats for heats and finals, decent prize-money for the top five and a professional event that’s not going to cost $300 to enter. There will also be FMX demos as well as food, a licensed area – no BYO – kids rides and entertainment.

You just mentioned prize-money, which we’ve heard is pretty hefty for a small series. How did you manage to pull this together?

From the beginning I committed to promoting this event not-for-profit. Having the property with the track already mostly built has obviously cut a lot of costs compared to what we would have to cover if we were to have the races at a once-off venue.

The truth, though, is that the prize-money is coming from the rider entries. Apart from a percentage that has to be paid to the online nominations website for entries, the rest is 100% going back to the riders.

Wow, that’s awesome and it’s great to see you putting back into the sport so generously. We’ve also heard Haworth’s ride is going to feature a track that’s a full replica of an AMA Supercross track?

Yeah I think it’s a replica of the 2011 Indianapolis track! All I know is they have been working super-hard on getting the massive track built for a while now. They carted in all of the dirt for the track and have spent months piecing it all together bit by bit. I haven’t actually seen it in person, but the photos and everything are looking awesome.

What’s been the biggest learning curve with trying to organise your first-ever event?

The whole thing’s been a learning curve. The hardest part was getting approval from the council. I started the process in May and only received approval just over a month ago. In saying that though, there were some good people at the council who were great to work with and really helped me.

Kim Rowcliffe and Rachelle Houterman from Motorcycling Queensland have been a massive help. One disappointment happened last week the motocross sub-committee decided to not allow us to run a Junior 85cc class.

I was really bummed, as that was one of the main reasons I wanted to be a part of this series in the first place! Hopefully next year, if everything goes well, we can see that class brought into the championship.

So there’re plans to progress and improve the series in the future?

Definitely. We want to make it bigger and better each year. I think it’s something the sport needs and the more events we can have like this the better!

Obviously for myself, the event has to be successful for me to do it again next year; I don’t have a lot of money to put into it, so the only way to get it bigger and better is to have really strong support from sponsors and riders.

On that note, we’ve had some good support from sponsors this year already. Australian Modular Homes have jumped on board as the naming right sponsor, and we’ve had great backing by KTM, Andrews Motorcycle Products, Motorcycles R Us, Honda, LKI, HA Manufacturers, Kustom MX, Motorex, Eyes on Brassal, Twisted Clothing, Sportsman Trailers, XCarz, Manar Park, MPT and North Star Yamaha. There are others coming on board at the moment.

So, if people wanted to attend these rounds, what do they need to know?

The first round at my parents’ place will be held at 115 Northbrook Parkway, Dundas, which is 15 minutes past Fernvale. Gates open for spectators at around 9am with racing going from 11am to 5pm. Adults are $25, students $15, children $10 and a family pass is $60. It’s best to buy your tickets at www.qldsupercross.com.

Also, entries are open for riders, but they’ll have to get in quickly, as there’re only 20 spots for each class.

Fantastic, thanks mate! Sounds like it’s going to be an awesome little series. Good luck with it all.

Thank you!