Image: Supplied.

A new fundraising initiative has been launched by AUS-X Open and the Australian Supercross Championship organisers in a bid to support grassroots motocross facilities.

Led by co-founders Adam Bailey and Ryan Sanderson, the ‘We Are Moto’ movement has been announced in a bid to enhance safety, increase enjoyment and revamp venues Australia-wide.

“People are loving riding their dirt bikes this year more than ever,” explained Bailey. “It’s evident that, despite the COVID-19 crisis, motorcycle and accessory sales in 2020 have been incredibly strong. There is, however, in some areas a breakdown between recreational riding and competition at a local and state level. We need to focus on this area, to open the funnel for new families and competitors to get involved.

“Motocross is an incredibly fun and exciting sport for girls and boys, men and women of all ages. It creates lifelong friendships and brings families together like no other. By reducing some of the barriers to entry and making it a safer, more inviting and enjoyable environment for all, we hope to see more and more riders either getting back into it, or giving motocross racing a shot.

“This is the core of what makes our industry tick, so it absolutely deserves our focus. We’re very lucky now to have great relationships within our industry and we hope everyone will come aboard this journey with us! There isn’t a motocross or supercross champion in history, anywhere in the world, that didn’t start their competitive journey at the local track.

“The majority of our team have had motocross as a part of their lives in some way – it’s given us lifelong memories and friendships. It’s our collective job to give future generations the best possible chance at enjoying everything about this sport that makes it so amazing.”

The sport of motocross has continued to evolve in recent decades, however in this time, many of the tracks and facilities in Australia have not. This is not through the lack of passion and commitment of their clubs or members, but often a by-product of a lack of financial support and also a reliance on club volunteers with less and less spare time.

The purpose is simply to develop and improve the points of entry into motocross competition to encourage new participation of all ages to get involved and enjoy all that the sport of motocross is – a fantastic family sporting environment, that above all, is incredibly fun.

“We’re privileged to have so many incredibly passionate fans and industry partners that have supported our events since 2015,” commented Sanderson. “With a forced break in events for 2020, we see no better time to give back to the grass roots of motocross and supercross competition.

“Who knows, it may help us harbour the discovery of the next Chad Reed, Mitch Evans or Hunter/Jett Lawrence and, even better, get more people riding and racing their dirt bikes and having a great time doing so.”

AUS SX Holdings have already begun working on several initiatives that will be rolled out in the coming weeks and months, the first of those being the release of the ‘We Are Moto’ apparel range, where proceeds will go towards supporting local events and clubs in 2021.

‘Our first stop is track preparation,” Bailey added. “This is an incredibly arduous task, but so incredibly pivotal to riders’ experience on the day, no matter what the event. We have some big plans and some great businesses and people putting their hands up to help already – as they say, many hands make light work. Watch this space!’

The AUS-X Apparel ‘We Are Moto’ range will be available for purchase from www.ausxstore.com from Wednesday, 2 December, at 5:00pm AEST.