Family orientated environment the deciding factor in schedule change.
Image: Jeremy Hammer (Foremost Media).
Jimboomba and Coolum’s first and second rounds of the 2018 Australian Supercross Championship will be hosted during the day as opposed to a traditional night time schedule.
SB Promotions’ Scott Bannan, who will operate the Queensland rounds of the series, has cited that enhancing the family orientated environment of his events is the deciding factor behind the decision, dismissing any thought that last year’s light tower outage in the season-opener played a role in the process.
Bannan has likened the daytime running of events to mainstream sports which are routinely operated during the day with a strong family presence, and believes it won’t have any impact on the vibrant atmosphere that SB Promotions’ events have delivered in the past.
“We want it to be more family orientated,” Bannan told MotoOnline.com.au. “Each time we’ve run races, I’ve looked up at the stands during the last race and there are parents leaving with their kids asleep in their arms. It defeats the purpose of keeping the families there, so this time we thought we would run a day event just like motocross. [Last year’s outage] didn’t enter our heads at all.
“It doesn’t change anything – rugby league is during the day, so is soccer and cricket. We’ve sold more pre-sale tickets for this event than what we have for the last two years, so it’s all been positive on our end from the feedback we’re getting.
“I’ve put a lot of thought into it – I don’t do anything with quick decisions. Everything we do has always been a well thought-out process, and when it comes to getting families to stay and rider safety, I don’t think there is any question on it.”
The newly instated schedule will allow diehard fans to experience more riding and racing, with gates opening to the public at 10am for the initial practice and qualifying sessions, while racing is set to conclude prior to 6pm.
Jimboomba will kick off the Australian Supercross Championship on 15 September, while for the first time Coolum will host round two on 6 October.
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