After the success of last year Matterley Basin in the United Kingdom will be hosting the MXGP festival for the second year in a row. Run in conjunction with the FIM Motocross World Championship, the MXGP festival is a four day action packed motocross extravaganza formed to expose the best riders in the world from all ages and genders. At the heart of this sensational event is Monster Energy Yamaha MX2 team owner, event manager and true blue motocross junkie Steve Dixon.
Question: Steve, how significant is it for Great Britain and also for you to host for the second year in a row such a successful event?
Steve Dixon: Yeah, I mean it’s critical that there is a motocross Grand Prix in Britain. The whole reason I brought it to Matterley Basin was because there was no GP at all in Britain in 2010 and Britain is one of the major forces in motorsport, motorsport in general is steep in history in England, so it is very important for us to have a GP.
Q: What kind of impact does an event like this have on motocross in the UK?
Dixon: Everybody sees it as the pinnacle event, and it obviously is. I think it could help if it had more support from the other motorcycle federations; for example they shouldn’t run an event on the same days as the GP because ultimately all riders need heroes! It is important for local riders, hobby riders, the youth of today, etc. to come and see how the GP guys do it, what they do at the GP’s now is incredible. I have been around GP’s for somewhat 24 years now and I hear a lot of guys talk about old school guys and the old school tracks and stuff, so I feel it is also important for those guys to see that the riders now are so technically advanced compared to the older guys from years ago, you know, they put more training into it now and there is more technique required, the general level now is a lot higher I believe.
Q: What kind of feedback did you receive from the public last year?
Dixon: The public really enjoyed the event; one of the biggest surprises was the little guys on the 85s and 65s and what those young riders can achieve on a GP level track that is raced on by GP riders. I think it is a really good idea from Youthstream to get all the classes together. I know off the back of last year’s GP festival that quite a few teams have looked at the younger riders and I think that it gives them the motivation and also the knowledge required to make it their career, you know, to make themselves more presentable and professional.
Q: Has there been any changes or improvements made to the venue or programme for 2013?
Dixon: Yeah, we are constantly upgrading and updating the circuit, I mean obviously the circuit is in a national park so we are a bit limited, like we can’t build permanent buildings or things like that but around that we have been upgrading the tracks; now we have a new track from the camping to the pits. We have also changed the race track; we’ve put a new jump in with a tunnel and made space for the Sky Box. There will also be a new pit lane location and we are hoping to have fibre optic internet too.
Q: How can the public make the most of their GP festival experience?
Dixon: Last year was the first year of the MXGP Festival and it went really well, we managed to take a lot of feedback which is useful to better the event this year. We’ve been working over the last two years with the council, now they have seen that we can organize a good and safe event, this gives us the go ahead to add more entertainment such as music, etc. This year Monster Energy will have a rig over on the public side allowing us to build on the festival type atmosphere. I think the MXGP festival is also a good experience for the public that are camping there, as they have the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of the great outdoors, as well as experience the action of the motocross during the day and enjoy some great entertainment in the evenings. Our goal is to gradually grow the entertainment side; I mean the British public is known to be pretty rowdy, so first off we need to prove that we can handle the public in the evening, but I am sure this year the public is going to be on their best behaviour! *Laughs*
Q: So entertainment value is looking mega..
Dixon: Yeah, Monster Energy will have two rigs, the one in the paddock overlooking the track and then like a party/entertainment station over in the public area, so I think that will be pretty good. This year there will be a lot more trade and on the circuit side of things; we have compacted the track a bit and made an impressive new jump that ought to be pretty spectacular. We’ve also put a new pad in below the sky box for Monster Energy and the VIP’s to improve the VIP experience. The pit lane has also changed place, now the public can actually see the start.
Q: When do the ticket sales begin?
Dixon: Tickets are already on sale. I think a lot of people have been waiting for the VIP camping and it’s looking good. I think another great thing about the MXGP festival is that the day after the event is a bank holiday, so after the festival they can shoot off Sunday night and race somewhere on Monday or they can relax, spend a day at the beach or something you know, it means there’ll be no stress about getting to work the next day.
Q: Where can we buy tickets?
Dixon: Tickets are for sale via: www.britmxgrandprix.com