Mondello Park in 2010 will undergo an exciting overhaul
29th January 2010
Motorcycling Ireland Events at Mondello Park Set for Exciting Overhaul
Motorcycle Racing at Mondello Park in 2010 will undergo an exciting overhaul with a raft of changes designed to make the sport more accessible to spectators and competitors alike. The changes come on foot of the success of the ‘Mondello Masters’ series and will echo some of its features with an increased emphasis on entertainment and a more spectator friendly race day programme.
For all Mondello Park race meetings the sometimes confusing Clubman and National divisions will now run as one, allowing the introduction of a Mondello Park circuit championship. The new series will run over six events on at least two different circuit layouts with a mix of single day and two day events. On each day of an event the race day programme will be the same, allowing spectators to better plan their viewing. The feature classes for Superbike, Supersport, Sidecars and Two-Strokes will run at prime spectator attendance time, between 14:00 and 16:00, with the support races for Pre ’97, Lightweight Supersport, Supertwins and 125cc production running either side of this time slot. To add interest for the spectators each of the feature classes will include a grid count down with interviews and will be followed by a podium presentation.
The highlight of each day will be the grand final which will be open to the fastest thirty riders from any class competing on the day. The grand final prize fund of at least €3,000 per event will be just part of a total prize purse of over €30,000 which will include end of season awards for all classes. The top three from the final at each event will be guaranteed a place in the end of season ‘Mondello Masters’ where they will battle for an even bigger prize fund and over the course of the six events each class will compete in 15 championship rounds.
Along with the changes to the event format a number of new initiatives will be introduced for competitors. To attract new blood into the sport entries for the 125cc production races will be free to all competitors who are fifteen or under on the 1st of January 2010. To improve efficiency and accessibility of race entries for competitors, the Mondello Park office will now handle the administration for all race entries in the same way that it has for car races for many years. This should make the process of entering a race or querying a race entry much more efficient for competitors as Mondello staff will be available full time during working hours to answer their calls.
Along with the race day programme alterations some additional initiatives will be introduced. An area of the paddock directly behind the Race Control tower will be set aside for side attractions and displays with a motorcycle jumble and trade stand area also to be introduced. The final change will be in the area of race commentary where there will be changes and additions to the commentary team.
MCUI Quote:
JM Quote: It’s clear that the current format hasn’t been working for sometime and evidence of this was presented to the MCUI when discussions began. Currently the ISB Champion gets little or no recognition and this has been acknowledged repeatedly in the press. Clubman events have too many short races and are difficult to follow for the very small number of spectators they attract. If we are to ensure bike racing for future years we need to repackage the product to be attractive to spectators and sponsors alike. Once we’re happy with the format we’ll promote it and we’ll even run a free admission event, so spectators can experience the new format and decide for themselves.
The new Mondello Park Motorcycle Racing package is set to kick off at the circuit’s first event on April 10th/11th. Five more events will follow in May, July, August and September, before the championship finale at the Mondello Masters in early October.
Motorcycle Racing at Mondello Park in 2010 will undergo an exciting overhaul with a raft of changes designed to make the sport more accessible to spectators and competitors alike. The changes come on foot of the success of the ‘Mondello Masters’ series and will echo some of its features with an increased emphasis on entertainment and a more spectator friendly race day programme.
For all Mondello Park race meetings the sometimes confusing Clubman and National divisions will now run as one, allowing the introduction of a Mondello Park circuit championship. The new series will run over six events on at least two different circuit layouts with a mix of single day and two day events. On each day of an event the race day programme will be the same, allowing spectators to better plan their viewing. The feature classes for Superbike, Supersport, Sidecars and Two-Strokes will run at prime spectator attendance time, between 14:00 and 16:00, with the support races for Pre ’97, Lightweight Supersport, Supertwins and 125cc production running either side of this time slot. To add interest for the spectators each of the feature classes will include a grid count down with interviews and will be followed by a podium presentation.
The highlight of each day will be the grand final which will be open to the fastest thirty riders from any class competing on the day. The grand final prize fund of at least €3,000 per event will be just part of a total prize purse of over €30,000 which will include end of season awards for all classes. The top three from the final at each event will be guaranteed a place in the end of season ‘Mondello Masters’ where they will battle for an even bigger prize fund and over the course of the six events each class will compete in 15 championship rounds.
Along with the changes to the event format a number of new initiatives will be introduced for competitors. To attract new blood into the sport entries for the 125cc production races will be free to all competitors who are fifteen or under on the 1st of January 2010. To improve efficiency and accessibility of race entries for competitors, the Mondello Park office will now handle the administration for all race entries in the same way that it has for car races for many years. This should make the process of entering a race or querying a race entry much more efficient for competitors as Mondello staff will be available full time during working hours to answer their calls.
Along with the race day programme alterations some additional initiatives will be introduced. An area of the paddock directly behind the Race Control tower will be set aside for side attractions and displays with a motorcycle jumble and trade stand area also to be introduced. The final change will be in the area of race commentary where there will be changes and additions to the commentary team.
MCUI Quote:
JM Quote: It’s clear that the current format hasn’t been working for sometime and evidence of this was presented to the MCUI when discussions began. Currently the ISB Champion gets little or no recognition and this has been acknowledged repeatedly in the press. Clubman events have too many short races and are difficult to follow for the very small number of spectators they attract. If we are to ensure bike racing for future years we need to repackage the product to be attractive to spectators and sponsors alike. Once we’re happy with the format we’ll promote it and we’ll even run a free admission event, so spectators can experience the new format and decide for themselves.
The new Mondello Park Motorcycle Racing package is set to kick off at the circuit’s first event on April 10th/11th. Five more events will follow in May, July, August and September, before the championship finale at the Mondello Masters in early October.
