Global Action Sports yesterday unveiled a new-look structure for the Monster Energy Super X, Australasian Supercross Championship, scaled back to five rounds with a brand new plan to try and raise live audience numbers at the events.

Live television won’t be happening this year, instead with each round scheduled to air a week later. In turn, GAS managing director Michael Porra has revealed that ticket pricing will be reduced – all in hope of boosting crowd figures.

There’s a mix of both NRL-spec stadiums and regional-based venues on the schedule, plus it’s expected that the unique short and sharp formats that have featured in Super X since its launch in 2008 will be back once again.

MotoOnline.com.au contacted some of the biggest names in Australian racing to get their thoughts on the series’ revamp, resulting in a host of interesting opinions from all involved.

Check out our Breaking News section for more information on the structure of Super X 2011.

Jay Marmont – CDR Rockstar Energy Drink Yamaha
I think it’s a good thing for the sport. At the moment I think they have to take one step backwards in order to take two steps forwards in the future. The last few years have been really good, but with Chad [Reed] not doing the series, everyone saw how much it kind of hurt it – he’s a big asset to Australia. Not having as many people there on the night definitely hurt. So, to get back to a few different stadiums, I think it will be good for supercross. Super X has a pretty good reputation at the moment around the world, so it will be good. Having live TV was an awesome thing for the sport, but to try and bring the fans back, having more people realise what Super X is and have them at the stadiums will help the sport. After we can do that then it’d be nice to see the live TV again. I’m looking forward to getting down to racing.

Cheyne Boyd – Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing
I understand that they want to get a bigger live audience and I agree with that, for sure. Being such a short series, just five rounds isn’t really much of a series, but I guess it is what it is. I just hope that what they’re doing with the lowered ticket pricing will drive the crowd up, because that’s what the sport needs. Hopefully they step it up enough with the tracks and the structure of the meeting to the point where they’ll want to come back the following year. I’m not sure what the majority of the motorcycle population say about the formats, but for me it’s not that great. There’s nothing better than watching a 20-lap main event – I’ve sat in the stands at AMA races and watched them myself. It’s a big build-up to one big final, and I think the depth of the field here in Australia is good enough for that now. No matter what, there’s going to be battles on the racetrack. Having the first round of the series in Melbourne, I think that will be good. For me it will be a good thing to ride in front of friends and family, especially after missing Super X last year.

Billy Mackenzie – Monster Energy Kawasaki
I’m not really sure what to make of this to be honest. I can see the reasons why they have cut back – I guess it’s maybe the one step back to go two steps forward in the long run. Going to races in New Zealand and stuff, I feel were a waste of time. It was expensive for everyone and it hurt the teams and privateers, so making it a shorter series I guess is good for people to regroup. The loss of live TV isn’t that much of a big deal, as long as people are still able to watch the races at a later time. I think it’s a sensible option for the series and the teams at this point in time. Hopefully we can generate a stronger fan base and help it grow to its full potential. It’s about the quality of tracks and the series rather than the quantity of races and figures…

Daniel McCoy – Rockstar Motul Suzuki
For a family to go it was so expensive last year, so I totally agree with reducing the prices to try and get more people to the races. With the tickets so expensive, who would want to go when you could basically sit in the lounge room and watch it for free? With it being delayed, I think it will definitely help in getting more people to watch it live and that’s a good thing. For the majority of riders, not going to NZ will be a good thing – especially for the privateers. I don’t know what the crowds were like, but they didn’t seem to have that many there. With the formats, nothing’s better than the traditional formats in either supercross or motocross. The idea is that the more starts you have, the more excitement for the crowd, but for us it’s more risk. Half the crowd wants to see the fittest and strongest riders. Like, I won a six-lap race at Parramatta last year, but really anybody could win such a short race on a tight track. I think the crowd would enjoy it either way. With the way it is now, there’s just more chances of a pile-up in the first turn for the TV.

Brenden Harrison – JDR Motorex KTM
I think it will be good if they put the money into the tracks, if they are trying to save money in other areas. That would be better for the riders and for the spectators if the tracks aren’t too small. For me the traditional 15-lap final for the Lites and 20-lap main for the Open is the way to go, same with the motocross. I think it’s important to reward the people who put in the effort with longer races. It’s definitely better for the spectators, but from a rider’s point of view, since we put our heart and soul into training it would be better to get some kind of benefit to show that we do train hard – there’s a lot of luck involved in those short races. Not going to NZ doesn’t worry me because it is an Australian series, really. It’s better for the privateers that we are only racing in Australia as well. The five-round series will be good enough, so hopefully it can kick off again and we can start building it again. I guess we need to start from somewhere, hopefully it works for them and in the future the series can continue to grow.

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