Yesterday morning (March 20, 2014) news leaked to the media via some teams that the series that we have all come to know as the Red Bull Pro Nationals would not happen in 2014. It confirmed what may in the industry have suspected was only a matter of time.
Reaction to the news has been mixed with plenty of sympathy on the official Red Bull Pro Nationals Facebook page. But there has been some concern over paid registration fees.
E22 Sports Managing Director, Matt Bates is now doing his best to reassure teams that they will be able to get full refunds.
A short letter with (with a form) from Matt Bates’ events company explains that teams can either be reimbursed in full or they can roll their fee over for the Nationals Festival with a reimbursement for the difference.
A letter to teams yesterday from Bates expressed what a difficult decision it was to end the Pro Nationals and he went on to explain the reasons behind the break from the series.
Bates feels that the work from his events company together with partners and team owners have helped elevate the standard of motocross events in the UK. And he is hopeful that teams, riders and fans will welcome a new weekend festival to take place in June at Weston-super-mare.
Oddly, Bates chose to speculate that social media would be “awash” with criticism. If he felt so strongly that the Pro Nationals under his tenure had been so good for the sport why would he be expecting such a backlash from so many quarters?
There’s always somebody waiting to have a knock, that’s part of life unfortunately but “awash” comes off as a little paranoid.
I for one can’t wait to see what Bates and his talented team bring to motocross come June 7/8. If it’s at the level of the excellent Garmin Arenacross tour then it’ll be a must for my calendar.
