Billed as the 'press launch' of the venue and it's facilities. I was the only one there today with a camera and notepad on behalf of any kind of publication.
The facilities are impressive and I now have a good understanding of what the business model is. However, I am still struggling to see how it will be sustainable in the long term given the scale of the venture and how many people I think are going to be visiting.
From what I saw/experienced, today was a well attended Milton Keynes club meeting with a few waifes and strays like me thrown in. The most disappointing thing was that the 1:1 BTCC was taking place 50 yards away, and yet none of the spectators found their way into moto-arena. Why? Because it's on the wrong side of the main gate and the entrance faces away from the main circuit.
They needed some nitro cars on the outdoor track to attract some attention really. There was one, which ran for a short time, but to be honest I could have done a quicker lap with a Tamiya Mini!
From what I saw little had been done in the way of marketing, pomotion and organisation for the launch - perhaps I was foolish to imagine the place full of press reporters and there being demonstrations-a-plenty?
Like I say - great facility, sound business strategy in theory, but disappointing on the marketing side of things. For this reason I fear they might struggle.
What should we do as racers?
Make use of the facilities! Whatever their plan/strategy is in business terms, there is no escaping that it's a top notch indoor racing venue for electric on road. The outdoor 10th buggy track will be OK for club/regional events - same for the outdoor tarmac circuit. For them, racing/competition is about 10% of the story - the rest is corporate events and commercial business, and for this it's a perfect setup.
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