How to Grow Fans to the Sport of Motorcycle Racing

"I would come to the track, if I had any friends or relatives that raced."

The pits are open and you would be surprised how friendly every one is. As long as you don't see them agressively working on a tasks, introduce yourself. Set a goal to meet five racers, and note what color and numbers their bike is... so you can cheer them on.
Going to the track is a great reason to get out of the house and make a memory with friends or family, so invite your friends or relatives to come out and watch.
If fans won't come to the track because they don't know the riders, riders need to go to where our potential fans are - at dealerships, events, and online (Facebook, forums) and introduce themselves and encourage people to come to the track to see racing. An icebreaker when meeting anyone is when you ask if they have ever been to a race track. That opens the door to invite them to come and watch you and others.

"It costs too much money to go."

Because they may have looked up tickets to go to the Indy Cars or some other event at the track, some people believe that tickets to get in to an OMRRA race costs the same. For a meager $10 ticket, you get full access to sit anywhere in the stands, where you can easily get in your vehicle (free parking) and drive to other stands... plus you get in the pits for free as well! Full access for $10 per person, "winner, winner, chicken dinner".

"I would come if I was invited"

We should all be regularly inviting our friends and relatives to come to the track. Even if they aren't into your style of bike, they may want to come and watch one of the event's highlights (like Pit Bike Races or Lemans starts)... make sure they are aware of the variety we have. Also remember to bring up how diverse our riders are (young, old, male, female).
Dealerships and motorcycle shops need to be regularly contacted and reminded to encourage their customers to come to the races. It isn't necessarily reasonable to think that only club management do this... rather all of the members go to these places, so we should make sure to remind members to be ambassadors for the sport when they visit. The organization needs to come up with some kind of "Fan Invitation Kit" that is available for all members. In this kit it has a few bullet points for discussion and possibly tickets for raffles, display pin ups (like 8.5x11 flyers)... and a brief instruction that tell the member what to do with the kit.

"I would come if I could see one of the bike's I really like"

We need to make sure potential fans are aware of the diversity of bikes and classes are on display at the track. As often as possible, we should get our bikes to events that are local to us (Rides Done Right brings their setup to a little festival in our town) to make sure people can see details on bikes that they don't get to see on a stock bike at the dealer.

"I heard you guys do cool mini-events at the lunch breaks - like Pit Bike Races, Lemans starts where the racers run to their bikes, and stunt 'wheelie' shows in pit lane. I would come if I knew you were doing something cool like that"

To maintain a loyal fan base, each event day should include a segment for the fans. They need to know that even if they didn't have access to our schedule to know there would be something special, that if they show up there will be something cool at the break.
Special events at each event give members an opportunity to go to their local dealer/shop and let them know the fun event that will be taking place.
Special events give members an opportunity to share the coming event on social media (like Facebook, Twitter) and post up photos they took of those events as well.

"I would be prompted to go if one of my Facebook friends shared one of the Rides Done Right videos and I could see how cool it is"

Sharing videos and photos is a great excuse to show your friends and family the cool kinds of things that are happening.
Promoters (like RDR and others) depend on exposure to grow their following. As much as racers need fans and sponsors, promoters need everyone to participate. NOTE: if a video goes viral that has anything to do with our sport, it benefits us all and gets the who/what/where info that folks need to become new fans both online and at the track.

One Lap Comparison 2:03 minutes

"I would come if I knew I could take selphies with the bikes racing in the background - can I do that?"

Selphies are allowed and encouraged. In fact when we are at the track, we need to make sure we get out our phones and let people know we are/were at the track... a great place to be. Video is even better... nothing like hearing the roar of the bikes ripping down the track to get the heart rate up and get off the couch.

"I might come if some one shared the Rides Done Right racer profile page of a rider they know or maybe a bike they know I would be interested in."

Our Racer Profiles are a great place to share online with friends and relatives... particularly when you know of bikes or people groups that they would like to see.

"I play racing video games a lot, I would come to a race if I knew there were races somewhere close to me"

Many of us have been there or are there right now... video games are cool, but the trick here is how to reach folks that haven't heard of you before. We should assume this person type doesn't go to dealers or shops, so most likely this would be through an online venue. This is where sharing photos and videos can eventually get in front of them and make them aware of what is going on.

"I would come if I won a free ticket at a dealership drawing"

We know that free to the customer isn't free to us... tickets would have to be printed (unless we gathered winner names and left them at will call), and someone (organization) has to cover each insurance tab... but we have to understand that we need to get people in the door to grow. If it is via a free ticket, we hope that they will like it enough that they will want to return - with friends. BTW: normally there should be two free tickets, since many may not go if alone (plus we would then have an opportunity to make two new fans).

"I've never been to a race track before and would probably go if I could come for free or like half price"

I'm not sure how you would validate whether it was somebody's first time, but it would be good to offer some kind of discount for a first timer to get to experience in person.
Possibly engage dealers and shops about giving out a free event pass for every sport bike (or possibly any bike) sold.

"I would come if I knew that one of the national riders was racing and wanted to see them ride or get an autograph"

If anybody on the national circuit has planned attendance, it would be wise to get the word out with as much notice as possible.

"I don't get out much, but if I was on one of the forums I frequent and heard about it, I'd probably come"

Forums (especially local - like PNW Riders) and any of the Facebook groups, are great opportunities to share that an event is coming up and any of the special event offerings that may be taking place. It is also very important to post photos from events you've attended... this could include sharing a photo from a RDR Racer profile - which would introduce them to more events, bikes, and riders.

Growing Our Fan Base