Welcome to Quick Fill.The world is changing fast.
This week the motorcycling industry lost its backbone publication, Cycle News, which served as the nerve center for this sport since this sport began, basically. If you're a newcomer and prefer to follow things on the internet or TV, a weekly motorcycle newspaper is probably foreign to you. And for our ATV riders, Cycle News' sister publication ATV News died in the early 90s, so this probably doesn't mean much to them, either. Old-school folks are going to miss that paper, but its demise indicates a bigger change--a change in the way the world works.
Photo By: Shan Moore
The last GNCC cover for a great run.
But those days are over. The world is faster and cheaper than print can ever be--there are no paper and ink costs with with internet coverage--and the world is also more speciaized. Cycle News covered it all, motocross, off-road, road racing, flat track, you name it on two wheels, they covered it. Including GNCC racing, which grabbed two covers this year. Anyway, I don't know of a single pub or website now that covers such a wide variety of races. Road racing people, for example, have their own spots, just as the moto and off-road folks do. With Cycle News, everyone met in the middle, and I think we'll all lose out just a little without this format.
The internet has taken over, but even the form of journalism you're reading now is quickly getting outdated. Twitter and facebook updates from the riders themselves make it impossible for a column like this to offer the absolute latest information. Things are happening in real time, literally, and we're just trying to keep up.
Photo By: Shan Moore
Can Josh Strang hold on and deliver the GNCC Title?
But now I've passed those Cycle News and reporting duties off to Shan Moore. And here he is with some updates as we look forward to a return to the GNCCs soon.
Thanks, Jason. First of all, I have to say it's been a crazy week for me. I don't think there's been any official announcement yet, but most folks in the industry already know that Cycle News - a place I've worked as a freelancer for the past seven years - closed its doors on Tuesday. After 40 years in business, CN just wasn't able to handle the overwhelming pressure the current economy has put us all under. And perhaps the very thing that made Cycle News great was the thing that brought it down. Being a weekly, CN had to pay printing and mailing costs four times a month. As opposed to monthly publications, which obviously pay those costs once a month. To be fair, Cycle News also got to collect ad revenues on four issues per month, but those receipts dwindled drastically when the economy took a dump a couple of years ago. Factor in the Internet boom, where OEMs and clothing manufacturers are trying to keep a high profile on dozens of websites, and pretty soon all of that ad money starts to get stretched pretty thin. I personally think there's still a huge need for a publication like Cycle News, which catered to almost every form of motorcycle riding and racing in existence. It was one of the only publications willing to devote a considerable amount of space to the amateur racing scene, including GNCC racing, hillclimb, speedway, dirt track, ice racing, trials, local racing... you get the picture.
And for scribes like me (and I'm certainly not putting myself in the same category as any of the greats who came before me), Cycle News has been a virtual launching pad for careers in moto-journalism - including, I might add, Davey Coombs. I might even be so bold as to say that most journalists in this industry today have probably had at least one byline over the years in CN. When I was growing up, Cycle News was considered the "bible" of motorcycling, and when I travel overseas I'm still amazed at how much clout CN carries. So, at least in my household, Cycle News will be greatly missed and that weekly trip to the mailbox just won't be the same.
And now for some GNCC talk. Just TWO MORE WEEKS! Two more weeks until Unadilla, and I already have my boots, umbrella, photo vest and floppy hat - the usual photo-guy stuff - all packed up. I've been to Unadilla for the motocross, but never the GNCC, and I can't wait to see our GNCC stars on that track! Nate Kanney should have the home field advantage and he tells me he loves that track, so it will be interesting to see if he carries the momentum from his Snowshoe win into New Berlin. Josh Strang, of course, comes in with the series points lead, and will undoubtedly be ready. Then there's last year's winner Paul Whibley, who will be out for blood on a 2011 YZ450F, while Charlie Mullins will try to regain his momentum on his 2009 YZ. Should be very interesting.
Photo By: Shan Moore
Russell has his sleeves rolled up as he heads to Unadilla!
In the meantime, Chris Borich is sittin' pretty in the XC1 ATV division, holding a fat, 40-point lead over Taylor Kiser. But hey, this is GNCC and we all know how fast a good lead can evaporate, so there is still plenty to pay attention to in the Pro class.
In the ATV XC2 class, Brian Wolf has a 10-point lead over Walker Fowler in the title chase, with Josh Kirkland another eight point back. If you remember, Wolf mentioned last week that Unadilla wasn't his favorite track so this one has the potential to go down to the wire.
All of this makes for some good bench racing, but there's no substitute for the real thing, so for now I'll be counting the days to Unadilla. See ya at the races.
Photo By: Shan Moore
Can Taylor Kiser get some wins and put the pressure on Chris Borich?
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