British MXGP
Almost matching World Cup status, the biggest off-road motorcycle
racing event in the United Kingdom takes place this weekend
at the newly constructed Matterley Basin circuit just outside
the city of Winchester.
Finishing touches to the circuit, which is expected to house
a crowd of more than thirty thousand people over this coming
weekend, will be made in the coming days as more than thirty
teams and eighty riders arrive to contest the British Grand
Prix and the eighth round of the 2006 FIM World Championships.
The weather forecast for the rest of this week and the weekend
is very positive and will give the site crew the best conditions
to prepare the venue for a busy event.
Organisers Bike it Promotions are expecting one of the largest
crowds of the Grand Prix series this year and a typically
British noisy atmosphere to cheer on a generous compliment
of home-grown talent. The UK’s best chance for success
arguably lies in the MX2 class. With Yamaha’s Billy
Mackenzie who won the Grand Prix of Japan three weeks ago
and is currently leading the Maxxis British Championship,
and factory KTM rider and reigning British number one Carl
Nunn. Both of these riders claimed moto wins at the 2005 British
and English Grand Prix that produced some unforgettable scenes.
Pre-event tickets sales have been extremely healthy and supersede
the figures from the 2005 British and English Grand Prix combined.
A thorough PR campaign is taking place around Winchester and
Southampton with local radio ads airing this week.
Other news emanating from Matterley is that the forty metre
squared TV screen will be showing World Cup matches on Saturday
(Italy vs USA) and Sunday nights (France vs South Korea).
A DJ and live band are booked for Friday and Saturday evenings
while a funfair will also form part of the location. The Trade
stand area is full and there will be a bus service running
from Winchester rail station and the centre of the town to
the circuit entrance.
The 807th Mayor of Winchester (England’s first capital
city), Sue Nelmes, will open the Grand Prix and also present
some of the trophies at the riders’ presentation.
‘It has been going well but obviously the intensity
of the work increases nearer the date. We had a few setbacks
with the weather initially, so the last few days are going
to be flat out,’ said organising director of Bike it
Promotions Steve Dixon. ‘It is great that the Mayor
is going to attend and shows the good level of support we
have from the local government. We have been finalising the
track over the weekend, and most of the marquees have now
gone up, and the security fencing will be erected over the
next couple of days ready for when the event starts.’
‘We hope the good weather continues and that it will
be a really exciting weekend,’ he added.
Tickets are available for purchase on the door and practice
gets underway at 10am Saturday morning.
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