This week’s cancellation of the British Enduro Series was big news for UK racing.
Delivering National Series events is a tough gig and – to be fair to the British Enduro Series – their recent cancellation is nothing if not consistent with several race organisers before them in DH and Enduro.
Managing the expectations of riders and sponsors, battling the weather, picking great venues, simply getting riders to enter events … it’s an epic task that has time and again sent event organisers packing.
We grabbed British Enduro Series front man Si Paton for a chat about the fate of his race series and the state of racing in the UK. The chat happened at 9pm on the Friday night after the announcement. We’ve left the conversation pretty unedited so you can see exactly what was said.
Interview by Jamie Edwards, Images by Ian Lean and Saskia Duggon
Si, welcome how are you?
Very good thanks Jamie, I’d like to say thank you for inviting me on to explain what’s going on and hopefully give a bit more of an insight into what’s happened with the BES.
How are you feeling now the news has broken?
You know, it’s mixed emotions. There’s a huge weight off my shoulders is the first thing. I wouldn’t describe it as a burden but there’s a lot of pressure on a race organiser. There’s also the down side, I feel like I’ve let people down. I try and put on good events, we like to deliver and unfortunately due to a number of factors we haven’t been able to do what we wanted. So yeah. Disappointed.
So … what happened? Has this been a long time coming?
Well. Very interesting. We had the backing of Cannondale through CSG. Clive Gosling and those guys down in Poole were 100% supportive as the title sponsor. And so were some of the other key sponsors too and we’ve got to thank those guys for putting their money where their mouth is and delivering and signing up again for 2017.
Unfortunately though, it’s a tough time and a lot company’s budgets have been cut since Brexit. You speak to any bike shop now, the bikes are all going up in price between 10 – 20%. It’s massively effecting anybody – not just the bike market – that’s importing goods in where the exchange rate is going in the wrong direction, it’s hitting business.
I wouldn’t 100% blame Brexit though. A couple of sponsors pulled out just before Christmas. We had a real good sponsor come in with £6k in prize money which we gave straight to the riders but unfortunately they had to dip out.
“the entry numbers were super low… like really, really low”
A lot of people will also talk about the rival National series – the UK Enduro Series. And that did muddy the waters massively, that hasn’t helped at all. That’s probably been one of the main factors I do believe. That’s diluted the entries. We put a lot on, UK Enduro took half the entries. They used the same name as us 11 days after we launched and they said they were organising the British Enduro Series – it muddied the waters – sponsors thought it was the same company. We even had one guy come up to me at Moelfre who had come all the way from Leeds and spitting feathers. “I want to speak to Si Paton, I’ve been emailing,asking for a refund, I’ve not had a refund …”. There was steam coming out of his ears. He was going bonkers – I said “dude, I haven’t cancelled any events. That’s not me”.
So, we were always on the back foot with lack of entries and we thought we could push through for this year but with the lack of a couple of key sponsors it was tough. The entries went live in December and I appreciate the not everyone is going to enter straight away but the entry numbers were super low… like really, really low. In the 20s and 30s. In the first month or so you should have 80 odd people entering.
How do you make money from organising races? What does it cost?
A race costs us £25,000 to put on.
My personal model is that I try and get the race entries to pay for the actual race itself. The sponsorship money is my bonus, my wages. Most people work on that premise.
Sometimes the venues vary, you can pay anywhere from £300 to £1500 for a field – the costs do vary, travel costs vary too. The races aren’t cheap to put on.
“I know everyone thinks that the race organisers make a load of money but it’s pretty clear when you look at the costs.”
I know everyone thinks that the race organisers make a load of money but it’s pretty clear when you look at the costs. The timing and the medics together cost £8.5k. We’ve gone heavy with the marshals and we’ve always gone safety first, at least 20 odd marshals and you’re paying them £90 a piece – there’s £2k there. We’ve had a few people moan and say “I can get a skip for £160” but that’s probably your local supplier that you deal with twenty times a year. You try getting that delivered to a field in Wales.
Do people just want a good track and reliable timing?
Do they need all the bells and whistles that make a race cost £25k?
We go extra on things – we have a really nice podium with a nice backdrop, we have proper number boards, we pay marshals £90 and give them a £100 bonus if they do all 5 rounds. The marshals get nice food, the riders get proper medals from the guys at Hope. There’s certain things like those that are a bit extra.
“We don’t cut any corners.”
We want you to have goosebumps when you cross the finish line. We want you to come down that finish straight and there’s banners lining the course, you should feel like a million dollars. We don’t cut any corners. No one in the last ten years has ever said to me “you’ve tried to cut a corner”. I’ve always invested the money into the race series.
Do you think that’s what riders need for a good weekend though?
I can say ‘yes’ in downhill because that’s a successful model that’s worked.
In enduro we questioned whether there is actually room for a national level enduro series. When Steve Parr – hats off to him – took up the gauntlet and organised the UK Gravity Enduro Series there were really no other enduro races in the UK, so he had the market. It was race that or not race at all. He had a good few years and obviously the regional races came through and became more popular – which was fine and what needs to happen but dilutes it a little bit.
It’s a difficult one. I was speaking to Seb Frost from Roots and Rain today and he said to me that a lot of the guys racing are the older guys that struggle to get a full weekend off to go and race. A lot of these guys are riding one day events where they can just race the Sunday. I strongly believe that a national race series needs to be two days, it needs to be a stepping stone up to the Enduro World Series. It needs to be a bit like the British Downhill Series. You race regionals, you race nationals and it leads you on to race World Cups.
Do you think that’s what people that race enduro aspire to?
Are they more interested in riding new trails, riding with their mates, having a few beers and good weekend away rather than being World Champ?
I come from a racer’s background – I’ve raced for 20 odd years. There are people that want to race at a high level and I’ve always pitched towards them, the cream of the crop. I always say that the BDS is the top 50% of the regional riders.
You look at Chris Roberts’ Mini Enduro – he gets about 300 odd riders – he’s fighting them off. No disrespect to that series, but that’s an entry level series which is what Chris pitches it at – come along and have a go, weekend warriors. It’s a great day out.
The problem with a national level enduro event is that it’s got to push the riders. It’s got to be over two days. The pressure’s got to be on and it’s got to be on good tracks. You’ve got to test rider’s fitness. That’s what the event should be.
There’s other events out there like the Ard Rock – the Rafferty boys have marketed it fantastically, it’s still a race but it’s also an experience as well. It’s like something off the bucket list. There’s a band, there’s a big marquee, big trade stands – it’s a fantastic race. It sells out in seconds and there’s 2000 odd riders. It’s getting the bread and butter riders as well as the top elite boys and girls.
(Below – the Ard Rock Enduro was one of our favourite events of 2016 thanks to a mix of great riding and a fun, relaxed atmosphere. It’s a must-race for any rider.)
Do you see the popularity of enduro bikes reflected in the industry supporting racing, through sponsorship?
Obviously for the sponsors I’ve got on board the answer is ‘yes’.
Cannondale have done a great job, Stanton bikes came in and donated a couple of frames. They’ve gone full in. I’m not here to start knocking other bike companies out there – perhaps even some of the bigger ones.
It’s challenging times for the enduro market. I feel like I’ve let people down and I don’t feel happy about it. I do feel it’s a bit of a wake up call for some of these distributors and companies though. A lot of companies want to sponsors riders, not races.
You can put all of your money into sponsoring a race team all day long but if there’s not a platform for them to be showcased on … there’s no point is there?
You look now, there’s going to be some riders out there and shop teams or slightly bigger teams that are like “oh bugger, we were going to come to the BES and have our team highlighted there”. I appreciate they would have invested in the series through entries and pits but some of these companies need to realise that if they don’t invest in the races …
What does it take to make a National series work these days? Is it even possible?
Uh … A lot of money! We’ve got a lot of infrastructure already in place – the vans, 3 Honda generators, the podium, the finish gantry, the easy ups from Surf and Turf. Even great things like the satellite system for social media to update everyone and for emergency calls to 999. If you wanted to buy all that kit it would cost you a lot of money – £40k if not more.
It’s difficult to say. I don’t think anyone could come in new unless they had a lot of money to burn. But then the return on investment wouldn’t work. I know there’s talk of the other regional organisers clubbing together and running a round each and saying that one of their races is a national. That’s a possibility, they could do that. There’s some huge challenges but I’m not saying it wouldn’t work. I don’t know.
I wish them all the best if they do that – but for me a national event needs to be two days with all the bells and whistles. We were giving away close to £8k in prizes, with all the publicity and kudos of getting on the podium at a national event. That’s a proper national series.
What support have you had from British Cycling or the Enduro Association?
So BC aren’t involved in enduro at all – so the answer is none. But none was expected and that’s been the case for a number of years. That is what it is.
The British Enduro MTB Association – I’m a member of that. I’ve had some great talks with them. People like Kev Duckworth, Frazer at NoFuss, Chris Roberts, Charlie Williams, even Steve Parr and the likes of Dom Pearce who was our trail manager. I got a lot of great info from those guys – I had them on speed dial and they were giving me a lot of great information. They had a lot of support and I’ve got to thank those guys.
So we had a few questions from the readers via Facebook.
One reader asked if you were a bit hasty to cancel? Would waiting longer have got more entries?
Race entries wasn’t 100% the reason we cancelled. We lost money from the sponsorship which was a massive issue. The numbers were really low in December and the pressure that put on me over Christmas with the family and the prospect of going into 2017 and working all year and being lucky to break even was … well … I lost a lot of money last year, I could have bought a nice family 5 door saloon with the money I lost.
“The reality of it was that it was a lot of stress. I’ve got a family and I realised that I really couldn’t do it and things buckled.”
The reality of it was that it was a lot of stress. I’ve got a family and I realised that I really couldn’t do it and things buckled. I can’t put myself in that position and that’s probably 80% of the reason why. I just can’t do that. I was pretty sure I could make it work, i’m pretty stubborn – but the pressure I was going to put on myself and the family I just had to say ‘no’.
Another reader suggested “The only way national MTB series’ are going to survive is if someone clumps together all the really awesome regional events like ‘Ard Rock, Tweedlove and just manages the brand/marketing/sponsors. It works for rallying.”
So Chris Ball organises the EWS and he gets all the guys from around the World to help put on those events together. That works for the EWS. Someone suggested that I become the central figure and I get in all the sponsorship and branding and take the ‘stuff’ to all the regional events and sort out the ‘national’ number boards, banners, flags and all that.
It wouldn’t have to be me – but that could work. You would need that central person to standardise it. That could potentially work – that’s the way it should go rather than letting all the regional guys do it how they want. They may not be happy me saying that. That’s just my personal opinion. Look at what’s successful – the EWS approach – seems to work well.
And another commented that Enduro racing is a bit of a ‘bubble’ that’s going to burst. People are racing but they won’t do it forever, they’ll stop and go back to just riding at some point.
Do you know who Scot Breithaupt is? He died two years ago – he was the man behind SE Racing. He said “put two kids on a bike, they’ll race”. People will always want to race.
100% people will be racing in 10 years. I expect to see more Ard Rock style showcase events. It’ll still be about racing but more like a festival. That big vibe, bring the family and the kids. And those regional races will go from strength to strength in that one day, ride with your mates format. Hopefully in a 3 years time or so with all those regional events doing well the call will go out for a national level race series. I’m sure of that.
Whether I’m running it, who knows…
“People will always want to race. 100% people will be racing in 10 years.”
And our last question from the readers … If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
I wouldn’t have done it. That’s the honest answer. I wouldn’t have done it. The financial loss was huge. The pressure on the family was disastrous. Why would I do that again? The answer is no, I wouldn’t do that.
Same answer for the BDS?
Oh no! But you know, that was tough. Me and Steve Parr ran the series for 3 years, Steve left and in 3 years we didn’t make any money. In year 3 we lost money which was shocking. Dave Franciosy came on board and let me tell you without him the BDS wouldn’t be where it is today. He had to leave due to health reasons – it put a lot of pressure and stress on him. He’s now making loads of money taking photos of tractors!
“Yeah, the pressure it puts on you as a person – if you’ve got a wife and kids – is huge.”
There is the curse of the race organiser. I hope Steve Parr doesn’t mind me saying this but he split up with his wife. Dave Franciosy did as well. I might be treading those boards, I’m trying not to. Yeah, the pressure it puts on you as a person – if you’ve got a wife and kids – is huge.
So important question – what happens to all the riders that have entered the BES?
I’m just waiting on Active Network. I’ve got to send them the money back. As soon as that invoice lands I’ll get that paid within minutes and they’ll manually refund everyone. So everyone will get a refund – maybe in two parts because there’s the £75 and the £4.95 online booking fee. And then there’s a third transaction for anyone that took out Booking Protect, which is the £2.50 fee which allows you to get all your money back. I’m refunding all that too.
Within the next 7-10 days everyone should have their money back.
And how’s the reaction been from everyone since you dropped the news?
You know what? It’s been 100% supportive.
I had Chris Ball from the Enduro World Series call me up yesterday and offered me any support that he can. Frazer from No Fuss, Charlie Williams, Steve Parr have all been on the phone. Everyone has been 100% supportive – I’ve had some really nice comments which has been lovely.
Sometimes as a race organiser you don’t feel the love but there’s been so many nice comments.
You know what – everyone says “Si Paton does a good job” and I’m the captain of the ship but the team of people I’ve got behind me are the guys that are stoking the fire and are out there rain and shine, alongside our marshals. I’m the front of house guy but these events would be nothing without those guys – you saw them at Ae Forest working rain or shine.
It’s a shame that the enduro is gone – it really is – but we’ll be full steam ahead for the BDS. The one good thing to come from this is that my guys can go into the BDS refreshed and 100% ready to go.
OK – last question. What’s next for you? What’s your next move?
We’re still doing the BDS – that’s cool for at least another two years. I’ll spend some time with the family and get out and ride my bike a bit more. Maybe try and do a couple of races myself!
I’ve got a meeting next Friday with someone but I can’t tell you much about it. That could be something for 2018 which would be … um … big!
A multi discipline style event. One off event, three days, June, somewhere near the middle of the country. It might not work, I’ll leave it at that!
So we’ve been chatting for a while. We’ll finish by saying ‘thank you Si Paton’. I can’t speak on behalf of anyone else but we’d certainly like to say thanks for all of the hard work – the races we did go to were awesome.
I’d like to thank you Jamie and all the media guys that come to the events. Those guys stand out in the wind and rain and cold as well and we tell them off because they sometimes stand where they shouldn’t! We need you at the events, the riders need you at the events. Without the media the riders wouldn’t get any sponsorship or any publicity.
Thanks very much everyone – have a good evening!
