Everyone has a web site. My 8 year old son has a web site. I have a web site. If I were a pro supermoto racer, I would definitely have a supermoto racer web site. My web site would be plastered with cool pics of me -a honey under each arm, race results, race reports, pictures of honies walking around the pits tryin to find my pits, big old logos of my sponsors and what they do and how cool they are. And it could even be crappy, like some slapped together rough thing that looked like I, a grease monkey racer guy dude that can barely type, even made it myself, without the help of some other racer-web-buddy on the side. That's even more cool than a polished one.
I'd drop the link to my web site in my email signature, so whenever I emailed my sponsors to let them know that I totaled another bike with all their parts on it and I need more stuff, they would easily be able to click to my supermoto racer web site and remember why they have to send me more parts. They'd see me there, with a giant crowd of spectators behind me, a TV camera, four or five photographers and umbrella girls in the back ground, Goodyear blimp floating in the sky, and me, jetting down the straightaway surrounded by Jeff Ward on one side and Cassidy Anderson on the other - and in the middle of it all, their big fat sticker smack on the side of my bike.
I'd stick my web site link on my posters that I handed out, I'd make stickers and put them on my bike and my helmet, on my pit tent. If I were a pro supermoto racer I would definitely have a web site.
After a quick scan of some of the top US and world Supermoto racers, however, I've so far only been able to come up with a handful of professional and dedicated (ie. that's all they do) Supermoto racers with web sites. I gotta say I was a little shocked, but you have to hand it to the techno savvy supermoto racers who got their shit down, even if the end product is a little rough. Here's a list:
Micky Dymond
Gerald Delepine
Jeff Ward
Mark Burkhart
Chris Fillmore
Scott Hoffman
Max Manzo
Cary Hart
Troy Lee
Gary Trachy
Brian Capper
(This is a short list and I'll try to update it as I come across others. If you know of any web sites run by Pro Supermoto racers, please feel free to suggest them in the comments below. )
Most of these sites haven't been updated in months. Granted, Troy Lee, Cary Hart, Scott Hoffman and Gary Trachy all combine their names with their businesses, they gotta do it up right.
Interestingly, Mark Burkhart's site is very up to date, with links to results for the most recent AMA events. Ward's site looks like it hasn't been touched since Yahoo went public. Manzo's site is the most high tech of all. Lots of flash, little Max cartoons, a chat board and other neat stuff.
My favorite has to be Micky Dymond's site, which is simply a MySpace page. It works, it's fresh, has music and best of all has links to Micky's friends like Heather D, Jocyland, Miss Supercross 2008 and other tasty individuals. And those photos of Micky's bike with the giant Motostrano M's on his fender are certainly a plus.
A racer web site can be really simply. Check out Delepine's former S1 World Champion. He's got geralddelepine.com and a snazzy little photo of himself, and that's it. you can't even click on anything. Dymond's MySpace idea is great because it pulls in all the social media of MySpace, has an easy to use interface for blogging, adding photos, music, or whatever. Updates are easy too.
A racer web site is like having a business card, or resume, only better. You can lose - or throw away - a card or resume, but if I as a fan, a sponsor, or other associate want to find you on the web all I should need to do is type your name + supermoto and you should be right there at the top.
If you as a racer don't have the time to put one together, talk your girlfriend or younger brother into it, or even your mom. Basically, a good web site always has a lot of love thrown into to it, so make sure who ever does it for you, really loves you. Seriously.
Your racer web site doesn't need to be updated constantly. You're not going to get thousands of readers to your web site a day. Some photos from the last few races, a biography, your race schedule, your sponsors and contact information is well enough. Expand on that with race reports, details about how you built your bike, what's on it, what gear you wear, why it's great, etc.. That's all you really need.
If I were a pro supermoto racer, I would definitely have a pro supermoto web site.
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