Mark McCann has been involved in motocross for many years, most notably with his ‘Fro Systems’ brand. He supported plenty of top riders in that time but it wasn’t until Arenacross came along that he decided to start his own team.
Back in 2018 the team won their first Arenacross title with Cedric Soubeyras and are now always one of the firm favourites for the team championship title. Outside of Arenacross Mark now spends a lot of his time growing his ‘Mark McCann 64’ YouTube channel which is predominantly based on his collection of sports cars and him putting them and his driving skills to the test. And then, when the Arenacross tour comes around, you’ll see highlights of behind-the-scenes with the team.
We caught up with Mark at the Goodwood Festival of Speed to have a quick chat about his thoughts and opinion on Arenacross. Here’s what he had to say.
Why did you start an AX team?
For me, putting a team together was mostly to have that joint family experience. After coming out to watch Arenacross, I fell in love with it and wanted to be more engrossed in it. There’s not much to do in the dark winter months; it’s a quiet time of year, so spending the weekend as a team with family, friends, and riders is always a really special occasion. Then, especially if we win, it makes it even sweeter. Obviously, it helps promote my business also, but I see that as a bonus really; for me, it’s all about the human side of it and everyone getting and pulling together and having fun.
What’s your favourite thing about Arenacross?
For me, it’s the atmosphere and the variety of the night. You get to see racing sitting down in a warm building, enjoy some food and drink and watch incredible athletes do incredible things on motorcycles, from racing to backflipping. The whole night is just a buzz, in fact the whole day is when you’re involved with it from a racing standpoint. It builds and builds throughout the day all the way up to the final. It really is just a good, positive thing to be part of, and I genuinely look forward to it every year when it comes around.
What’s been your best moment in Arenacross?
My best moment would be Neil taking out the streaker, but I’m not sure if we can mention that! Outside of that, it’s probably seeing the young kids in the electric or 65cc classes going at it all the way to the flag for the win and head-to-head on the last lap in a titanic battle, and there have been a few of them. It’s just awesome to see everyone get into it and get excited and cheer them on, especially the parents and family of the riders. It elevates the crowd to a different level, and it’s brilliant to think of the experience those young kids are getting and the positivity it gives them and our sport
