For the last few months, Matt Saunders has been working to set up one of the biggest events associated with the year for motocross bike manufacturers and dealers, bringing hundreds of people from all over North America to Statesville.
The hardest part? Not being able in order to tell anyone.
Over the last four months, Saunders, the general manager of Moto40 Motocross Park in Statesville, has had to organize the REV 2022 Dealer Summit without telling anybody what was going on at the facility he manages.
“It was very hard to not tell, ” Saunders said with a laugh. “I was getting all kinds of phone calls asking about the particular event and I would have to just say that I wasn’t allowed to tell them. ”
The event that he planned, however, has been well worth the secrecy.
For several hours Monday, motocross riders, including some of the best cyclists in the particular world, buzzed around Saunders’ carefully curated tracks to test out bikes that will won’t hit the market for the few more months.
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The event, which was put on by KTM, a motorbike manufacturer in Austria, to give dealers the firsthand chance to test out bikes from the 2023 model year. KTM, along with their subsidiaries Husqvarna plus Gasgas, brought their newest offerings in order to Statesville to be tested. In total, over $3 million associated with unreleased motocross bikes were at Moto40.
“It’s a dream to have all these people here, ” Saunders said. “Everyone that’s right here right now is going to know about Moto40 now. That’s pretty amazing. It’s the great things for Statesville and it’s amazing for us. We couldn’t be happier. ”
Despite being left in the dark as to the reason that the park would be closed to the public for a few days, the City of Statesville was thrilled to have such a monumental event inside their backyard.
“(Moto40) called me on Saturday morning and said that they would be closed for the weekend, but that I has been invited to an event upon Monday, ” Cindy Sutton of the particular Statesville Convention and Visitor’s Bureau said. “As someone who’s focused on tourism, I had been a bit worried, but they told me not to worry and I can see why. ”
In the end, the REV Summit brought nearly 1, 000 people to Statesville for that weekend break in preparation for your testing sessions on Monday.
“This is just another piece of the particular patchwork that is Statesville, ” Mayor Costi Kutteh said. “I’ve talked to a few people through different parts of the country that possess gotten to spend time in Statesville this weekend and they’re excited to come back. ”
With the occasion going off without a hitch, Saunders is hoping that this isn’t the last major event that will Moto40 hosts.
“This has opened our eyes in order to a lot of other opportunities, ” he stated. “I’m so excited to have KTM here plus this is so amazing for Statesville and Moto40. ”
