Xtreme Coverage for Champions
For two years fans all over the world were waiting. Two years of expectation and anticipation, waiting to see who would be crowned the first Xtreme Enduro World Champion at the end of 2011. It didn’t happen, of course. Riders and fans are beginning to lose faith in the prospect of a 'real' World Championship, turning their attentions elsewhere. But not so fast! Sure, the race organizers still can’t seem to agree on working together for this project, but the sport’s biggest sponsors are staying right on track. "Red Bull’s" coverage of Xtreme-Riders in 2012 provides every inch of the media support expected for a world championship. For riders, fans and followers the only thing missing is the prize giving. For the time being at least….
Just look at the "Red Bull" website – under ‚Hard Enduro 2012‘ you’ll find new content being uploaded almost daily on the Xtreme scene. After publication of the video ‚Hard Enduro 2012 – Rock the World of Red Bull’ no fewer than six posts followed on 'The Tough One' alone, including a video study of 1000 fps – the ultimate in super-slo-mo! Beach classic Le Touquet has 12 stories devoted to it from the "Red Bull Media House", including an appearance by Cyril Despres giving his own insights into the race. And it goes on: "Red Bull" is giving the sport just what it needs to lift it to a world championship level: consistent quality media coverage fit for a global TV, Internet and print audience.
Good times ahead: “Red Bull’s support for Hard-Enduro is 100%.”
„Red Bull are really focussing on Xtreme-Enduro this year,“ an insider tells us. He works closely with the company and advises keeping a close eye on the "Red Bull" website in 2012. The message is clear: “Red Bull’s support for Hard-Enduro is 100%.”
Don’t get the wrong idea though – this doesn’t mean "Red Bull" will manage to turn the long-awaited world championship into reality. “They have tried in the last few years to support these plans massively, but at the moment it is not working, for various reasons.” There are still plenty of obstacles, above all from the race organisers. With each new issue raised pro and contra new camps develop and seem determined to block any chance for progress.
Only media presence makes the sport interesting for new sponsors: Chris Birch in Romania.
But the fact still remains that "Red Bull" is a heavyweight in the world of extreme sport sponsorship; surely big enough to be able to dictate the calendar for a championship. “That’s something 'Red Bull' would never do!‘, our source tells us. The secret of this event’s success lies with the unique character and personality of each race. “Nobody would risk destroying this charisma through some kind of ordered regime.” And why should they? Anyone can see that classic races like ‘Romaniacs’ and ‘Roof’ work just fine as brand ambassadors for "Red Bull" when left to run themselves.
In 2012 "Red Bull Media House" focuses on seven events: "Not ment as basis for a championship schedule…"
And to prove the point, the "Red Bull Media House" is concentrating its 2012 coverage on seven events which barely share too many common traits. There can’t be many riders whose racing calendar looks like this: T1, Le Touquet, Hell's Gate, ISDE, Erzberg, Romaniacs and Roof. Taken together, these are first class events which provide spectacular footage. But – as we hear it – this is not ment as basis for a championship schedule.
A good team: Jeff Pakosta & Graham Jarvis at work.
There is also talk of an unofficial point scale which being drawn up – something to add a little showbiz, you might say. „When they give points, they’ll be doing so for adding something extra to the various challenges, a little excitement, a show of skill.“ Informal points, in other words, which can’t be seen as a back-door route to a world championship ranking. By holding back, "Red Bull" takes account of the fact that they were trying to implement a 'real' Xtreme World Championship since 2007. Even so, it doesn’t look like they have found a recipe yet that pleases all the organisers. 
Lots of coverage and informal points: maybe one step towards the "master-piece".
So, even without the official umbrella "Red Bull Media House" is covering Xtreme Enduro 2012 in a style and depth that would absolutely fit a world championship. And they don’t look likely to run out of content, either. Alongside the Xtreme classics there are plenty of events with lots of potential: in Canada, in Ecuador and in Australia to name but a few. Even if "Red Bull" doesn’t want to be a driving force in the ‚Project world championship‘, the stage is set and has been built big enough to support even a "masterpiece": “For now they will just wait and see how the coverage goes down.” If enough Xtreme organisers agree on a common concept, acceptable regulations and a common scoring system, there could still be some interesting developments: ”The door is always open for Xtreme-Enduro!“ (c. panny)
LINK: Hard Enduro 2012 on redbull.com
IG.G-STORY: Xtreme-Coverage für Champions (german version of the story)