We Are TD!
The Thunderdrome! is the racing series held on our previously abandoned velodrome – and elsewhere – for mopeds, pit bikes, scooters, minibikes, bicycles, mountain bikes and go-karts and all other sorts of dangerous wheeled things. Race dates are located on the left under “Races.” We’re liable to add additional races at anytime, so make sure to keep your eye peeled and sign up for our email list below.
The History
In 2010, we had this crazy idea: Dig out an old, nearly forgotten velodrome in Detroit, patch it up, cut down the brush and hold a race there. Thanks to friends, sponsors, and the community at large in a little over a month we managed to do it and make a helluva good time of it. We call it The Thunderdrome! Everyone had such a hoot at the 2010 event that we’re doing it again every year year – only bigger and better. We’re adding more classes and a whole mess of other great ideas brewed up over bad brew. The Thunderdrome! isn’t your average race: it’s loose, it’s raw, and it’s for people who take their corn flakes with a little bit of rocket fuel. You have to be a little weird to like it – but that’s what makes it good!
So check out the site, poke around in our stellar flicks and vids section, read up on the coverage by the media at large and maybe, just maybe, you’ll screw up enough courage to enter yourself into the fray.
Profits from all Thunderdrome! racer fees nationwide will be used to further the upkeep, restoration and massive improvement of the Dorais Velodrome in Detroit. We’ve got a ton of concrete, swings, playground equipment and otherwise to still purchase – every bit counts. We’re also working towards the formation of a Dorais Conservancy to really bring back the track, park and soapbox derby hill to its former glory.
The Background
Back in August, a group of renegade landscapers calling themselves The Mower Gang rediscovered Dorais Park in Detroit, MI. They literally uncovered a relic of a Detroit passed – a Velodrome, or banked racing track, built in the late 60′s amid the tensions and trials of the riots that broke out in the city only a few years prior to construction.
In 1967 Mike began the project that would become the Dorais Velodrome located on Outer Drive and Mound Roads. The facility was finished just in time for the ’68 Nationals to be held. In the same time frame when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon, Mike stepped out on the infield of the Dorais Velodrome to return track racing to Detroit, another monumental feat by a determined individual. The Dorais Track had a useful life of approximately 20 years…By the 90′s that track surface had deteriorated to the point it was good only for BMX…Once again Detroit was without a Velodrome. — Link
In the 80′s, car gangs set upon the ‘Drome to hold illegal races at night. The heavy weight of the cars shifted the concrete pads and severely damaged the surface on the inside of turns, making it too costly to repair for such little use Dorais was seeing at that point. In the mid 90′s, a new Velodrome was being built outside of the city, far to the north in Rochester Hills – with that, Dorais Park was left to die.
Snap forward to 2010. The weeds that have grown heartily between the cracks of Dorais’ venerable pavement have been chopped down and graded to form perfect, smooth seams between the cracked portions. The zealous foliage that has been obscuring the track from public view has been pruned back and groomed to present a large, study stone bowl that so many once knew so well. From the sweat of a few local optimists came a beautiful sight never seen: Dorais Park had been given a new lease on life and the opportunity to again host racing in earnest.
Detroit will never be as it once was; the rows upon rows of factory workers and their families have left for good. We believe in revitalization through reinvention – realizing the gifts our ancestors have given us are still here and still very real.
We’ve been living in Detroit for a long time, living with it, loving and loathing it – but something’s starting to change. There’s a new vibe. A lot of young people are starting to ignore their parents warnings and rediscover a lot of the great stuff about it. They’re taking advantage of the rare combination of cheap land and lax policing. Things are changing. That’s not to say everything’s roses, there’s a lot wrong, a lot, but this vibe is starting to empower people to overcome it. Ignore the past, ignore the rot and just do: make, improve, fix, and network. Be awesome every day and good things will come, damn the consequences.
And that’s why. The Dorais Velodrome’s been abandoned for two decades. Tom Nardone rediscovered it, did an intial clean up, and now we’ve launched the restoration effort, stripped the filth away and put the track to good use again. Hopefully we do these races and make enough to actually fix it up. It’ll be a lot of work, no profit, and endless frustration, but life is long and we’ve got a whole city to fix. Plus, another night in front of a TV watching Idol is lame.
Enter The Thunderdrome! We’re a racing outfit here to get all road bike, mountain bike, minibike, go kart, pit bike, scooter and moped racers back out into the bright, wide world and competing while making brand spankin’ new racers out of people that would’ve never considered it. The entry fees are just enough to cover the costs of the event – with real prizes, trophies and awards being given out to the victors. Spectating is just $5 for all Thunderdrome! events and free for kids 12 and under which goes towards safety items and further track restoration..
