The promoter of a monster truck derby held in Maitland has leapt to the defence of the show, amid a fierce online backlash from hundreds of spectators furious with the performance.
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Viewers took to Facebook to express their displeasure at the Monster Truck and FMX One Night of Destruction at Maitland Showground on Friday, with spectators quick to voice their anger over a number of issues, ranging from long food stall lines, a lack of high-speed monster truck action, and safety concerns.
Maitland Showground posted a status on their Facebook page distancing themselves from the event and apologising for the “disappointing” show.
The post attracted hundreds of comments, with the majority highly critical of the event.
But promoter Troy Garcia defended the performance, saying that it offered “good value for money”.
“I’m sorry to the people who don’t feel like they got bang for their buck, but we still feel like the entertainment we put on was good value for money,” Mr Garcia said on Sunday.
He said the freestyle motocross section of the show didn’t go ahead due to riders’ concerns about dew on the grass.
He said monster truck performances were governed by the venue, with a lack of fencing potentially leading to a more restrained showing.
“We still had trucks jumping across seven cars,” he said.
He said he felt criticism of the event had “snowballed” online.
“I think it is unfortunate that people have taken it to this extent, it’s turned into a bit of a witch hunt,” he said.
Mr Garcia said that in the future they’d look to post more information online regarding seating and food arrangements ahead of shows.
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- The White Extreme truck pictured previously on this page was not part of the Maitland Show. The Mercury apologises for use of the wrong image.
