“From 37 riders to 2,500+ - Malle London's growth story with Ticket Tailor”
The Malle Mile was never supposed to be the most competitive motorcycle race on the calendar. In fact, that’s exactly what makes this one-of-a-kind event so refreshing. Created by Malle London, the festival was designed as an antidote to highly competitive, expensive racing. The idea was simple: bring people together on two wheels, keep things ultra affordable, and make sure nobody takes pole position too seriously!
The Malle Mile’s unique and decidedly unserious attitude towards racing has never wavered, even as the event has grown from 37 riders to more than 2,500. Behind the scenes, Ticket Tailor has been with festival since day one, helping the team scale up while keeping ticketing simple and easy to manage.
A race that nobody can win
The idea for The Malle Mile came after Robert and the team found themselves racing on the Bonneville Salt Flats and wondering why motorcycle racing back home had to feel so serious.
Traditional racing can be fiercely competitive and expensive, so Malle decided to flip the formula. They wanted to create a race where nobody could really win, entry cost almost nothing, and the more inappropriate and wild the motorcycle, the better!
The first event brought together just 37 friends on a makeshift grass track, promoted with hand-printed flyers made on the kitchen floor. Before long, priceless antique motorcycles were lining up alongside homemade customs and scooters worth less than the taxi ride home.
An immersive and cultural experience
So, what exactly makes The Malle Mile a festival, rather than just another race? Live music, world-class DJ sets and weekend camping are a good place to start. Then there’s the art, food stalls and exhibitions, not forgetting the legendary Mile After Party, where festivalgoers dance under a moonlit sky after a day of road rallies and drag races.
The event has also stayed deliberately inclusive as it’s grown. Experienced riders line up alongside people having a go for the first time, with all sorts of bikes thrown into the mix.
From 37 riders to 2,500+
The Malle Mile’s growth has been pretty remarkable. And we’re proud to say that Ticket Tailor was there for the very first event with 37 friends, then 100 riders, then 250.
By last year, that number had snowballed into 1,543. This year, more than 2,500 riders are taking part in the festival!
For Robert, one of the biggest benefits of partnering with Ticket Tailor has been having a ticketing setup that’s grown smoothly alongside the event, without the team needing to rethink everything each time the numbers jump.
The ease of getting up new events has also come in handy:
“We can go from coming up with an idea to getting tickets online within a day, really,” says Samantha FitzGerald, Operations and CX Director at Malle London.
Speed like this matters for a team with no shortage of ideas. Malle also runs events like The Beach Race and adventure rallies, so getting a new event live quickly helps the team keep momentum without creating extra work behind the scenes.
Less time at the gate, more time on the bike
By the time riders arrive at The Malle Mile, they’re ready to get stuck into the weekend.
“They want to be setting up their camp, getting their bikes unloaded and getting on with the party,” says Leon.
For the Malle team, good ticketing at this point comes down to speed. The quicker people can get checked in and through the gates, the quicker they can start enjoying everything they came for.
Putting more back into the experience
Growing an event from 37 riders to more than 2,500 naturally comes with bigger costs, so knowing what ticketing will cost makes planning much easier.
Samantha says Ticket Tailor’s flat-fee pricing helps Malle scale “in a way that feels comfortable”, without taking a major financial risk.
More predictable costs also leave the team with more budget to put back into The Malle Mile itself, helping them keep building the kind of weekend riders want to return to.
Taking fun seriously!
The Malle Mile may be much bigger than it was in those early days, but the team’s priorities haven’t really changed.
“We take our fun very seriously at Malle,” says Robert. “The more time we can spend focusing on the fun, the wild culture and the experiences, and the less time on the operational side, absolutely the better.”
For the guys at Malle, good ticketing simply means more time and energy for the part they care about most: creating a truly unforgettable weekend.
Watch the Malle Mile story
