Infront Moto Racing officially launched the 30 Years Celebration of the FIM Motocross World Championship, (1996 to 2026) on Friday, unveiling a spectacular collection of world champion motorcycles spanning three decades of the series under the leadership of the Giuseppe and David Luongo, from Action Group and Youthstream through to today’s Infront Moto Racing.
David Luongo, President and CEO of Infront Moto Racing, took to the stage at the MXGP of Flanders to mark the milestone. He spoke about the last three decades of the championship and the many novelties introduced along the way, including the two-floor pitlane and the Skybox positioned behind the start gate. He described the 30 years as a story built on passion, crediting that passion as the driving force behind the championship’s growth. He also pointed to the return of historic venues such as Foxhill and the continuity of Lommel itself as reminders of motocross’s roots and heritage.
FIM / CMS Director Antonio Alia looked back over the championship’s history and paid tribute to the work put into this championship and the Synergy between Infront Moto Racing, the FIM and of course the riders, Teams and Manufacturers who have been the major actors in building successfully the series over the past 30 years.
1. David Luongo; 2. Antonio Alia
Following the official speeches, a number of figures central to the championship’s recent history joined the stage. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager Davide De Carli, whose team is among the most successful in MXGP’s last 30 years, and nine-time world champion Antonio Cairoli spoke about their experience in the paddock.
Representatives from the championship’s manufacturer teams also took part: Alexandre Kowalski for Yamaha, Honda HRC Petronas Team Owner Giacomo Gariboldi for Honda, Kawasaki Racing Team Manager Antti Pyrhönen for Kawasaki, Sylvain Geboers for Suzuki, Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing Team Manager Rasmus Jørgensen for Husqvarna, and Dirk Gruebel for KTM.
Antonio Cairoli
It was a rare but impressive gathering: team owners, manufacturer bosses and champions spanning three generations of the sport sharing the same stage. Nine-time world champion Antonio Cairoli stood alongside the current generation of title holders such as Kay de Wolf, Simon Längenfelder, Andrea Adamo, Lotte van Drunen, Joel Smets and Kevin Strijbos while the manufacturers who have powered the championship since the 1990s were represented side by side with those competing for titles today. The occasion tied together the championship’s past, present and future in a single moment, a reminder of how far the series has come since Action Group and Youthstream first took on its promotion, and of the community of riders, teams and manufacturers that has carried it forward. With many people from the Paddock, media and beyond being present at the event, it showed a genuine celebration of the sport.
1. Andrea Adamo; 2. David Luongo (Left) Davide De Carli (right)
At the centre of the celebration is an expo of world championship-winning motorcycles. The full collection covers 22 title-winning machines from MXGP, MX2 and Women’s Motocross champions between 1997 and 2025, representing seven manufacturers. Sixteen of these machines were on display in Lommel this weekend, spanning KTM, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, Husqvarna and Kawasaki:
|
World Champion |
Year |
Machine |
Brand |
|
Kevin Strijbos |
1999 |
Suzuki RM 80 JWC |
Suzuki |
|
Joel Smets |
2000 |
KTM 520 SXS 2000 |
KTM |
|
Stefan Everts |
2006 |
Yamaha YZF 450 |
Yamaha |
|
Yves Demaria |
2006 |
KTM 540 SXS 2006 |
KTM |
|
Steve Ramon |
2007 |
Suzuki RM-Z450 Factory |
Suzuki |
|
Antonio Cairoli |
2009 |
Yamaha 450 |
Yamaha |
|
Antonio Cairoli |
2013 |
KTM 350 |
KTM |
|
Jeffrey Herlings |
2016 |
KTM 250 SX-F 2016 |
KTM |
|
Maxime Renaux |
2021 |
YZ250F model 2021 |
Yamaha |
|
Tim Gajser |
2022 |
Honda CRF 450 RWF |
Honda |
|
Tom Vialle |
2022 |
KTM 250 SX-F 2022 |
KTM |
|
Andrea Adamo |
2023 |
KTM 250 SX-F 2023 |
KTM |
|
Kay de Wolf |
2024 |
Husqvarna MC 250 |
Husqvarna |
|
Lotte Van Drunen |
2024 |
Yamaha YZ 250 |
Yamaha |
|
Romain Febvre |
2025 |
Kawasaki KRT 450 |
Kawasaki |
|
Simon Langenfelder |
2025 |
KTM SFX 250 |
KTM |
The collection is open to the public throughout the weekend in Lommel, giving fans at the MXGP of Flanders the chance to see the machines in person.
This was the perfect event to launch an amazing weekend of racing in the Sand temple of motocross in Lommel this weekend.
All the photos from the MXGP of Flanders will be available HERE.
You can find the complete results HERE.
TIMETABLE
SATURDAY: 09:10 EMX Open Free Practice, 09:40 EMX250 Free Practice, 10:30 MX2 Free Practice, 11:00 MXGP Free Practice, 12:20 EMX Open Qualifying Practice, 13:00 EMX250 Qualifying Practice, 13:40 MX2 Time Practice, 14:15 MXGP Time Practice, 15:00 EMX Open Race 1, 15:45 EMX250 Race 1, 16:35 MX2 Qualifying Race, 17:25 MXGP Qualifying Race.
SUNDAY: 09:40 EMX Open Race 2, 10:25 MX2 Warm-up, 10:45 MXGP Warm-up, 11:30 EMX250 Race 2, 13:15 MX2 Race 1, 14:15 MXGP Race 1, 16:10 MX2 Race 2, 17:10 MXGP Race 2.
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