MXGP Weltmeisterschaft

Viewpoint: David Luongo

Insight into cracking America.

Published

7 years ago

March 20, 2017

James Burfield

It is an exciting time to be a fan of the FIM Motocross World Championship, as some intriguing changes have been made behind the scenes that’ll ensure the series visits some of the most popular circuits in the world. A deal with MX Sports, the group that run the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross series, will work with Youthstream on hosting a USGP each year, which will enable the two worlds to collide. To find out more about the deal, as well as what other changes could be made in the future, we got in touch with Youthstream’s David Luongo. David, the son of Giuseppe, is becoming more and more involved with each year that passes.

MX Vice: Obviously the big news recently is the partnership with MX Sports. How did that all come together? Who pushed the idea forward?

David Luongo: Yes, it has been the breaking news of the weekend! We have been working on this deal for some months, in fact. We established the contact with MX Sports after the MXGP in Charlotte and then we exchanged ideas and concepts to arrive to this collaboration to bring back MXGP in USA in the good way. The MXGP championship has developed amazingly over the last five years. It became a global championship with eighteen and more dates per year, touching many continents. This event will bring an international scene to MX Sports and MX Sports is the best partner to succeed in USA. I was supporting this idea very much as, for me, it is very important to have a great USGP, as it would also be important to have a GP in Japan and Australia to complete the circle.

Site-Gautier-Paulin — Gautier Paulin always enjoys visiting the United States.
Husqvarna Motorcycles

What actually happened to the agreement with Charlotte Motor Speedway? It seemed like the first event was a success last year?

The first event was successful; it was the best crowd since many years in USA for an MXGP event. The facilities were great, but the management of CMS had some changes and the new direction changed their mind about hosting a MXGP event. I would say that Charlotte really showed to the world that we were able to succeed in USA.

Will the USGP look any different, thanks to your work with MX Sports, or will it mostly impact things that go on behind the scenes?

Nobody knows better the American motocross market than MX Sports. They will help us to choose the best location, to collaborate with the local organizer and to promote the USGP during the full year. The USGP has to become a classic through the years to come – a real confrontation between the MXGP riders and the US riders. This is what all the fans are dreaming for and we will work together to offer it to the fans. This event will show what USA can offer the best, with a complete weekend concept, but we will come back soon with more info.

The venues are going to be announced soon, but it seems Gatorback (MXGP) and Red Bud (MXoN) are the favorites. Can you confirm anything?

I cannot confirm it for now, but what I can say is that we will go to some of the best and most historical tracks in USA. Real classical American track!

This must be a big decision for you, because it seems like one that you have really pushed forward and been trusted with. Has that been the case?

I am very proud to have been entrusted with this task and the outcome is great. Motocross is a fantastic sport, but it is still a minor sport. That means that we are losing energy by fighting against each other. MX Sports and Youthstream are undoubtedly the two best motocross promoters in the world, so it is much better to collaborate and defend our sport against football, tennis, basketball etc. They are our main competitors. The young kids have to choose a sport when they grow up, we have to do our best to develop motocross and make those kids dream of becoming a motocross rider. With this target in mind, this was a great decision and this collaboration will help a lot.

Site-Tim-Gajser-3 — The USGP will offer American fans another chance to get a look at Tim Gajser.
Honda Racing Corporation

Was there a particular idea or factor that was hard for either party to move past? Something that couldn’t be changed that almost put this deal in jeopardy?

I have to say that during my stay in USA I spent some days with Davey and Carrie Coombs and they have been fantastic with me. Everything was made in a very positive way – the feeling was great. The times have changed and the past is the past. We have to look to the future and the future is bright.

Going back to the first MXGP round, it sounds like it might have been the last time we visited Qatar. Is that the case? Which nations could potentially fill that gap next year?

The question is still open. We are in negotiation, so nothing new for the moment. What is great is that we have a huge demand of organizing an MXGP event all around the world, which means that our sport is going pretty well and it is dynamic. We will have more information about the 2018 calendar when we will approach September. For sure our will is to have a Grand Prix in the Middle East and to possibly to have more in Asia.

Site-Glenn-Coldenhoff — America is an important market for teams, sponsors and riders.
KTM Images

Indonesia is obviously going to be around for a while and, despite the weather, there’s no doubt that the first event was a success. How did that all look from Youthstream’s perspective?

We really have to separate two aspects. The popular success of the Grand Prix of Indonesia was absolutely great! We had more than 50,000 spectators over the whole weekend, the Minister of Tourism and the Minister of Sport attended the event and we received the full support of the government for the promotion. The Indonesian motorcycle market is one of the biggest of the world with more than six million bikes sold per year. Indonesia deserves to organize a round of the MXGP World Championship.

It was amazing to see how the people are fans of motocross. Everybody was asking for selfies, not only from the riders but also from mechanics and managers! It was really a great atmosphere. To give you another example, the main airline company sold more than 5,000 tickets to reach this place specifically to watch the race.

On another side we really had a terrible weather during the full week – we had extremely powerful rainfall every day. During the weekend, we didn’t have a lot of rain but the ground in some areas was so full of water that it was impossible to dry. We did our best with the organizer and FIM, working day and night to maintain the track in the best possible conditions but, on Sunday afternoon after the second MX2 race, it was not possible to have a proper track. The event management then decided to cancel the second race of the MXGP. We are very proud about the work that was made by the local organizer, FIM and the Youthstream staff.

Interview: Lewis Phillips | Lead Image: Husqvarna Motorcycles

Related Topics:David Luongo Interviews MX Sports MXGP Viewpoint

Up Next

Stat Sheet: GP of Argentina

Don't Miss

MXM Poll: GP of Argentina

MXGP Weltmeisterschaft

Insight into Cairoli’s decision to join Ducati from Lorenzo Resta

Listen now.

Published

9 hours ago

December 7, 2023

Edward Stratmann

Fascinating insight into Antonio Cairoli’s decision to join Ducati from the great Lorenzo Resta.

Lead Image: Antonio Cairoli / Ducati

Love what we do? Please read this article as we try to raise £30,000.

Support MX Vice on Ko-fi

MXGP Weltmeisterschaft

JK Racing Yamaha signs Isak Gifting for the 2024 MXGP season

See here.

Published

1 day ago

December 6, 2023

Edward Stratmann

JK Racing Yamaha will head into the 2024 season with a full line-up to compete in the MXGP World Championship as well as the EMX125 class with a combination of experienced riders and promising newcomers.

Words: Press Release | Lead Image: JK Racing

Isak Gifting will lead the way as he’ll compete the whole FIM Motocross World Championship making his debut in MXGP class, alongside Gifting will be Anton Nagy with YZ bLU cRU Masterclass winner Giorgio Orlando and Manuel Iacopi.

JK Racing Yamaha, managed by Riccardo and Giuliano Boschi, is committed to success for the 2024 season.

Love what we do? Please read this article as we try to raise £30,000.

Support MX Vice on Ko-fi

Australian Motocross

Stat Attack: Top Threes of 2023

Read now.

Published

1 day ago

December 6, 2023

Edward Stratmann

As we look towards the 2024 season, MX Vice and Paul Pearcy have joined forces again to deliver some quality statistics, as we’ll be running through the top 10 in each championship across 2023 (MXGP, MX2, 450, 250 – AMA Supercross, SMX and Outdoors and Australian Supercross). Here are all the riders that secured 3rd in their respective title races.

MX2

3) Simon Laengenfelder

1st in Timed Practice: 5; Trentino, Agueda, Lommel, Uddevalla, Afyonkarahisar
Qualifying Race Wins: 5; Trentino, Vantaa, Afyonkarahisar, Maggiora, Matterley Basin (2nd most wins in class)
Qualifying Race Podiums: 13; out of 16 attempts (81% podium rate in qualifying races, best percentage in class)
Qualifying Race Laps Led: 57; (2nd best in class)
Race Podiums: 18; 3rd most in class
Race Wins: 8; 2nd most in class
GP Podiums: 9; 3rd most in class
GP Wins: 2; 1-1 at Intu Xanadu, Uddevalla
Race Laps Led: 141; (21% of total laps, 2nd most in class)

Averages

Timed Practice: 3.187; Best in class
Qualifying Race Finishes: 2.875; Best in Class
Qualifying Race First Lap Position: 3.562; Best in Class
Qualifying Race Points: 131; Most in Class
Race Finishes: 3.375 in Race 1(Best in Class), 3.875 in Race 2(3rd best in class)
GP Overalls: 3.5; 2nd best in class
Race First Lap Position: 4.968; 3rd best in class
Race Points: 321 from Race 1(2nd most in class), 303 from Race 2(4th best in class), Total of 624

Series Points: 755

MXGP

3) Jeremy Seewer

1st in Timed Practice: 1; Frauenfeld
Qualifying Race Podiums: 6; Intu Xanadu, Villars Sous Ecot, Teutschenthal, Sumbawa, Loket, Uddevalla
Qualifying Race Laps Led: 2
Race Podiums: 15
Race Wins: 2; Race 1 at Villars Sous Ecot, Race 2 at Uddevalla
GP Podiums: 7
GP Wins: 3; Villars Sous Ecot, Uddevalla, Maggiora
Race Laps Led: 62; (9% of total laps)

Averages

Timed Practice: 4.421; 4th best in class
Qualifying Race Finishes: 6.778
Qualifying Race First Lap Position: 5.222; 4th best in class
Qualifying Race Points: 105; 4th best in class
Race Finishes: 6.157 in Race 1, 4.157 in Race 2(3rd best in class)
GP Overalls: 4.684; 3rd best in class
Race First Lap Position: 6.842
Race Points: 310 from Race 1, 344 from Race 2, Total of 654 (3rd most in class)

Series Points: 759

250 West Coast Supercross

3) Levi Kitchen

Heat Race Podiums: 4
Heat Race Wins: 3; Seattle, Denver, Salt lake City
Heat Race Laps Led: 26
Main Event Podiums: 4; Anaheim 2, Glendale, Denver, Salt Lake City
Main Event Win: 1; Anaheim 2
Main Event Laps Led: 20; (11% of total laps)

Averages

Qualifying: 5th
Heat Race Finishes: 2.857; 3rd best in class
Heat Race First Lap Position: 5th
Main Event Finishes: 6.556
Main Event First Lap Position: 7.253

Series Points: 156

250 East Supercross

3) Max Anstie

1st in Qualifying: 1; Houston
Heat Race Podiums: 3; Houston, Indy, Nashville
Heat Race Laps Led: 3
Main Event Podiums: 4; Houston, Tampa, Daytona, East Rutherford
Main Event Win: 1; East Rutherford
Main Event Laps Led: 14; (8% of total laps)

Averages

Qualifying: 4.7
Heat Race Finishes: 4.667
Heat Race First Lap Position: 5.333
Main Event Finishes: 5.7; 4th best in class
Main Event First Lap Position: 4.741; 2nd best in class

Series Points: 182

450 Supercross

3) Cooper Webb

Heat Race Podiums: 7
Heat Race Wins: 2; Seattle, Atlanta
Heat Race Laps Led: 19
Main Event Podiums: 9
Main Event Wins: 2; Tampa, Arlington
Main Event Laps Led: 17; (3% of total laps)

Averages

Qualifying: 6.133
Heat Race Finishes: 4.5
Heat Race First Lap Position: 4.181
Main Event Finishes: 2.785; 2nd best in class
Main Event First Lap Position: 4.307; 3rd best in class

Series Points: 304

250 American Outdoors

3) Jo Shimoda

Moto Podiums: 10
Moto Wins: 3; Moto 2 at Southwick, 1-1 at Ironman
Overall Podiums: 4; Southwick, Millville, Budds Creek, Ironman
Overall Wins: 1; Ironman
Moto Laps Led: 53

Averages

Qualifying: 6.363
Moto Finishes: 4.636 in Moto 1, 4.545 in Moto 2(2nd best in class)
Overall Finishes: 4.454 (3rd best in class)
Moto First Lap Position: 6.545

Series Points: 393

450 American Outdoors

3) Aaron Plessinger

Moto Podiums: 5; Moto 1 at Hangtown, Moto 2 at Thunder Valley, Moto 2 at Washougal, Moto 2 at Budds Creek, Moto 2 at Ironman
Overall Podiums: 3; Thunder Valley, Budds Creek, Ironman
Moto Laps Led: 7; 3rd most in class

Averages