With the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship complete, we caught up with Infront Moto Racing CEO David Luongo to discuss this season which has been a strange one but also to look ahead to 2021 discussing calendar, format and more. Check out what David had to say when we quizzed him below.
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David, 2020 has been a tough year for our sport with Covid-19 affecting not only the MXGP but the sport in general across the world. How has it been for Infront Moto Racing?
“It has been very challenging, coming back to April, we didn’t have visibility of what the situation would be but we never gave up and we were focus on finding solution to keep the championship alive. We managed to organize 18 Grand Prix in such situation and we are very proud of it! The MXGP family kept unity.“
In the last week we have seen two MXGP riders announce their retirements (Gautier Paulin and Clement Desalle) from the sport. What are your comments on this as they have been in the GP paddock for a number of years now?
“Gautier and Clement are fantastic riders, and they have been in the MXGP for so many years. But it is also a mark of the great people to know when it is time to stop. I think both of them made this decision when they were still on top of their game and it is honouring them. I wish to both of them all the best for their next challenges!”
The new triple header format seems to be very popular with the teams and riders, especially with racing on one day. Is this something we can see more of in the future going into 2021?
“The triple header format has been put in place to face the Covid-19 restrictions, when the situation will come back to normal, we will return to the classic format of the MXGP Weekend. It is part of the DNA of motocross to have 2-day format for each category. As a promotor of the MXGP we need to think about all the stakeholders of the sport. Saturday races are also very important for the organizers and are very helpful for the factory teams to develop the bikes and for the riders to learn the track.“
I know 2021 is only a couple of months away, do we have any indication on the calendar when it will be released and can you tell us anything about the calendar in terms of number of rounds, will there be fly always and when will the season start?
“The 2021 provisional calendar will be published around the 10th of November. It will be based on the contracts we have with the organizers of the MXGP. It will be made of 20 Grand Prix and the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, for sure some fly-aways GP too, it is a World Championship. Then we will monitor the Covid-19 evolution every month and adapt it if it is needed.“
Covid-19 isn’t going to go away quickly as many thought. I bet you and the team have a number of different plans in case of local/national restrictions. Do you have a different calendar working around Covid-19?
“You are right, the plan B, in the case of the crisis would continue, would be to follow the same principle as 2020 with double or triple header in some tracks, more variety and more countries to visit as we will have more time to spread them through the year.“
