Without doubt the greatest Grand Prix promoter of all time is Giuseppe Luongo. Having started his promotional career way back in the 1980’s, with his Masters of Motocross series, which pitted the best Grand Prix riders against the best AMA riders will go down in history as a major change in the way people saw European motocross.

A little in the background now, Giuseppe has handed the reigns to his son David, who makes sure the MXGP championship runs to plan and is organized to the high standards that his father created way back in the 1980s.

We are always grateful when Giuseppe is kind enough to answer our questions and give an insight into how he see’s the sport in 2025 and some of his plans for the future.

MXLarge: We are in the middle of a very exciting 2025 season, with veteran Romain Febvre and rookie Lucas Coenen fighting for the championship. Two very different riders. What is your opinion of the fight so far and what have you enjoyed the most about the first half of the GP season?

Luongo: The first part of the season has been incredibly intense, and we have seen amazing racing in each Championship. In MXGP the competition between Lucas and Romain has been a highlight of the Championship so far, it shows that talented riders who make their experience in each European Championship class and in MX2 can then be immediately competitive at a high level in MXGP creating surprises in the main category. This has been the case for many other stars in MXGP like Lucas, Gajser and Herlings, and Romain is also a great example as at 34 he is still very fit and proving to be competitive for the title.

MXlarge: And now Jeffrey Herlings comes back with win number 108. Seems he will maybe never stop winning. How important is it to have Jeffrey racing, because he has been a huge help for MXGP to be where it is now, as far as Worldwide exposure?

Luongo: Jeffrey is unique.Considering all the records in GP victories and race wins together with all the injuries he’s had in his career, he shows he’s a man who makes and will continue to make the history of our sport.The contribution of the riders with their amazing victories and the arduous moments they fight to overcome brings our sport to be adored by the fans and helps it to be become more and more well-known worldwide giving MXGP more recognition, importance and value.

MXLarge: We have so many good riders coming up, Coenen brothers, De Wolf, Everts, Langenfelder, Adamo. The MXGP class will look very different in a couple of years and these guys will be the stars. Obviously, we all love the USA vs Europe conversation and for years GP riders have been a little better. How excited are you to see this young group of GP riders coming up against the likes of the Lawrence brothers, Haiden Deegan and those talents in America, whenever they might meet?

Luongo: All Motocross fans dream to see MXGP riders and American riders confront each other and race together, unfortunately for the moment it’s only possible at the MXoN, but we are working hard to have an MXGP in USA one day to be able to see all these stars battle it out on the race track all together.

MXLarge: On that Europe vs America, is there any update on some extra races between the two different motocross Worlds? I know there was talk a year or two ago, but has that progressed at all?

Luongo: The goal for both sides of the Atlantic is to have an MXGP in USA, and we are all working hard on this. There are many details and hurdles that need to be overcome but I remain positive. It’s difficult to give a precise date, but it will happen and hopefully in the near future.

MXLarge: Assen back on the calendar in 2027. How did that come about and with USA running the event more often, can you tell me any future MXoN dates after 2027? Could Assen be a regular base for the MXoN?

Luongo: Yes, with Assen we have a contract for the 2027 MXoN, clearly if we have the success which we are hoping for we think it will be possible to see Assen with more MXoN events in the future.Concerning future years, what I can tell you is that the MXoN is a very successful event and obviously desired by many organisers.It’s important that we bring this special event to countries which can assume in all kinds of weather conditions and to be able to hold a successful event in terms of spectators, infrastructure, racetrack, and of course, financially.

MXLarge: We lost Indonesia this year, which is obviously disappointing for nearly everyone in the GP paddock and of course for Indonesia itself. Are you in negotiations for a return to Indonesia and we keep hearing about Thailand maybe returning?

Luongo: Yes, we are in negotiation with many non-European countries including Indonesia and Thailand, and sure in a close future we will see other countries returning to the MXGP Calendar.

MXLarge: We saw on Tim Gajsers social media that you and he had a meeting, or maybe ran into each other on holidays? How did that come about, where was it and is there anything you can tell us about the meeting?

Luongo: My encounters with riders away from the events are important to understand the riders’ needs and expectations, and also for me to explain to them IMR’s goals and strategies for the championship.At the events we are all very busy, there is the stress of the race and it’s difficult to find the time to openly talk about problems and strategies, therefore I am always very open for any rider who wants to see me.

MXlarge: Do you have any exciting news for us about new countries joining the series in the near future, or any changes to might interest the motocross fans?

Luongo: We will have news for the next year’s calendar, but it’s still too early; as I told you we are talking with several overseas organisers, by September we will have decided where we will be going in addition to Argentina, China and Australia.

MXLarge: We have the three big series, the AMA SX and MX and of course, MXGP, but it seems the World supercross series is working hard to grow and build a better series. I spoke with Kurt Nicoll, who mentioned he would love to see GP riders racing this series in their off-season. Do you have an opinion on another major series. Would it be good for the sport, or disrupt AMA and GP events?

Luongo: I believe in the free competition, and when somebody offers a better series than another it will be for sure more successful, I have done this with Masters of Motocross at the end of the 80’s and we have done this with MXGP since more than 25 years, and in America with their AMA Supercross and AMA Nationals it works very well.The manufacturers demonstrate that they believe (and it’s also my belief) that the best Supercross in the world is in America and the best Motocross in the world is MXGP, and the contracts of the manufacturers with the riders are very clear that they pay their American riders to make the AMA Supercross and the AMA Nationals and they pay the riders from the rest of the world to make MXGP.Motocross and Supercross are two entirely different sports; MXGP riders are specialised in Motocross, and SX riders are specialised in Supercross.I believe having MXGP riders participating in a Supercross series in their off-season would be detrimental to MXGP riders.Already today there are many complaints of not having enough recovery time.Professional riders at this kind of level need to have the time out during the off-season to physically recover and prepare themselves for the next season.If they were to race 12 months a year there would be a high risk of injuries not recovering completely, a high risk of burning the riders out causing an intense and shorter career for the riders and a lower performance of the riders as a whole.I believe riders need to prioritise one sport or the other (Motocross or Supercross) in order to be at the highest level of competition needed for world class sports.