Youthstream President Giuseppe Luongo commented on the recent cancellation of the 15th round of the 2015 FIM Motocross World Championship in Brazil and stated in the official press conference for the Grand Prix of Qatar at Losail yesterday that the Brazilian motorcycling Federation – CBM – have one week to confirm another circuit.
The Italian also remarked that the calendar will stay at 18 rounds and if the CBM cannot accommodate the popular fixture – set to take place on August 16 – then it will be exchanged for a venue in Europe. “It will be replaced; 100 per cent,” he said. “We will wait until next week and in Thailand for the Brazilian Federation to find a replacement. In two weeks we will make an announcement. For sure there is a bad financial situation in Brazil at the moment but we hope we will come back next year.”
Brazil has been on the MXGP calendar since 2009 and ran two events in 2014. Issues with support from the government of the State of Goias plunged the 2015 incarnation into doubt.
There is hope from local press sources that the Romagnolli promotion group will be able to resurrect the Grand Prix for 2016. If not at the new Trindade circuit then elsewhere and maybe back to the Santa Catarina region. The feeling in Brazil among the press is that the country will not welcome MXGP this summer.
There had also been rumours over the Latvian stop on the schedule (the 12th race, on July 12) at Kegums with the sandy course having hosted the Motocross of Nations last summer.
Luongo was swift to dispel any doubt but did hint at some of the turmoil behind the scenes concerning a change in the powerbrokers of the MXGP near Riga. “No problem at all,” he claimed. “Salvis [Freimanis, Baltic Cup Foundation] is very ill and not able to continue but the GP will go on and we have been negotiating with good partners to continue. Some other people have been trying to wreck it for nothing. The government will support [despite] all the noise been spread around. In the end the good will win, as always.”
