Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Action Group Intemational President Giuseppe Luongo Gathering of the Tribes By continue on with what we are about to accomplish ERIC JOHNSON right now. However, I had to work step by step T he man responsible for sending the motocross world spinning on its axis (with the recent announcement that, beginning in 2001, all MX GP rounds will feature 125, 250, and 500cc classes on the same day at the same venue) is named Giuseppe Luongo. The president of Action Group International (AGI), Luongo is now beginning to see the culmination of five years of hard work and, to a large extent, risk. Through a solid relationship with FIM princi~al Wolfgang Srb, Luongo has toiled away diligently in an effort to bring GP motocross out of the dark ages and, through a new strategy of utilizing more contemporary media and promotional techniques, into the bright white light of the mainstream. This will be the year to see if their collective "experiment" - and all the changes and tweaks which have come with it - could payoff. Cycle News contributor Eric Johnson spoke with Luongo on the eve of the season-opening Spanish Grand Prix. ln 1996, the Action Group first became involved 'in Grand Prix motocross with the 250cc World Championship division. What is your background in organizing professional . motocross events, and what led you to take control of the 250cc class that year? Q ln the past, I organized many Grand Prix events in Italy; the Master of Motocross series [a postseason international motocross series which ran in the late 1980s, contested by the top American and European riders], which ran all over the world, some Motocross des Nations events; and a number of other sporting and cultural events. I wanted to start with the 250cc class because at that time it was the king category. It was the right division to introduce a number of modern elements to our sport. A There was a lot of controversy at that point because word from Europe had it that the 250cc class was to now supersede the 500cc class as the premier division of World Championship motocross. Why did the FIJYI and the Action Group take this course of action? The 250cc class was already the premier division of the Motocross World Championship when AGI (Action Group International) took over the management of the series. I think the reason for this was the fact that the industry and teams invested more in the 250cc class, and as a result, the best riders automatically raced in this category. Q A ln my opinion, when you became involved in the GP motocross in 1996, you began to follow through on your absolute "vision" of what needed to be done to help improve GP motocross. At that point in time, what were the primary challenges the sport was facing? Q A ln 1996, my vision was the following: to com- plete everything we have done thus far and to 30 ,MARCH 29, 2000' cue I III because not everyone was ready for rapid change. If, at that time, I had revealed what we are now about to do, everybody would have thought I was crazy! Yes, we had to make changes - but gradually. Have you faced a lot of resistance in the past few years? Yes, especially from people who were afraid that with professional changes, they would lose their advantage. But thanks to God, all of the people that are fond of this sport, and in particular the FIM, have helped me out a lot. Q A HOW did you form such a strong relationship with the FIM? This is very simple with the collaboration and respect of both groups and their respective functions. The rights to the GP series are the FIM's property. AGI has a contract to manage them for a certain period of time. Of course, all the sport and technical aspects of the events depend absolutely on the FIM. AGI takes care of the rest. Q A What is the Motocross Commission, and how did it come to be an officially sanctioned entity? The motocross commission (CMS) is the FIM department which deals with motocross and follows and keeps track of the sporting element of each event. Together with the CMS, AGI makes and studies all the development of the events. I thank CMS president Wolfgang Srb for the great job he has done and the support he has given to AGI to enable GP motocross to go ahead. Q A Q over the past few years, the 250cc class has not necessarily become the ';dominant" class in Europe that many people thought it would. Would you agree with this assessment? No, I do not agree. The 250cc class is the category which has gathered the most worldwide media coverage and interest during the past few years. I would like to remind you of the riders' names which helped animate the class. These riders are currently the best of the world. A ooes it hurt GP motocross when a number of world-class riders - Albertyn, Tortelli, Vuillemin. Chiodi - win major races and World Championship titles, then take off for America? Q A Riders go away and come back. The interest from sponsors and media and the overall development of the Grand Prix motocross circuit in the last few years has been significant. It proves that although some riders have left for America, the overall development of World Championship motocross has not really suffered. Q Has the fact that such major riders have left Europe played a part in such sweeping reform? neVIl'S No. On the contrary, the riders who go to the USA have top results there. This shows that the level of competition in Europe is higher. One thing is certain: The maximum level in motocross is the Grand Prix circuit. For Supercross, the maximum level is, for the time being, in the USA. A I recently read that you felt that Grand Prix motocross really lost its way during the 1970s and 1980s. I thought your observations were very interesting. Can you elaborate? Yes. In the 1970s, all major forms of sport in Europe did not have the TV coverage and overall professionalism that they currently enjoy. At that point, the public freely chose to follow one sport or another. During the 1970s, motocross had about 30,000 to 40,000 spectators per event. Then TV and major promotion arrived on the scene, and while all of the major sports followed the new system, motocross did not innovate, and kept all of its old rules and organization. So while all the other sports were gaining momentum and prestige, motocross was sleeping. Today, we are in a world ruled by media. In other words: no media, no success. Q A world Championship-level motocross has been around for over 50 years. Now, in the year 2000, major changes are about to be implemented. In your opinion, has the time now come for major reform? Yes, but I think it is already too late. We lost 20 years compared to other sports. Therefore, we have to work harder to cancel our delay. Q A From following your career in the sport, I truly feel you are working off a Bernie EccJestone/Formula One-type model. What I mean by that is that you want to integrate major changes into GP motocross in order to help stimulate sponsorship and media interest. Can you explain your overall plan of attack in the next few years? This is normal, to reference the examples of a great person [Luongo refers to Formula One overlord Bernie Ecclestone], although we have to consider the different requirements of our sport. The future is one event gathering the three classes, one heat per class, all on live TV. We also need circuits ready to invest in infrastructure which will welcome the teams, media and upwards of 40,000 spectators. Q A Grand Q The new "tripleheader"and the Prix events will take place in England Benelux region this spring and summer. Why did you decide to go to this format? The race format is clear. We need big events and a concentration of interests. We do not want to concentrate on divisions. A Q What criteria did you use to choose the venues you did? We chose these venues in accordance with the organizers who were the first ones to believe in our program. A Q A How will the "program" be executed? For this year, the program is very difficult, because in the current regulations there are two heats, which will not be easy to run. We will manage because we have great people and resources. HOW have the other venues - the ones that have not been selected to hold a tripleheader reacted? First off, they were not interested in organizing' tripleheaders. Now they have come to under- I stand the value of the project, and all of them are 1 interested. But only the best ones will be a part of the future. Q A

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