Source: MXGP | The first Opening Press Conference of the 2024 season was held with Infront Moto Racing CEO David Luongo, FIM/CMS Director Antonio Alia Portela, and Organiser of the YPF INFINIA MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina David Eli who all welcomed everyone to Villa La Angostura.
Mr Luongo then made an announcement to include an exciting new addition to the series in the very near future:
“We saw in the last few months and years that have been many developments into the electrification of bikes, so I think that it’s a good moment to put down the base of a new support class that will be fully dedicated to electric bikes. We don’t want to mix things [with regular machines], but to create a path for this technology to develop and continue to grow, and we will see how it develops. In the last few months many things have started without clear guidance on where it will go. I think that as the best and most modern platform for Motocross in the world, that MXGP should also embrace this new technology.”
“So we want to announce that in 2026 we want to create a new support race, in collaboration with the FIM and with the manufacturers, for a fully dedicated Electric World Championship that will be held alongside MXGP. We aim to run five or six races in Europe for this, so we have two years to work with the FIM and the manufacturers on the rules for the bikes and to define exactly what it shall be. It will help to complete the package of an MXGP weekend, and also help the manufacturers with a very professional platform to help develop these products which are already on the market to complete the portfolio for a manufacturer.”
FIM/CMS Director Antonio Alia Portela: “I wish to welcome everybody once again to Argentina and really thank everybody who has put in a lot of work to enable us to be here. As David said, we are working towards a new class for electric bikes to run alongside MXGP, and this shows the interest of new manufacturers who will have an opportunity to join the paddock, which is very important. This will also create new opportunities for riders, it will create new jobs and allow them to develop their products. We are reaching higher levels, which without the organisation that David puts into place would be very, very difficult to do. It’s very demanding to reach the standards we have achieved, and we ask the organisers to go beyond, to better the product and to offer us better facilities. It all goes in a flash, and on Monday most of us will be flying home again. It’s a pleasure to be back here again and I would like to wish you all the best for the season”.
Pictures Stark Varg
