Giuseppe Luongo bids farewell: 50 years in Motocross amid transformations and fierce controversy

The Motocross World Championship bids farewell to Giuseppe Luongo, who has announced his retirement from the role of President of Infront Moto Racing, making way for his son David Luongo. At 65, he boasts 50 years in the sport—8 as a rider and 42 as a promoter—widely considered the driving force and soul of modern Motocross, along with all the innovations in regulations, management, organization, infrastructure, and media coverage. For the record, however, it should be added that he has also faced a great deal of harsh criticism from many enthusiasts, both over the years and now, at the time of his retirement, with some pointing to him as the one who ruined—or rather destroyed—motocross.

Luongo began as a Motocross rider and, in the early days of Motocross, was the owner of the official Suzuki team between 1989 and 1992, recruiting a young Stefan Everts. Over the course of his 42-year career as promoter of the Motocross World Championship, Giuseppe Luongo has organized more than 800 events including World Championships, European Championships, and Nations Championships; he was the founder and promoter of the European Championship as we know it today; he is the founder of the FIM SuperMoto World Championship; he was the founder and promoter of the FIM Women’s World Championship, the Masters of Motocross, and the Supercross World Championship. During this period he also organized several gala events for the awarding of the FIM World Champions.