Bet you’re wondering what’s happening with the bid process on the U.S. Nationals, the possibility of future MX GPs here in the U.S., and when we might see the Motocross of Nations here again? Well, we had a chance to sit down to dinner with Giuseppe Luongo tonight, and we’ve got some answers for you.
The AMA’s deadline to submit a bid was on 1/15/08, and from what we understand, there are multiple entities involved in the bidding process (not just Youthstream or the NPG). The AMA will now go over the submissions, and we should expect a decision by mid-February.
Giuseppe also announced that Youthstream will be opening a U.S. office soon, whether they have the winning bid for the U.S. Nationals or not. Why? Expect a Grand Prix here in the U.S. in 2009, a GP and Motocross of Nations in 2010 (think a late September date for the GP, since the MXoN is usually the last week in September). This one is also 99% likely to also host the Supermoto of Nations during the same week, making it a sort of off-road Olympics.
Okay, are you ready to absorb more? Starting in 2011, you’ll get two Grand Prix events per year in the U.S., and the MXoN will return in both 2013, and 2016.
Where will the races be held? We couldn’t wrangle out many hints, other than one of the facilities is an existing track that’s east of the Mississippi, but it’s not part of the existing Nationals schedule. The other track will be built along with substantial investment from a new partner, and the events will alternate between the two.
The final tidbit of news is that Youthstream is in close negotiations with a “top three” network for TV coverage. There will be plenty of room for U.S. rider entries in the GPs, and with some attractive TV coverage, these races could be very interesting…particularly if the championships haven’t been wrapped up by the time the Grand Prix events happen here.
That’s the scoop for now, and now we wait to see what happens with the AMA bid process. One thing’s for sure, we’re going to see a whole lot more of the European stars on this side of the Atlantic.
