FUNCHAL, 05 February 2012 – On the 3rd February 2012 a historical agreement has been made between Youthstream and Schava SRL. Schava is a company represented by Mr. Stefano Avandero and Mr. Paolo Schneider and which will organize the FIM Motocross World Championship Grand Prix of Italy and the FIM Motocross of Nations in Maggiora.
The Motocross Grand Prix will be organized from 2013 until 2020 (excluding 2016 – the year of the MXoN in Maggiora), and the MXoN will be held in 2016 and 2021. The historical track of Maggiora will be used with all the necessary modernization; all the new infrastructure and accommodation necessary will be built to welcome the riders, teams, media, VIP, industries and fans following the actual and future standards of the FIM Motocross World Championship.
‘For us it’s dream come true,’ Mr. Giuseppe Luongo, President of Youthstream Group, said. ‘Special thanks go out to Mr. Stefano Avandero and Paolo Schneider for their belief in the potential of Maggiora and their partnership with Youthstream. I have a special attachment to Maggiora because aside from organizing many major events there, such as GPs and the Masters of Motocross, I was the organizer of the well-known MXoN in 1986 in Maggiora, which was won by the American Dream Team; this event is still considered the greatest MX event in history. At that time I was the organizer and promoter of the event together with the local club and FMI at only 26 years old.’
Mr. Luongo continued by saying: ‘The circuit of Maggiora together with Glen Helen (USA) are the best Motocross circuits in the World, they are really ‘the typical’ Motocross circuits and I am sure that with all the modern improvements we will bring, it will be something exceptional. The project of Mr. Avandero and Mr. Schneider is superb because it’s not only based on creating the greatest venue for Motocross in Europe but also creating a venue to welcome other big entertainment shows, and at the same time to bring back the media’s and public’s interest to this region and revenue to the community. With this achievement we have really found the best compromise for Motocross which is a traditional circuit and all the modern facilities, I hope this can be the example for many other circuits in the future.’
‘The Motocross of Nations in 2016 will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Motocross of Nations in Maggiora in 1986, and we hope that fans from all over the world will come for this unique moment,’ Mr. Luongo added.
Before finishing, Mr. Luongo wanted to clarify a point, ‘This project will not close the door to other GPs in Italy because we know Italy is a strong sporting country and if there are other organizers in the future interested in a second Grand Prix of Italy, we will for sure take this in serious consideration. ‘Naturally Maggiora and the other eventual GP in Italy will always be organized with the support of the Italian Motorcycle Federation (FMI), which we thank for all that they do for our sport.’
Dr. Wolfgang Srb, FIM CMS Director, stated, ‘the history of the FIM Motocross of Nations is very rich and colorful. There have been exciting races, great battles and unforgettable moments. But one edition of the most important Motocross event of the world stands above all the others: the legendary race of 1986 in Maggiora. The American dream team, composed of David Bailey, Ricky Johnson and Johnny O’Mara, is remembered for one of the greatest performances the sport of Motocross has ever seen. The moment when Johnny O’Mara on the 125cc bike passed the ruling 500cc World Champion David Thorpe will stay forever in the memory and in the heart of every fan in the world.’
‘The return of the FIM Motocross World Championship and the FIM Motocross of Nations to Maggiora is one of the best news I have ever heard. The venue is as magic as unique and will attract fans from all over the world. Big thanks and congratulations to all who made this dream come true!’ Dr. Srb concluded.
Paolo Schneider explained: ‘this agreement is something we are really happy and really proud to achieve; since I was a little kid, I used to go to Maggiora and saw there all the major events of the 90’s; the atmosphere was unique every time and especially the track was in my opinion the best in the world. Not long ago I was talking to my best friend Stefano and said “could you imagine the possibility to bring back to this place the best kind of races in the world? Let’ s try it!”’
‘As soon as we talked to Mr. Giuseppe Luongo, Mr. Wolfgang Srb, Mr. Daniele Rizzi, Mr. Niko
s Gounaris and all the other members of Youthstream, we found them really nice and kind people with a great and genuine passion for Motocross,’ Mr. Schneider added. ‘They immediately said that our project was a great one and from there they really put the best effort to make this deal done. These past months we made a great amount of work but it is still not finished; from now we have more than one year to put together this ambitious project and for sure we’ll make our best to create something unforgettable.’
If we imagine combining all the great History Maggiora already has with his old track with new facilities, structures and services, the result should be exceptional. To conclude we are very thankful to Giuseppe and Youthstream for giving us the possibility to organize in Maggiora great events such as FIM Motocross Grand Prix and FIM Motocross of Nation. It will be a pleasure to work tightly together. A special thank goes also to the Major of Maggiora, Giuseppe Fasola, and all the local administration that have been very supportive and determined to concretize this project together,’ Mr. Schneider concluded.
Stefano Avandero stated: ‘Less than one year ago, coming back from a typical riding day, Paolo and myself were dreaming about the possibility to see again some races on the glorious track of Maggiora. Just the idea to bring back the FIM Motocross World Championship and the FIM Motocross of Nations is something really difficult to describe in words, specially the 30th anniversary of the 1986 MXoN in 2016.’
Mr. Avandero added: ‘our biggest goal for this project is to replicate and recreate those special moments and those unique feelings that the Motocross of Maggiora has always delivered through all its history. The entire project is based on the idea of creating a new environmental friendly space with a variety of services, in order to accommodate also others events. Working together with Youthstream is a dream and a great opportunity, we are sure that with a specific readjustment of the existing site, always respecting nature, we will create an area perfect to welcome others outdoor events during the rest of the year and a even more spectacular track of the original one, mixing some of the old school features with new modern obstacles.’
Mr. Giuseppe Fasola, Major of Maggiora, said: ‘I’m really exited about this agreement between Youthstream and Schava. For us it is a great opportunity in many ways; we’ll have the opportunity to brig back the name of Maggiora to the highest level in the motorsports industry and at the same time to completely readjust a neglected area that will be available for the citizens and for us for many different uses. This project will bring a lot of induced consumption and working places for our surroundings, which is nowadays something important to consider. The definition of the approval for the entire project is designated; in the next moths we’ll take care of all those little missing aspects.’
