Turkey’s west to host int’l motocross championship

AFYON

The 2019 Motocross World Championship (MXGP) is coming back to western Afyonkarahisar province this year for a second time. The event, scheduled for Sept. 6-8, is expected to contribute about 200 million euros to the Turkish economy.

The championship will be held at the Afyon Motor Sports Center under the auspices of the Turkish Presidency and in conjunction with the Sports and Motorcycle Festival of Turkey.

The 250-square-meter track at the sports center has been prepared by the Afyon municipality to comply with international sports standards. The track area received the “Best Infrastructure” award in 2018 from the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). It has the technical infrastructure to simultaneously compensate for the electricity and water needs of all incoming guests.

Besides hosting the event, the track area will also provide training services with a to-be-established academy.

Some 1,500 people, including racers and technical teams, will travel to Afyon for the tournament. About 30,000 motocross fans from abroad along with Turkish citizens are expected to attend.

During the three-day-long event, free-of-charge activities will be provided to guests, including mini golf and table soccer.

Over 100 racers will compete for the championship in the MXGP, MX2 and WMX categories.

The tournament will be aired by 56 broadcasters in 180 countries, reaching a possible audience of 1.4 billion people.

Along with the event’s advertisement, a one-minute-long video promoting Turkey will also be broadcasted around the world.

After Turkey, racers will head for a final championship round in Shanghai, China, on Sept. 15.

The first time the Motocross World Championship held at Afyon was in 2018.