The story of how MXGP flexed and came alive, in the tightest of international circumstances, to restart the 2020 championship

WORDS: ADAM WHEELER
PHOTOS: JP Acevedo, Bavo Swijgers

Eyebrows were raised and noses turned up when the first Grand Prix of Latvia was announced for 2009. Latvia?! If ever there was an exercise in “follow the money,” then the far-flung trip to the Kegums circuit 30-odd miles from the capital city of Riga seemed to be it. A country that rediscovered independence on dissolution of the USSR in 1991—what motocross tradition and following could possibly be found among a population of just 2 million?