World Motocross Championship in Türkiye drew huge crowd of 400,000 spectators

By Canan Tukelay

AFYONKARAHISAR, Türkiye (AA) – The western Turkish city of Afyonkarahisar last weekend welcomed a huge crowd of over 400,000 visitors during the World Motocross Championship and NG Afyon MotoFest, in a sure sign of the event gaining more and more fans.

Interest in motocross races is growing each year, reflecting the sport's rising popularity in Türkiye and globally, Ogun Baysan, head of the Türkiye Motorcycling Federation, told Anadolu in an exclusive interview.

"We completed the races on Saturday and Sunday in all categories without any issues. Now the teams will head to China,” he said.

"All the teams thanked us. They praised our track and paddock (garages) again. This made us proud," Baysan added.

- Event attracts immense crowd

Baysan said in its early years the event started with as few as 5,000 attendees, but now the number has shot up to over 400,000, adding that on Saturday alone, more than 120,000 spectators were present, highlighting the event’s rapid rise in popularity.

"It was tough to get in and out due to the large crowd. Our audience has significantly grown on the sports side as well. This year marked the sixth time we've held the event, and it’s clear that people have embraced it," he said.

Baysan added that the races reached 1.8 billion people through MXGP TV's closed-circuit broadcast.

The 2024 MXGP Türkiye was held under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye.

The MXGP Türkiye took place last weekend in the western province of Afyonkarahisar, renowned as the best motocross track in the world.

The track area received the Best Infrastructure award in 2018 from the Internationale Motorcycling Federation.