MX Sports Pro Racing
Appoints Long-Serving
Industry Figurehead Roy Janson as
Commissioner of Motocross
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Newly Created Position
Will Serve as a Conduit
for the Continued
Progression of American
Motocross
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MORGANTOWN,
W.Va. (February 14,
2023) – MX
Sports Pro Racing,
organizers and producers
of the
AMA Pro Motocross
Championship,
sanctioned by AMA Pro
Racing, announced today
the appointment of
long-time industry
figurehead Roy
Janson as
Commissioner of
Motocross. This
newly created position
will align within the
overall structure of MX
Sports Pro Racing and
American motocross as a
whole.
The Commissioner of
Motocross will serve as
an invaluable liaison
between MX Sports Pro
Racing and the various
entities that constitute
the overall structure of
the AMA Pro Motocross
Championship, including
AMA Pro Racing, the
event organizers that
comprise the
championship calendar,
and the community of
commercial entities that
participate in the
series. The Commissioner
will take on specific
assignments working
within the existing
management structure of
MX Sports Pro Racing,
including planning and
operational matters that
range outside the issues
of competition and race
officiating. The role of
Commissioner will also
include supporting the
efforts of existing MX
Sports Pro Racing staff
members and will allow
the Commissioner to
identify and support
future staff members who
will help shepherd
American motocross into
its next half century of
competition. The AMA Pro
Motocross Championship
is recognized worldwide
as the sport's premier
competition for
professional motocross.
“The promotion to such a
prestigious position as
Commissioner of
Motocross allows me the
opportunity to complete
my journey within this
business in a wonderful
role and at the same
time allows me the
opportunity to be part
of this remarkable sport
as it begins a new and
exciting future with the
creation of the
SuperMotocross League,”
explained Janson. “The
new
SuperMotocross World
Championship and the
cooperative structure
that brings together the
entities and resources
of Feld Motor Sports and
MX Sports Pro Racing
will allow the sport to
protect and promote the
individual integrity of
the disciplines of
Supercross and Pro
Motocross, while adding
the people’s
championship at the
culmination of each
season. Each year, the
SuperMotocross World
Championship will answer
the question that all of
us as fans ask ourselves
each season–who is the
best of the best? While
I’ve been blessed to
have enjoyed a lifetime
career in the sport of
motorcycle racing, I’m
pleased to be here as
our sport begins its
next chapter and I’m a
believer that our future
has never been
brighter.”
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Janson's
significance within the
sport was recognized in
the early '90s
with a "Hi Flyers"
trading card.
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Janson, who has worked
as a director with MX
Sports Pro Racing since
its establishment in
2009, began his career
in the sport and
industry of motorcycling
nearly 60 years ago as a
young employee of a
local motorcycle dealer
in his hometown of
Rochester, New York, and
since 1964 has been
involved as a lifetime
motorcycle racer, event
worker, and event
organizer. While briefly
holding an AMA
Professional Motocross
License in the early
1970’s, Janson has
stated that he
recognized early in his
racing experience that
if he were to enjoy a
career in the sport it
would likely need to be
off the track rather
than on it.
After serving in the
United States Marine
Corps following his
graduation from high
school, Janson returned
to Rochester to pursue
Bachelor and Master’s
Degrees from the State
University of New York
at Geneseo and the
University of Rochester,
while continuing to work
at local dealerships and
competing in local
motocross, enduro, and
trials events. Upon
graduation, Janson
embarked on his lifelong
commitment to the sport,
which began in 1980 with
his tenure as an
employee of the American
Motorcyclist Association
(AMA), where he worked
in a variety of
positions, ultimately
ascending to Director of
Professional Racing.
Following his time with
the AMA, Janson went on
to work for PACE
Entertainment in 1994,
where he served as Vice
President of Operations,
overseeing the company’s
vast array of
motorsports properties,
including Supercross. He
continued with the
company as it evolved
through a series of
ownership changes over
the next two decades,
which culminated as Live
Nation Motorsports until
its sale to Feld
Entertainment / Feld
Motor Sports. Janson
then went on to work
with the Daytona
Motorsports Group
following its
acquisition of AMA Pro
Racing and helped
organize the transfer of
AMA Pro Racing to its
current structure, which
segued to his current
upper management
position with MX Sports
Pro Racing. The change
in the management
structure of the sport
of professional
motorcycle racing
allowed Janson the
opportunity to return to
his roots with Pro
Motocross, as one of the
early group of employees
who made up MX Sports
Pro Racing. He has
relished his role as
Event Director for every
event dating back to
2009, when MX Sports Pro
Racing assumed its role
as organizer of the AMA
Pro Motocross
Championship.
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Janson served as
team manager for the USA
squad at the 1992 FIM
Motocross of Nations,
where the legendary "B
Team" captured victory
in Australia.
Photos: Racer X Archives
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"Roy probably knows more
about motocross than any
of us. He has been a
friend and mentor for
countless people in
motocross, going back to
the 1980s when he first
began working with the
American Motorcyclists
Association,” said Davey
Coombs, President, MX
Sports Pro Racing. “He
has held numerous
positions in the
industry, everything
from race official to
series organizer to
sponsorship coordinator.
Roy was even Team USA
Manager for two wins in
the annual FIM Motocross
of Nations (‘92-‘93).
He's also still the
defending AMA National
Enduro Champion in
sidehack racing, a
largely ceremonial honor
dating back to the late
1960s, but that's a
story for another time.
"Whether it's event
production or television
production, rulebook
questions or safety
issues, Roy has a
comprehensive
understanding of how it
all works. He has been
invaluable to AMA Pro
Motocross, as well as
Monster Energy
Supercross, Loretta
Lynn's AMA Amateur
National Championships,
and the Motocross of
Nations. There is no
individual more suited
to be named the first
Commissioner of
Motocross than Roy
Janson."
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For information
about the AMA Pro
Motocross
Championship, please
visit ProMotocross.com and
be sure to follow
all of the Pro
Motocross social
media channels for
exclusive content
and additional
information on the
latest news:
Available for download
for both Apple and
Android devices is the
official Pro Motocross
App. Fans of American
motocross can have
access to the world’s
most prestigious
off-road motorcycle
racing series right at
their fingertips on
their mobile devices.
Developed by AMA Pro
Racing, the Pro
Motocross App provides
users with the most
important information
surrounding the AMA Pro
Motocross Championship,
from series news to
schedule and ticket
information, as well as
broadcast schedule
details and live timing
& scoring. Download it
now via the App
Store or Google
Play.
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AMA Pro
Motocross Championship
The AMA Pro Motocross
Championship features
the world's fastest
outdoor motocross
racers, competing aboard
homologated bikes from
one of seven competing
manufacturers on a
collection of the
roughest, toughest
tracks on the planet.
Racing takes place each
Saturday afternoon, with
competition divided into
two classes: one for
250cc machines, and one
for 450cc machines. MX
Sports Pro Racing, the
industry leader in
off-road powersports
event production,
manages the AMA Pro
Motocross Championship,
while sanctioning comes
from AMA Pro Racing.
More information can be
found at
www.ProMotocross.com.
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SuperMotocross
World Championship
The SuperMotocross World
Championship™ is the
premier off-road
motorcycle racing series
that combines the
technical precision of
stadium racing with the
all-out speed and
endurance of outdoor
racing. Created in 2022,
the SuperMotocross World
Championship combines
the Monster Energy AMA
Supercross Championship
and the AMA Pro
Motocross Championship
into a 31-event series
that culminates in a
season-ending two round
playoff and
SuperMotocross World
Championship Final.
Visit
SuperMotocross.com
for more information.
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