On the 7th and 8th of March, Bariloche will once again take centre stage on the international motocross map with the first round of the 2026 Motocross World Championship. This event will not only mark the start of the most important sporting calendar for the discipline but will also represent a powerful return to the historical identity that the city has built alongside this sport since its origins.

The competition will take place on the new circuit located near the PITBA (Buenos Aires International Technical Park), a track designed specifically for the World Championship and currently in its final stages of construction. It is a track conceived to international standards, designed for both athletic performance and the spectator experience, once again positioning Bariloche among the great venues of global motocross.

The first Argentine MX riders: Eduardo Hensel, Jean Pierre Raemdock, Juan Carlos Deyurka, and Gregorio Martínez. But beyond the present and the magnitude of the event, the emphasis is also on the symbolic: the return of world motocross to Bariloche implies recovering a deep, rich, and often unknown history for new generations.

In that sense, the perspective of motocross instructor Jorge “Tin” Martin provides a key historical dimension. For him, talking about motocross in Bariloche is talking about the very origin of the sport in the country.

“The beginning of motocross in Argentina originated in Villa La Angostura, in the early 1960s,” he recounts, reconstructing that foundational scene. At that time, the Belgian Jean-Pierre performed jumps from the pier to the shore as part of an impromptu show for tourists arriving on lake excursions. “That's when the rumour started that there was a crazy gringo jumping from the pier to the shore. That was in mid-1963 or 1964, and that's where the whole story began,” he recalls.

Jean-Pierre, a mechanical technician trained in Belgium, was also a key figure in the development of mountain biking in the region. His connection with the Garagnani family proved crucial for the early days of motocross, transforming street bikes—mainly Gilera 200s—into machines adapted for competition by shortening fuel tanks, modifying seats, and lightening frames.

The first names soon joined: Eduardo Hensel, Juan Carlos de Yurca, and Gregorio Martínez were part of that initial group that began to shape the first informal competitions. The first major milestone came in 1967, with the first formal championship held at the Cerro Otto circuit, where the National University of Comahue is located today. From then on, the sport grew steadily.

In 1974, the epicentre shifted to Colonia Suiza, a venue that hosted highly popular Latin American championships. Riders arrived from all over the region, and the public responded massively.

“More than 10,000 spectators were in Colonia Suiza in '74 or '75. The line of cars stretched from the monument all the way to Colonia… it was incredible,” recalls Tin, illustrating the magnitude of motocross's presence on the tourist scene at the time.

Those competitions, organized by the Bariloche Motocross Union, marked a golden age. “They were glory years for local motocross. It was more of a draw for tourism than skiing at that time,” he asserts.

That's why the arrival of the World Championship has profound emotional significance for those who were part of that history. “As a Bariloche native and a pioneer, having the world championship in the city for the first time is a tremendous source of pride. It's our historical right to host this event,” he affirms.

And he broadens his perspective: “For Argentina, it's a great source of pride. Today, we are the only country in the Americas to host a round of the world championship. It's going to be a spectacular race.”

Besides its historical value, one of the highlights of the new track is its design focused on the spectator experience. A key point is the high visibility of the circuit, meaning how much of the track the public can see from different sections. "From any location, between 60% and 70% of the circuit will be visible, and even up to 80% in some areas," he points out.

In that sense, he explains that in previous editions and circuits, the visibility percentage did not reach these levels, so the spectator could only follow partial sections of the race. The wide field of vision that Bariloche will offer will allow spectators to enjoy a large part of the race in real time, making it one of the venue's major differentiators. The recommendation for attendees also aims to improve the experience: bring sun protection, use a mask.