Knee-High Scratchers
Knee-High Scratchers
Grand Prix 101
Blake Conner
OKAY, SO YOU WANT TO BE THE next Valentino Rossi or Nicky Hayden. Where do you start? This is a question that has raised much debate over the years. Recently, young riders moving up the ladder to motorcycle racing’s pinnacle, MotoGP, have come from that series’ own support classes, 125 and 250cc Grand Prix. Guys like Rossi, Casey Stoner, Marco Melandri, Loris Capirossi and Dani Pedrosa have all paid their dues in the small two-stroke classes.
This hasn’t always been the case, however, as Americans like Kenny Roberts, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson and Wayne Rainey were raised on the dusty ovals of dirt-track racing and productionbased Superbikes, dominating Grand Prix for the better part of two decades. Hayden has been the modern exception, learning his craft in the same manner as his American predecessors.
Those days seem to have faded into memories as more-sophisticated machinery means more riders are capable of riding them to the limit. This has put an emphasis on track knowledge and racing experience learned at the highest level.
But how do aspiring racers get enough seat time just to make a 125 or 250cc Grand Prix team take notice and give them a shot? Easy: the Red Bull Rookies Cup! Leave it to the Austrian energy-drink company to come up with another great idea that surely grabs the attention of not only every team in the paddock but fans around the world. In 2007, 23 lucky riders from around the globe (including three from America) participated in the RBRC, accompanying the MotoGP world championship at seven rounds, on the best racetracks, in front of motorcycling’s biggest audiences, all for a chance of getting noticed and perhaps getting that factory ride.
Not only will the series return in 2008 alongside MotoGP, but it was recently announced that another series has been created in the U.S. It is called the AMA U.S. Rookies Cup and will join the AMA Superbike series at eight events in addition to the MotoGP weekend at Laguna Seca, making nine total rounds. Two dozen 13to 16-year olds will ride identically prepped, 45-horsepower KTM RC 125cc two-strokes, ensuring a level playing field and tight competition.
Unfortunately, by the time you read this, the application deadline will have passed. But that should give your young hopefuls a year of anticipation and a chance to get their grades up to the high level that all participants must meet for consideration.
The Red Bull Rookies Cup is exactly what the premier AMA roadracing series needs: a place for young talent to strut their stuff. And who knows, maybe five years down the road a whole new wave of American talent will be in the limelight of the world’s stage. For more information on the Red Bull Rookies Cup, visit www. redbullrookiescup.com.
