Teacher's Pets
TEACHER'S PETS
Kevin Schwantz Guides America's Next Best
BLAKE CONNER
KEVIN SCHWANTZ HAS LEATHERS OLDER THAN MOST of the 13-to 17-year-olds that he has been entrusted to coach in the newly created Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup. But the 1993 500cc Grand Prix champion's experience and success make him the perfect teacher to guide the next prospective wave of American motorcycle racing talent.
A couple of years ago, searching for up-and-coming roadracers would have been akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. But the newly created series, run in conjunction with select rounds of the AMA Superbike Championship, is one of the most polished and professional outfits in the paddock.
With a successful year of racing under its belt in ’07 with the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, the Austrian energy-drink company realized that there was demand to create a sister series stateside using the same identically prepped KTM RC125 two-stroke racers. The result has been a smash hit with some of the best racing spectators have seen all year.
Without Red Bull, KTM and their collective marketing and sponsorship connections (Alpinestars and Dunlop are also big contributors), it’s unlikely that anything ble could exist in the U.S.
“For these kids to have this opportunity is absolutely amazing,” says Schwantz. “I think there are still channels for young riders to get where they ultimately want to
be, but the RBRC makes it much easier to find talented riders and start grooming them. We seem to be falling behind the rest of the world at the MotoGP level because most of our kids can’t ride in the limelight until they turn professional at 16 years old. By that point, Dani Pedrosa was already racing in the world championships.”
These kids won’t be ready to battle Valentino Rossi after a single season of RBRC, but it may open doors for them to other series abroad. “Depending on the kid and the situation, it may give them the chance to go to the MotoGP Academy (another Red Bull-funded program); that’s the next step for the kids who really shine,” adds Schwantz.
The most rewarding aspect of his involvement? “At the start of the season, we had kids who had never ridden
a roadrace bike. To watch kids like Jake Gange, Joey Pascarella and Jake Cunningham, who have worked their way from the back portion of the grid toward the top 10, is impressive. Hopefully, I can keep the kids from making some of the same silly mistakes I made early in my career.”
With a little luck, knowl-
edge and experience, a handful of these kids might actually make a career out of racing. Only time will tell, but accord ing to Schwantz, the four fastest-Benny Solis, Leandro Mercado, Hayden Gillim and Tomas Puerta-have the ability to race with Europe's best and possibly become world champions some day.
