A Step Forward

A charged ensemble of 27 teenagers from all over the world will line up for the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup 2009 on their KTM RC125s to start the eight-race season at Jerez, Spain, at the beginning of May.

The forced cancellation of the US Rookies Cup was a sad step backwards, but bringing three of the top performers from the 2008 Red Bull AMA US Rookies Cup across the Atlantic for this season is just part of a very significant step forward for the MotoGP Cup. There are also nine new Rookies joining the Cup from the Final Selection Event held at Estoril last November, plus 16 year-old Australian Josh Hook from October's US Cup Selection Event at Barber Motorsport Park. Britain's 15 year-old Danny Kent graduates to the Cup from the Red Bull MotoGP Academy, and there are also 13 Rookies from the 2008 MotoGP Cup.



With 14 Nations represented, drawing riders from as far apart as Japan, South Africa, Australia and all across Europe and the USA, the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup is where the best of the world's teenage talent can be seen, producing a thrilling spectacle while they develop their craft. The learning begins in Estoril on March 26 and 27 followed by another two-day test in Jerez on March 30 and 31. Time for some to build on their Rookies Cup experience, and for others, it’s the first opportunity to feel what it means to ride a thoroughbred KTM Grand Prix machine.



The three Americans are lead by US Cup winner 14-year-old Benny Solis. The Californian is joined by Hayden Gillim, the 14-year-old from Kentucky, and 15-year-old Californian Jake Gagne who ended the season second and fourth respectively. They will be looking to improve on the excellent form they displayed in the two transatlantic Riders Cup races last year. Those carrying the Stars and Stripes will find the Europeans equally determined to show who’s boss on home turf. Norway's Sturla Fagerhaug, a close third in the 2008 Cup final standings with one win and five podium places is odds-on favourite to claim the Cup in his third season. The 17-year-old has all the coolness and experience he needs to do it, but there is plenty of opposition.



South African 16-year-old Mathew Scholtz won the penultimate race in 2008, and by putting his early falls from last season well behind him starts 2009 as one of those expected to be a future star. Others to watch include Frenchman Nelson Major, who turns 16 before the season starts and Japanese 14-year-old Daijiro Hiura, who just needs to match some consistency to the genius that won him the Estoril round last year.


The 27 riders are lining up for the third year running on the beautiful KTM RC125s, such close relations to the Red Bull KTM team's factory bikes campaigned in the 125 Grand Prix class by Marc Marquez and ex-Red Bull MotoGP Rookie Cameron Beaubier. This is the third year of the enormously valuable partnership between Red Bull and KTM that has made the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup such a great success. The Rookies Cup once more relies on the fabulous support of Alpinestars, who deserve such great credit for protecting the Rookies from the knocks and shocks of the boiling competition as well as they do World Champions.

Eight-Race Series Calendar

May 2 and 3: Jerez (Spain)
May 30: Mugello (Italy)
June 27: Assen (Netherlands)
July 18: Sachsenring (Germany)
July 25: Donington (England)
August 15 and 16: Brno (Czech Republic)