Red Bull Rookies Cup

After two previous chapters, we come to an end of Scott Jones' beautiful photos from Donington Park. Despite the rain, it was a fantastic weekend, which threw up a fair number of surprises. Tragically, and as a result of gross incompetence, Donington Park has been vandalized in a desperate and ultimately failed attempt to attract Formula 1, and now the track is all but unusable. Next year, we go to Silverstone, and with your help, Scott and I will be there to try and capture the moment in words and pictures.

Unlike his teammate, Jorge Lorenzo's luck ran out at the British Grand Prix

Waiting

Donington Park still provides a stunning setting for motorcycle racing

The Red Bull Rookies Cup provided some of the most entertaining racing of the year for spectators attending the European MotoGP rounds, but given the nature of the competitors, that was to be expected. Having thirty-odd teenagers with hyperactive hormones and no fear of death all racing for glory on identical bikes is a recipe for both spectacle and disaster. Fortunately, the skill these young boys and girls displayed helped avert disaster in most cases, leaving just the spectacle to enjoy. My personal favorite moment was at Assen, watching the Red Bull Rookies head into the final GT chicane eight abreast, none of them with any intention of giving ground to each other.

Unfortunately for people who weren't at the races, or couldn't follow the races live on the Red Bull Rookies website, there was little coverage on live TV. That appalling error has now been remedied, with the online broadcaster VBS has put together an eight-part series covering the 2009 Red Bull Rookies Cup. You can watch all of the episodes over on the VBS website, or watch the trailer or the first episode below.

Trailer

When KTM announced they would be withdrawing from the 250cc class at the end of last year, it was generally put down to the bitterness felt by the Austrian factory over the way the Moto2 class was forced through. That announcement was followed shortly by both the onset of the global financial crisis, and a string of very poor financial results by KTM. Since then, KTM has been gradually screwing back its involvement in two-stroke road racing, including withdrawing support from the US Red Bull Rookies series, causing that class to collapse before the start of the season. Earlier this month, when the 2010 Red Bull Rookies Cup was announced, the press release made no mention of KTM, and the Red Bull Rookies web site states that the bike the rookies will be using next season is the Metrakit Pre GP 125.

Good news for aspiring MotoGP champions. The Red Bull Rookies Cup is to be run again in 2010, giving teenagers between the ages of 13 and 16 a chance to race at some of the finest racetracks around the world on motorcycles close to Grand Prix spec, with professional coaching and under the watchful eye of some of the great names in the sport. The fact that the current 125cc Grand Prix field contains a number of riders who came up through the program such as Johann Zarco and German sensation Jonas Folger is proof enough of the value of the program, and this season's top riders Sturla Fagerhaug and Jakub Kornfeil have made their Grand Prix debuts as wildcards.

The selection process is set to be much stricter this year, as the level of entries has increased each time the program is run. The rising quality of entrants is a result of the increasing popularity and name recognition of the series, and it is becoming one of the best ways into the MotoGP championship. As a result, applicants will need to have proven experience on high performance motorcycles. This does not necessarily mean that they must have road racing experience; any form of motorcycle racing experience will do, or some other form of participation in high-speed motorcycle activities.

The Red Bull Rookies cup is open to boys and girls born between January 1st,1993 and March 31st, 1997, though exceptions will be made for those born within a year of the entry dates under exceptional circumstances. Applications need to be submitted by September 20th, 2009, via an online entry form which can be found on the Red Bull Rookies website. The entries will be judged by a panel of experts including KTM's race team director Harald Bartol, Austrian racer Gustl Auinger, former 125 and 250 racer Raul Jara and the former team manager of the WCM 500cc and MotoGP racing team, Peter Clifford.

Valentino Rossi walked away from Donington Park smiling

Donington Park, first lap madness

Gabor Talmacsi's Honda wastes fuel in an aesthetically pleasing way

The men in orange hand Elias his trashed bike back

The Ducatis gambled and lost