Red Bull Road to Rookies cup for young Indian motorsport athletes will be conducted in India for the very first time. This five round championship in support of the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championships will see the finals being held in October. First round will be held over the June 24-26 weekend at the Kari Motor Speedway.
Young riders in the age group of 13-17 years will be participating in these championships while selection will be based on age, height, weight and performance.
After the five rounds, two riders will be selected to go to Spain for added coaching after which they will be put through special selection process as they compete against other world class racers for a place in the Red Bull Rookies Cup 2017 season. If they manage to perform well in the International Cup, the road ahead leads to Moto3, Moto2 and finally MotoGP.
Food for thought – Indian riders have a distinct disadvantage as they are only given their licence at 18 as against Spanish and Italian kids who commence their training right from the age of 5 while they also have exclusive training schools for the purpose.
10-time national champion and reigning Malaysian Super Series champion, Rajini Krishnan is going to mentor the young racers throughout the five rounds. The schedule for the qualifiers is as follows:
· Round 1 – 24th, 25th and 26th June – KMS, Coimbatore
· Round 2 – 8th, 9th and 10th July – MMRT, Chennai
· Round 3 – August 12th, 13th and 14th, 2016 at MMRT, Chennai
· Round 4 – September 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 2016 at MMRT, Chennai
· Round 5 – September 30th, October 1st & 2nd, 2016 at BIC, G.Noida or October 7th, 8th and 9th, 2016 at MMRT, Chennai
It is for the first time that the Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup will see participation from young riders in the 13-17 yr age group.
