New expanded format for British Talent Cup announced
Sunday, 26 May 2019
As Round 2 of the 2019 British Talent Cup concludes at Donington Park supporting the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, a new, expanded format for the future of the British Talent Cup (BTC) has been announced following an agreement reached between MotoGP™ and WorldSBK™ rights holder, Dorna Sports (Dorna), and British Championship promoter and organiser MotorSport Vision Racing (MSVR).
After two seasons in its current format, the British Talent Cup will be expanded to a thrilling ten round, twenty-race championship from 2020 – 2022. The series will be restricted to riders between 12 and 17 years of age, with teams and riders open to enter in a traditional manner. The technical regulations will mirror the highly successful Dorna-promoted European Talent Cup, which specifies the exclusive use of an essentially standard specification Honda NSF 250 R motorcycle.
Part of Dorna’s Road to MotoGP™ programme, the British Talent Cup will become the sole British Moto3™ Championship class. There will be two races at each event, nine supporting the British Superbike Championship (BSB) and a season highlight racing at the British Grand Prix. The provisional 2020 BTC calendar will start with a pre-season test in Spain in March, ahead of visits to ten different circuit configurations; Assen, Brands Hatch GP, Donington Park National and GP, Knockhill, Oulton Park, Silverstone National and GP, Snetterton and Thruxton.
The BTC will benefit from the high visibility and live national television broadcast coverage offered at BSB events together with the International profile provided by Dorna’s global media platform. Dorna will remain hands-on at all BTC events with rider coaching support in order to assess the stars of tomorrow.
A full season in the FIM Moto3™ Junior World Championship the following year is up for grabs, and two BTC riders will also be granted the opportunity to participate in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup selection event. These three riders will be selected by Dorna from the top nationals from the British Isles, as the BTC will be open to all nationalities.
In addition, Dorna and MSVR will offer a special price for the sale of a certain number of used, standard Honda NSF 250R motorbikes. Details of this offer and further details regarding the new format of the BTC will be announced in due course.
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, said: “We’re proud to announce that the British Talent Cup will expand in the coming years, taking on new importance in the UK domestic racing scene and the Road to MotoGP. The British Isles are an important part of both the history and future of our sport and it’s vital that young, homegrown talent has a path to the World Championship – so we’re delighted to be able to broaden this collaboration with MSVR and see the British Talent Cup grow.”
Stuart Higgs, MSVR BSB Series Director, said: “This evolution of the British Talent Cup is a good and logical step forward for prototype racing in the UK for the next three years. To have a single British championship on proven, high quality, affordable and equal machinery, with a guaranteed follow through to the FIM CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship, represents the best way for our partners Dorna to find the UK’s fastest and freshest potential MotoGP talent.”
Prospective teams and riders can lodge their interest in receiving further information by contacting BTC 2020 organiser MSVR at [email protected].