Two days of superb youthful enthusiasm in the sunshine at Sachsenring in Germany made the first Selection Event for the 2008 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup a tremendous success. On August 29th and 30th riders from sixteen nations as far apart as Sweden and South Africa, the Czech Republic and Columbia displayed their riding skills and gained invaluable experience. Spending time with the riders and watching them on the track allowed the selection panel to gain a very good insight into which of the applicants should progress to the Final Selection Event. As they progressed through the two days the riders were able to benefit from invaluable words of encouragement and riding wisdom from Red Bull Rookies rider coach Gustl Auinger. The riders soaked up the information as the ex Grand Prix star told them how it was so necessary to be smooth on a 125 and sometimes go slower to lap quicker. Enthusiasm and enjoyment took over the venue. One of those who typified the many was Nicole Mc Aleer. The fifteen year old from County Tyrone in Ireland said that the whole experience was so much more than she expected. “I came to Sachsenring with the idea of just having a bit of fun. Then I saw the Red Bull Rookies KTM on display and just fell in love with it. So then I really wanted to get selected more than anything, it is such a beautiful bike, I would love to ride it.” “I told my dad that on the phone and he knows what I am like at a new track, I can go all out too soon so he told me to calm down and take it easy. So I tried to do that as much as I could and I’ve really loved it here, it is a great track and I’ve had so much fun.” As the potential Rookies learnt both the tricky Sachsenring Grand Prix circuit and how to get the best out of the 125 Metrakit bikes used for the Selection Event they started to relax and really show their skills. Both the bikes and the track were new to most of the riders even including German Nico Huessner. “On the first day I found it OK but I wasn’t really happy. It was a lot to learn and a different bike to get used to. Today though I really enjoyed it, I listened to what Gustl was saying and that helped me with some of the problems I was having with the bike and I loved it,” said the thirteen year old from Germany. Rider Coach Auinger enjoyed the two days as much as the riders. “It is so great to see their enthusiasm and I am also very impressed with the level of ability and understanding. We put a new WP rear shock on the Metrakit bikes that we didn’t have the chance to test. So I was asking the guys what they thought and they gave extremely good and consistent feedback without talking any rubbish, very impressive. You could also see the way they improved from one day to the next as their learnt.” The successful applicants from Sachsenring will be notified shortly and invited to the Final Selection Event of 2007 at Paul Ricard, France on November 22nd 23rd along with those who will progress from the second Selection Event to be held at Adria Raceway in Italy on October 24th and 25th.