FIRST PERSON/OPINION By John Ulrich The Red Bull Rookies Cup is a bad deal for the majority of the American kids “selected” to try out at Valencia, Spain later this month. Looking at the road racing experience (or lack thereof) of some of these kids, there either wasn’t much of a selection process or the selection was done by a cynic or a dumbass or both. The parents of the selected kids will probably spend around $5000 (some are holding fund raisers to try to get the money together) getting to the tryouts, which include 15 minutes of track time (on a new bike and a new track!) to impress the judges. Many of the American kids selected have never ridden a 125cc GP bike and some have never ridden anything on a paved road course. A few have experience racing RS125s and are actually front-runners in USGPRU and WERA 125cc Grand Prix events, an example being Cameron Beaubier. Others race in various Lightweight Novice classes. They will all face a contingent of European kids with experience racing 125cc GP bikes, many of whom have come up racing minis and 125s at Valencia. Even for the best of the Americans, to say the deck is stacked is an understatement. None of that was explained in TV commercials that touted the Red Bull program as the ticket to GP stardom during the network coverage of the U.S. GP at Laguna Seca. Asked about the program, Red Bull’s Jordan Miller wrote in an e-mail to Roadracing World, “Just so you know, the Red Bull Rookies Cup is being run out of Europe, and the focus this first year has been on emerging European riders. The activation and the program itself this year has been via word of mouth, especially here in the US, hence no press releases out of us here in the States. We are aware the cost of getting to Spain from the US is high as well, so that was part of why we didn’t focus on the US this first year. “Know that we are excited the young riders will have the opportunity to compete with Europe’s top talent, and we support them fully, especially with the success this season of MotoGP points leader Nicky Hayden, we are excited and hopeful that road racing continues to build in America.” What Miller doesn’t explain is how Red Bull, known for so many good programs promoting racing worldwide, can justify raising false hopes and inducing American families to undergo financial hardships chasing the dream, when their kids won’t even have a fair chance. If Red Bull really wants to “support them fully,” it should give each selected American kid a $5000 travel allowance, which at least would take the financial sting out of this charade of dreams. God knows they’ve got the money… Americans Selected For The Red Bull Rookies Cup Tryouts Tommy Aquino Brayden Bagley J.D. Beach Cameron Beaubier Chris Cid Rey Dominguez Frankie Garcia Katherine Keene Brent Lyskawa Tyler Meade Matt Myers Tyler Odom Andrew Price Nikola Radosavljevich Corey Rech Tyler Reed James Rispoli Toby Stay Erich Stender II Sarah Templeton Kris Turner And now, a parent’s reaction: FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: I have worked with kids from all over the country the last 6 years in our Coolskunk KyDs program in order to help young riders get new opportunities such as this. But let’s not waste anyone’s time or money. How about we hear something from the big guys here in America other than just Mr. Ulrich before it’s too late? For many of us the tickets are already non-refundable, however we can still save 50% of the cost! How about it Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Freddie Spencer and Kenny Roberts…Are we wasting our kid’s time and our sponsor’s money with this experience or what? While my own rider has tons of experience dirt tracking and a modest amount of SuperMoto and 125cc GP, the program is billed around a possibility. If there is no chance in hell, why don’t some of the factory guys come out and say so? Maybe they can suggest a better investment this year here in the States! Philip Rispoli Attica, New York And now we hear from the father of World Supersport racer Chris Peris: FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: Just a comment on John Ulrich’s comment on Red Bull try-out: Although everything John Ulrich says is true about the Red Bull try-outs, I think it’s only fair to say, the experience is worth it. For most parents, it will be the first time in their lives they’ll get to see what sort of talent their son will be up against. It’s a real eye opener. As a father of a former Red Bull try-out in Mallory Park a long time ago. Seemed like a bank account ago, maybe 2001? Its true, $5000 is a lot of money, but that’s nothing, compared to what road racing will eventually cost the family. Consider this $5000, a warm-up. I think our trip to England was the cheapest part of Chris’ racing career. Chris recorded the second best time at the try-outs and I think, if we would have pulled a Casey Stoner, sold the house, moved from Australia to England and had the whole family live in a motorhome, who knows? Not implying anything about the talent, just pointing out, that’s the kind of commitment it takes to bring up a road racing star. Unfortunately, all those dreams have a rude awaking. However, all-in-all, it was a great experience. If the families can get the money together, it’s the start to, “how fast is your wallet?” Red Bull seems to be the only one doing these try-outs. I suppose with no-one else offering, a Red Bull try-out is the best option and you get to see Spain. Spain is a great country and Valencia is a great track. Take care and good luck, Fernando Peris Calgary, Alberta, Canada