The commercial rights-holders for the MotoGP World Championships, Dorna Sports, continue in their quest to seek out the future stars of MotoGP through various projects aimed at youth development. With successful ventures in the past which have seen the likes of three-times World Champion Dani Pedrosa emerge onto the world stage, they continue to provide a platform for young talents to sharpen their motorcycling skills from an early age. In a special event at the Jerez circuit today, Dorna announced they will enter into a partnership of youth development with energy drink manufacturer Red Bull, with the joint aim of discovering and developing riders from all backgrounds and all corners of the globe. Whilst Dorna has its own experience within the motorcycling field, Red Bull has been involved in many other youth sports projects across the world, and by uniting these two experienced partners the hope is to create a unique and innovative series of projects which will inspire and encourage young talents to follow a career in MotoGP. Red Bull MotoGP Academy The first stage of the process is Red Bull’s support of the MotoGP Academy project, which continues in 2006 after a successful first year which saw riders collecting a total of three race victories and four podium finishes in the CEV Spanish 125cc Championship. The Red Bull MotoGP Academy is an initiative from Dorna to foment and foster young motorcycling talents and to provide them with a platform by which to progress into the MotoGP World Championships.The academy offers the youngsters specialist training in the many facets of the sport, which include such diverse areas as psycho-physical preparation, racecraft and language learning. Six young talents hailing from Europe and Asia will be aiming to take their first steps on the path to a successful motorcycle road racing career, following in the footsteps of last year’s success story, 15 year-old Bradley Smith. The young Briton took three race wins and a championship runners-up spot by just a single point in the CEV, and subsequently graduated by winning himself a place in the 125cc World Championship with the Repsol Honda Team. The Red Bull MotoGP Academy is run under the expert guidance of former GP star Alberto Puig, whose experience has helped bring into MotoGP young racing talents such as Dani Pedrosa (twice 250cc World Champion, once 125cc World Champion), Casey Stoner (250cc and 125cc GP winner), and Toni Elias (250cc and 125cc GP winner), amongst many other youngsters. Two more Britons, Danny Webb (aged 15) and Kev Coghlan (17), return for their second year in the Academy in 2006, where they will be joined by four young riders who successfully came through December 2005’s selection process. Jonas Folger (12, Germany), Isaac Viñales (12, Spain), Takaaki Nakagami (14, Japan) and Scott Redding (13, Great Britain) will embark on their first season in the MotoGP Academy hoping to emulate the likes of Bradley Smith. Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup As an extension of the collaboration between Dorna and Red Bull, during 2006 the companies will also work together in the selection process for an innovative new race series, the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. The series will run from its own paddock at seven European Grands Prix in 2007, and will pit 20 youngsters on standard specification 125cc Grand Prix machinery, supplied by cup partners KTM. The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup would be seen as the first rung on the ladder for young racers, and any potential talents that catch the eye of the organisers would move on through the support ranks, from Rookies to Academy, and if successful, then on to the Red Bull KTM Junior 125 Team in the MotoGP World Championships, with the Austrian manufacturer’s expertise and support representing the final piece in the puzzle. The first part of the creation of the series would be the selection process which will take place at three Grand Prix racetracks around Europe in 2006. Sachsenring, Donington Park and Valencia will host the three selection events, where hundreds of entrants will get their chance to shine in front of the selection panel, which includes experienced talent hunters Alberto Puig and KTM Team Director Harald Bartol. The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup is open to youngsters from anywhere in the world aged between 13 to 16 (born between January 1st 1990 and December 31st 1992). Those interested in participating need not have experience in motorcycle road-racing, but must demonstrate the necessary drive, ambition and raw talent to learn the skills needed to become a racer. Between the selection process, the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, the Red Bull MotoGP Academy and the Red Bull KTM Junior 125 Team, a pioneering project for unearthing new young talents from across the globe is created. Youngsters who are financially restricted are no longer excluded as only travelling costs need to be funded, the only necessary requirements are fulfilling the criteria of selection and being able to attend one of the selection events.