Rookies set to thrill and learn again in 2015
The ninth season of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup will kick off in Jerez with the first race on Saturday May 2nd. Another fabulous 13 race year is in store beginning with the first European Grand Prix.
The 24 teenagers from 14 nations will have already been on the bikes at the preseason test held at the same track during three days between March 31st and April 3rd.
The 2014 season saw a large number of Rookies graduate so Italian 16-year-old Fabio Di Giannantonio and 15-year-old Netherlander Bo Bendsneyder start their second Cup seasons as favourites having finished 8th and 9th in the points table.
Indeed Olly Simpson, the 16 year-old Australian, is the only Rookie heading into a third year. There are 14 new names. Twelve of those were invited from the October Selection event and two, 15-year-old Kaito Toba and 14-year-old Ayumu Sasaki, both from Japan, are graduates of the Asia Talent Cup.
All the GPs feature two Rookies Cup races except the Misano round where there is a single race on Saturday. The events all start with two free practice session and a single qualifying session.
Provisional Calendar
March 31 – April 3, Jerez Spain – Preseason test
May 2-3, Jerez Spain
June 26-27, Assen Netherlands
July 11-12, Sachsenring Germany
August 15-16, Brno Czech Republic
August 29-30, Donington Great Britain
September 12, Misano San Marino
September 26-27, Aragon Spain
Provisional Entry List
4 Patrik Pulkkinen Finland
9 Robert Schotman Netherlands
13 Martin Gbelec Czech Republic
14 Bruno Ieraci Italy
16 Emanuel Aguilar Argentina
19 Rufino Florido Spain
20 Omar Bonoli Italy
21 Fabio Di Giannantonio Italy
22 Mykyta Kalinin Ukraine
23 Raúl Fernández Spain
27 Mattia Casadei Italy
29 Gabriel Hernandez United States
37 Walid Soppe Netherlands
41 Marc Garcia Spain
44 Martin Vugrinec Croatia
45 Olly Simpson Australia
64 Bo Bendsneyder Netherlands
67 Kaito Toba Japan
69 Rory Skinner Great Britain
71 Ayumu Sasaki Japan
76 Makar Yurchenko Russia
81 Aleix Viu Spain
96 Oscar Gutierrez Spain
99 Enzo Boulom France