The rivalry that blazed all the way to the last lap of the last Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup race of 2009 will be rejoined in 2010 as Jakub Kornfeil and Sturla Fagerhaug oppose each other again. This time they will be full time Grand Prix competitors, up against the best 125cc riders in the world. Kornfeil, the 16 year old Czech who won the Rookies Cup by just 2 points, has signed for Racing Team Germany, cementing a relationship with team owner/manager Dirk Heidolf that started in earnest back in June, “I was racing at a German Championship race at the Sachsenring and Dirk spent a lot of time with me that weekend, helping me, giving me very good advice,” said Kornfeil. “He really knows what he is talking about and I think must be a very good team manager and will be a big help next year.” Fagerhaug, the 18 year old Norwegian, runner up in the Rookies Cup, will race for the I.S.P.A. Ongetta, Worldwide Race Team and that too is a plan that was developing before the end of the season. “I am really satisfied with having signed with I.S.P.A. Ongetta, Worldwide Race Team,” said Fagerhaug. “Actually I was already talking with them at the Grand Prix in Estoril where we had a meeting and they were interested, but none of us really had the economic means to make the deal possible. Then I found some more sponsors in Norway, and I think the team found some more sponsors too, so they made me a good offer and I went down to Lugano to sign with them.” Kornfeil knows very well that the step into the World Championship will be tough. “I know that the competition will be very very hard. At the moment it is impossible to say what I can do. We should know more after the pre season tests, at least then I will have ridden the bike and have a little more idea.” “I don’t know if it will be possible to finish in the points every weekend, it will not be easy. I just know that I will give it my maximum effort and that I have a good background after my two years in the Rookies Cup. If I can finish the season in the top 15 in the World Championship I will be very happy and so will my team.” Heidolf is very clear what he thinks Kornfeil is capable of, “I was happy to sign him because he is fast, young and very clever. This is his first year in MotoGP 125 cc and it’s a learning year. We have a 2 year contract. The results must be step by step better and better. In some races I think he can run in position 10 to13. This is the plan for the first season. We will fit in as many races as we can also outside the GPs, the German Championship race at Sachsenring for example and anything else we can do to gain experience.” “I know that I have a lot to learn about racing,” confirmed Kornfeil, “But I am not worried about learning new tracks, I enjoy it but actually I have been to most of the tracks, I still have to learn Qatar, Motegi and Catalunya and of course Silverstone but that one I am really looking forward to because it will be new to most of us so a lot more even for everyone. Of course I also like Brno and Sachsenring so I am really looking forward to those GPs as well.” Though he knows that it is a different world he is heading into he is doing what he can to keep his feet on the ground. “I will still be going to the races the same way we have for the last couple of years, driving with my dad in our motorhome, he is still going to be supporting me and I really appreciate that.” He also knows that the support in his home country will be strong. “In the Czech Republic there has been a lot of publicity. In almost every newspaper there was an article about winning the Rookies Cup and my hopes to go Grand Prix racing.” Kornfeil has no doubt who he is looking forward most to racing against. “I think Bradley Smith is the best rider in the 125 class now and it will be great to be out on the track with him every weekend. For me though the challenge will be to race against the other ex Rookies now in GPs like Sturla, Salom and Zarco.” That strong line of Red Bull Rookies forging their professional careers in GP racing is something that demands the attention of team managers like Heidolf. “The Cup is great and the best school for the young riders,” asserted the German, an ex GP rider himself. “The teams are all very interested to see talent and so we watch the races.” Fagerhaug echoes the same sentiments as he looks towards his full time GP career in the I.S.P.A. Team. “I think this will be the perfect continuation for me after the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup and this year’s wild-card rides for KTM.” “The experience of the Red Bull Rookies Cup and the wild-card rides in France, Catalunya, Portugal and Valencia have been essential for me to be able to be where I am at this moment,” continued Fagerhaug. “I still have a lot to learn, but I feel well prepared to take the next step. The Rookies Cup is the main reason why I’m even in the World Championship, it’s been such a big help.” “I’ve been in the Cup for the three years it’s been running and I’ve learned so much. I’ve also been learning a few of the GP circuits, so that’s going to help me. The step up to the World Championship class is a big one, so I’m going to have to learn a lot more to do well there.” “This year I will work hard to always be within the points and my main goal is off course to be top 10. I know this is going to be extremely difficult as the level is very high. But this goal is what I’m going to be aiming at all through the 2010 season.”