It started with well-sponsored national championship series for teens and pre-teens, and continued so that now the national championships have been boosted in importance, taking over from the FIM’s European championships. The Spanish Moto3 championship even assumed the title “Junior World Championship”.
Dorna is aware of the need for international strength. The trend began in 2007 with the Red Bull Rookies Cup, with riders as young as 13 racing identical bikes at GP meetings. Several, including Brad Binder, Joan Mir, Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini, have since won world championships.
In recent years, Dorna’s “Road to MotoGP, Dorna has supported and formalised other junior championships, with “Talent Cups” in Britain as well as Europe and Asia. The latest and youngest, launched in 2021, is the MiniGP series, with riders aged from ten to 14 on purpose-built Ohvale 150cc racing minibikes on kart tracks.
Applications for these series vastly exceed capacity. Riders are supplied with (in Britain must purchase) identical motorcycles. Tyres and fuel are likewise controlled. With large starting grids and nobody able to find technical advantage, the racing is very close and very exciting. This season has injected a sour note, with painful demonstration that ultra-close racing is also very dangerous.