Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Category	Motorcycle sport
Region	Europe
Inaugural season	2007
Riders' champion	Álvaro Carpe
Official website	www.redbullrookiescup.com
Current season

The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup is a motorcycle racing series contested by young, up-and-coming motorcycle riders, who have not had experience in a motorcycle grand prix previously. The class was founded in 2007, and since then a number of the rookies have progressed through to the 125cc/Moto3 championship in MotoGP.

Prior to the 2013 season, a 2-stroke KTM RC 125cc engine was used. The year 2013 saw a change of machinery to the 4-stroke KTM RC250RBR, following the introduction of the four-stroke Moto3 class.^[1]

The Rookies Cup staff include Rider Coaches August "Gustl" Auinger and Dani Ribalta with Peter Clifford being the Director of Rider Development and Media.

The Spaniard José Antonio Rueda was the first racer to win the Cup title and his first World Championship title in the same year (2022). The Spaniard Ángel Piqueras was the second racer to win the Cup title and his first World Championship title in the same year (2023).

Twentytwo ex Rookies have gone on to win a world championship as of 2024:

Rider	World championship
Johann Zarco	2015 Moto2, 2016 Moto2
Danny Kent	2015 Moto3
Lorenzo Savadori	2015 Superstock 1000
Brad Binder	2016 Moto3
Marc García	2017 Supersport 300
Joan Mir	2017 Moto3, 2020 MotoGP
Jorge Martín	2018 Moto3
Alan Techer	2017–18 FIM Endurance World Championship
Joshua Hook	2017–18 FIM Endurance World Championship, 2022 FIM Endurance World Championship
Raúl Fernández	2018 FIM CEV Moto3 Junior
Izan Guevara	2020 FIM CEV Moto3 Junior, 2022 Moto3
Enea Bastianini	2020 Moto2
Adrián Huertas	2021 Supersport 300, 2024 Supersport
Pedro Acosta	2021 Moto3, 2023 Moto2
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu	2021 Superbike, 2024 Superbike
Daniel Holgado	2021 FIM CEV Moto3 Junior
José Antonio Rueda	2022 FIM JuniorGP
Ángel Piqueras	2023 FIM JuniorGP
Karel Hanika	2023 FIM Endurance World Championship
Jaume Masià	2023 Moto3
David Alonso	2024 Moto3
Ai Ogura	2024 Moto2

So far, eleven ex Rookie riders have started a race in the MotoGP class as of 2024 (active riders in bold):

Rider	First race weekend in MotoGP	First pole position in MotoGP	First podium in MotoGP	First win in MotoGP	Race Starts	Teams
Johann Zarco	Qatar 2017	Netherlands 2017	France 2017 (GP - 2nd)	Australia 2023 (GP)	143 (GP)	Tech3 Racing (2017-18) KTM Factory Racing (2019) LCR Team (2019) Esponsorama Racing (2020) Pramac Racing (2021-2023) LCR Team (2024-)
			No podiums (S)	No wins (S)	38 (S)
Joan Mir	Qatar 2019	No poles	Austria 2020 (GP - 2nd)	Europe 2020 (GP)	98 (GP)	Team Suzuki Ecstar (2019-22) Repsol Honda (2023-)
			No podiums (S)	No wins (S)	34 (S)
Miguel Oliveira	Qatar 2019	Portugal 2020	Styria 2020 (GP - 1st)	Styria 2020 (GP)	98 (GP)	Tech3 Racing (2019-20) KTM Factory Racing (2021-22) RNF MotoGP Racing (2023) Trackhouse Racing (2024-)
			No podiums (S)	No wins (S)	30 (S)
Brad Binder	Spain 2020	No poles	Czechia 2020 (GP - 1st)	Czechia 2020 (GP)	90 (GP)	KTM Factory Racing (2020-)
			Argentina 2023 (S - 1st)	Argentina 2023 (S)	37 (S)
Lorenzo Savadori	Europe 2020	No poles	No podiums	No wins	21 (GP)	Gresini Racing (2019-20) (Test Rider) Gresini Racing (2020-21) Aprilia Factory Racing (2022-) (Test Rider)
					4 (S)
Enea Bastianini	Qatar 2021	Austria 2022	San Marino 2021 (GP - 3rd)	Qatar 2022 (GP)	69 (GP)	Esponsorama Racing (2021) Gresini Racing (2022) Ducati Corse (2023-)
			No podiums (S)	No wins (S)	31 (S)
Jorge Martín	Qatar 2021	Doha 2021	Doha 2021 (GP - 3rd)	Styria 2021 (GP)	73 (GP)	Pramac Racing (2021-)
			Portugal 2023 (S - 2nd)	France 2023 (S)	38 (S)
Darryn Binder	Qatar 2022	No poles	No podiums	No wins	20 (GP)	RNF MotoGP Racing (2022)
					0 (S)
Fabio Di Giannantonio	Qatar 2022	Italy 2022	Australia 2023 (GP - 3rd)	Qatar 2023 (GP)	57 (GP)	Gresini Racing (2022-2023) VR46 Racing Team (2024-)
			Qatar 2023 (S - 2nd)	No wins (S)	36 (S)
Raúl Fernández	Qatar 2022	No poles	No podiums	No wins	58 (GP)	Tech3 Racing (2022) RNF MotoGP Racing (2023) Trackhouse Racing (2024-)
					37 (S)
Pedro Acosta	Qatar 2024	Japan 2024	Portugal 2024 (GP - 3rd)	No wins	18 (GP)	Tech3 Racing (2024)
			Spain 2024 (S - 2nd)		19 (S)

• Data correct as of November 8 2024