When riders in the Red Bull Rookies Cup are on the circuit they are almost indistinguishable from the professionals in the 125 cc world championship.

It's only when the front runners take off their helmets and climb up on podium that it become clear that they are indeed very young talents. Following the successful launch for tomorrow's champions in 2007, the Rookies, aged between 12 and 16-years, will again be out to master some of the world's best circuits in 2008.

Red Bull Rookies Cup, a unique opportunity for these junior riders to compete on the world's top racing circuits riding identical KTM RC 125 machines, was launched in 2007. This hothouse for nurturing tomorrow's champions is now being expanding in 2008 to include the Red Bull AMA Rookies Cup in the USA, setting up a unique battle for junior supremacy on both sides of the Atlantic.

For 2008 some things will stay the same and some will be very different in Europe as these young riders battle it out in the 10-race calendar that starts with a double-header in March at the Spanish Grand Prix weekend in Jerez and ends with another two races in Brno in August for the Czech Grand Prix. Rookies this season will also ride for the first time at Le Mans. At the end of the European season, the ten top rookies will then face off against their 10 best American counterparts for the Red Bull Riders Cup, first at Indianapolis in September and then at the final Grand Prix of the season in Valencia, Spain.

Ten Red Bull Rookies remain from 2007 and they are being joined by 14 new faces to create a field of entries from across Europe as well as from South Africa, Australia and Japan. Having already passed the rigorous selection process the riders now test in February and March in Jerez, Valencia and Estoril. This year eyes will be on Japan's Daijiro Hiura who snatched a ride as a wild card entry in the final race in 2007 and showed he is one to watch, while UK rider Matthew Hoyle and Spaniard Luis Salom, who both amassed experience last season, should be among the front runners. Dean Brown of Scotland and Markus Reiterberger are two experienced 14-year-olds expected to perform well, as is 16-year-old Sturla Fagerhaug of Norway.

For KTM, the Red Bull Rookies Cup is a unique opportunity not only to provide the identical machines for the Rookies but also to initiate a parallel program for promising young KTM mechanics to train and operate in the rarefied atmosphere of real racing. This commitment underlines KTM's credo to always be "Ready to Race" both now and in the future.

KTM Racing