Gp Dreamin'

GP DREAMIN'

When I was fifteen and a half, dreaming of a Grand Prix ride, I raced around behind Yamaha's corporate office on my RD250, clad in blue jeans and skateboard pads (with sheet-metal sliders made from a filched stop sign!), scraping the street hoping to land a support ride. These days, however, 13to 16-year-olds need look no farther than the Red Bull AMA Rookies Cup (us.redbullrookiescup.com). In 2008, 23 RBRC riders will compete in nine rounds on KTM RC125 racebikes like the one I recently got to sample at Barber Motorsports Park. The 140-pound, liquid-cooled two-strokes handle like a dream, which is good because it's all about maintaining momentum with the narrowband 45-horsepower engines.

The best thing about the series is that it gives wings to young hopefuls wanting to fly into GP racing, no stolen stop signs required.

Mark Cernicky