A Whole New Ball Game: Pre-Season

Within the evolution of MotoGP there has always been an indisputable gravitation towards the youth of the the sport. Leading up to the 2019 season, a bright light is illuminating the subject of age following the addition of new faces. The Moto2 and Moto3 classes have become a breeding ground for the future and this year we are witnessing several rookies diving into the deep end much like what Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi, Maverick Vinales and Casey Stoner once did. This chapter has long since marked the true beginning of a motorcycle racers career and the pinnacle of a young man’s dream (I use ‘young man’ as we are yet to be blessed with a female in the MotoGP category). The pool of young riders is a populous one which installs great pressure on both the inexperienced and the veterans but the times are ever changing and it is something we all must keep up with.

Nurturing budding talent has become one of the most crucial elements within the motor racing sphere. There is an inherent passion and capability which develops from an adolescent age that has forged the quintessential World Champion and as a result the pool of juvenile athletes has become progressively abundant. For every current MotoGP rider there are several lower class riders who are preparing themselves for that job. Their duty every time they get on their motorbike is to find a way to stand out and be the best. It is a constant rotation between be great or someone will be greater. Unfortunately that doesn’t end if you finally reach the next step as there is still that sizeable pool open for teams to examine at any time. In the past we have witnessed fresh boyish faces standing amongst the men. Anywhere between five to ten years older than themselves, each year having gained experience and knowledge to add to their package. They have entered with their ambition and excitement higher than any other person there but the pressure also immeasurably higher. They have gained their position to play with the big boys but now they have to defend it against victors, champions and overall natural flair. Some novices strike gold and fit in naturally like Marc Marquez and Casey Stoner. Others have a more challenging journey ahead. Scott Redding was twenty one at the time when he took the leap and joined forces with GO & FUN Gresini Racing. A five year career in MotoGP saw him jumping between four different teams but unable to secure his fate in the premier class at the end of 2018. The Valencia GP marked his last hoorah in the elite category but a new chapter for Andrea Iannone who would fill his old boots.

After a positive partnership with Ducati, Andrea Iannone was left to find his feet in 2017. Team Suzuki Ecstar would prove to be his saviour but only until last year where new blood was drawn. Iannone was unable to achieve consistent results despite his immeasurable talent and was replaced by a young man eight years his junior. Joan Mir was picked to replace someone with six years experience in the top category and prior partnerships with top teams. For Redding, lack of results was his achilles heel and Iannone, purely age and attitude. Team Suzuki Ecstar started making gambles in 2015, joining forces with twenty year old Maverick Vinales. This theme persevered through to 2016 with twenty two year old Alex Rins and still to this day with Mir. They have openly focused not only on their evolution in the modern era but on utilising the youthful cohort to create the next generation of World Champions. Their positive energy around younger talent is proving to be a successful methodology over time.

Closely following at the ripe age of twenty years old, Australian Jack Miller secured his position in the top class after bravely skipping the Moto2 category. Three different teams in three years and race performances that have not matched his qualifying results naturally ring alarm bells. Each little hiccup is slowly feeding the shark infested waters who are his potential replacements. It is a dog eat dog world juxtaposed against a glamorous elite past time. It holds beauty on the surface, but below a kid is trying to prove his worth and a grown man is fighting to prove he still has it. A complex never ending cycle in the MotoGP world. 2019 is a pivotal year in proving Millers worth after inheriting ex teammate Danilo Petrucci’s bike who seized Jorge Lorenzo’s ride this year. The team at Ducati lost patience and belief in Lorenzo and just like that, the three times World Champion was shown the door. Similarly to Lorenzo, time could be running out for Miller even if he still has his whole life ahead of him.

They all started around the same age so there is fear that the inevitable will come full circle. This vicious course sees budding athletes filling the positions where a mature aged rider with experience would have usually inherited that opportunity based on their history. Times have changed and their teenage equivalents have snatched opportunities like the new Petronas Yamaha SRT contract. Nineteen year old Fabio Quartararo will be partnering twenty four year old Franco Morbidelli in the contemporary Malaysian team. Riders like Dani Pedrosa (33 years old), Alvaro Bautista (34 years old) and Bradley Smith (28 years old) merely did not have age on their side for a such a new project. As of 2019, four riders aged twenty four and under have replaced four riders aged twenty six and above. The new generation is slowly making its way through the crowd similarly to that of the 2006 season where various renown athletes were substituted with juniors. Max Biaggi (34 years old), Troy Bayliss (36 years old), Alex Barros (35 years old) and Franco Battaini (33 years old) exited and the now illustrious Dani Pedrosa (20 years old), Chris Vermeulen (23 years old), Casey Stoner (20 years old) and Randy de Puniet (25 years old) took over the reins. Decisions made by teams can be made abruptly and without emotion. The risk of losing a ride is incredibly high in such a cut throat business of racing.

Over the years the average age has decreased. Between 2018 and 2019 the median has dissolved from twenty eight to twenty six years of age with the influx of fresh blood, the youngest being nineteen year old Fabio Quartararo. Valentino Rossi was among those who started their career in his early twenties. He was only twenty three when he entered the MotoGP paddock as the newbie in a sea of professionals. The nine times World Champion himself has clearly shown faith in the strength of innocence by creating the VR46 Academy for up and coming talent. It is an institute that provides teenagers with the chance to develop into future heirs of the sport and this year academy member Francesco Bagnaia (22 years old) is one of the recent additions to the top class. Not only can Rossi share and help groom future successors he has been able to learn from them, find new ways of staying competitive and accept that they are the future.

It has become a whole new ball game for our veteran athletes. However, the singular most important thing they have is their experience. In this day and age it is almost better to be an adolescent but equally as hard to become as great as the experts you are against. That is something that only eases with time because you can never be better at something than someone who has been at it their whole life. These fresh faces can only absorb the pressure of being amongst the greats, in order to hold on and hopefully slowly evolve into a strong competitor. The pressure is immense and careers end purely because that is the way the life cycle goes. There are so many eager souls trying to prove themselves that essentially no one is really safe but theres a little bit of intoxicating madness in knowing that there is a door that is always open.

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