As the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Selection Event comes to its conclusion, and new riders are chosen to join the program for its 20th season in 2026, we thought it would be fun to jump in the wayback machine, and take a look at all the former Red Bull Rookies who are now big stars in the MotoAmerica paddock.
The man who just captured his sixth MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, while also becoming the all-time leader in AMA/MotoAmerica road racing wins, is also one of the two OGs for current MotoAmerica riders who raced in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. Cameron Beaubier and JD Beach were both part of the Rookies Cup in its inaugural season of 2007 (along with former MotoAmerica rider Kris Turner). Beaubier notched three podium finishes that season, including a race win at the Sachsenring in Germany, and he finished sixth in the final standings. Incidentally, the very first Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup was won by current MotoGP rider Johann Zarco.
While Beaubier moved up to the GP125 World Championship in 2008, as a teammate with MotoGP legend Marc Marquez, Beach returned for the 2008 Rookies Cup. The Jiggy Dog had a breakthrough season in his sophomore year as a Red Bull Rookie. He started the year like gangbusters with five runner-up finishes in a row, and he followed that up later in the year by winning the race at the Sachsenring just like Beaubier had done the year before. Beach went on to win the 2008 Championship.
Also part of the 2008 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season was a South African by the name of Mathew Scholtz. “The Scholtz Kid” had two podiums in 2008, including a third-place finish at Donington Park in England and a race win at Brno in the Czech Republic. He raced in the series again in 2009 and for part of the 2010 season, adding three more podiums to his total.
Joining Scholtz in 2009 was Jake Gagne, who podiumed three times in his first Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season. Scoltz and Gagne were also joined in the series that season by fellow Americans Hayden Gillim and former AMA/MotoAmerica rider Benny Solis. Then, in 2010, Gagne came back for a second season, and like Beach did in 2008, Gagne won the 2010 Championship.
Ciurrent Moto2 rider Joe Roberts was the lone American selected to compete in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in 2011, and he won race one at Brno. Roberts also raced in the series in 2012 and 2013, compiling a total of seven top-five finishes during his three-year tenure.
In 2016, Sean Dylan Kelly was selected to race in the series, and he competed in the series for three years (2016, 2017, and 2018), culminating in a top-10 ranking in the Championship in 2018.
In 2019, Tyler Scott was selected for the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, followed by Rocco Landers in 2020. Alexander Enriquez, who now races in Motovation Supersport, was the last MotoAmerica rider to be selected, in 2023, although American Kristian Daniel Jr., who we hope to someday see racing in our National Championship, has competed as a Red Bull Rookie for the past two years.
So, all told, that’s a pretty impressive legacy of MotoAmerica riders who are also former Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup competitors. We hope the legacy continues as MotoAmerica continues to find and develop more riders on the Road to MotoGP™.
