By Sean Bice
Let’s face it, the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Selection Event is a brutal process, especially for teenagers who already have to deal with the dreaded teenage angst. The pool of talent is literally as big as the world itself because the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup is a World Championship, and only 113 riders from around the globe were chosen to participate in the Event.
Of that 113, eight of the riders chosen were either American or have been racing on American soil. And, of those eight, seven of them—Hank Vossberg, Ella Dreher, Bodie Paige, Kensei Matsudaira, Mikey Lou Sanchez, Mahdi Salem, and Joshua Raymond Jr.—made it through the first cutdown, which winnowed the field of 113 young athletes to just 56.
That was tough enough, but it got exponentially tougher on final day of the Selection Event. Of the 56 finalists, only eight riders were chosen to become part of the 20th edition of the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.
I’ll say it: we had seven riders among that final group of 56. The chances seemed pretty good that at least one of our seven would be chosen among the eight. Nope, it didn’t happen. Am I bitter? Yup, I sure am. I’ll bet a lot of people who’ve been following this process are bitter. But the seven MotoAmerica kids aren’t. By all accounts, they loved the experience.
“What a week,”commented Vossberg. “It was my first time ever out of the country and longest time away from home. We started last week training with one of the best coaches out there. Sergio Gadea helped us prepare for the Rookies Cup. Rookies Cup was a whole experience in itself. We had two sessions each day, and each session, I was able to improve my lap times, my lines, and my confidence on the bike, it being my first time on one. I was chosen, along with all the other MotoAmerica Talent Cup riders to move onto the third day! On the last day of riding, I went faster and improved more, but I know I have a lot to work on before Rookies Cup.
“I want to thank my Mom and Dad for supporting me on this journey, I couldn’t have done it without them. Thank you to MotoAmerica for giving me and many other riders this chance to elevate our racing career! Thank you to all the filmers, Steve Radley and Federico Sarria, and everyone else who was a part of putting together the awesome show Generation Speed!
“Everyone else that supported me this season, thank you!”
Dreher said, “What an awesome couple weeks here in Spain. We started off at Aspar Circuit doing some training for five days and getting some super knowledgeable info and coaching from Sergio Gadea. We came into the Selection Event super positive and knew what to expect. I made it to the third day, which kept my hopes high. It was definitely nerve-racking sitting listening to names be called. Sadly, I did not get in, but it was quite the experience riding with the fastest riders out there. I’m going to take what I learned back to the U.S and come back stronger.
“Thank you to John Ludwig for everything you have done, and of course, for dealing with me for 3 weeks. 😂 And my madré Michelle Skradski missing me tons for doing what I love. ❤️ Thank you to Sergio Gadea for his coaching. It definitely helped tremendously and guided me in the direction of being the best.”
“Last but not least, thank you to Sullivan Mounsey for the advice (during) the couple weeks we had over here. Also, don’t forget ping-pong.😉“
More, from a news release issued by MotoAmerica:
By Sean Bice
Bodie Paige:
“That’s a wrap on the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Selection Event. I want to thank all of them for this amazing experience and opportunity. I am very happy to have made it through to the final day and my performance over the last two days. I will take the positives away and come back hope to come back even stronger next year.
“Congratulations to my fellow Australian compatriot Archie Schmidt and all the other successful riders for being selected for the 2026 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season.
“It’s time to get back to work. Next stop, the U.S.!”
Joshua Raymond Jr.:
“When you have over 100 of the fastest kids in the world competing for only 8 open spots, it really makes everyone up their game. The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Selection Event is a great time. I improved with every lap, and I made it to the final day, which is a huge accomplishment.”
Kensei Matsudaira:
“Trying out for the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup was a great experience, even though I wasn’t one of the selected riders this year. I’ve raced with many of those who were selected, and they were simply on another level. I know where I need to be next year, but honestly nothing really changes for me since the goal has always been to be able to fight for wins and championships at the highest level in Europe. I’ll be continuing to train here in Spain until the end of the year and finishing the season with my last race in the European Talent Cup at Valencia where, hopefully, I’ll be able to take another step forward toward my goals.
“Big thank you to MotoAmerica, Wayne Rainey, Chuck Aksland, and Roadracing World for supporting me in my journey from the US. It was an honor to be one of the riders representing the U.S. at the Rookies Cup Selection Event, and I’m looking forward to doing the same at the FIM MiniGP World Final coming up in November at Valencia.”
Mahdi Salem:
“Made it all the way to the final day and left it all on track. Didn’t get the spot this first year, but I’m proud of how far I’ve come, and this is just the beginning. Congrats to my friends Travis Borg (Malta) and Afonso Almeida (Portugal) for making it into the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.”
Mikey Lou Sanchez:
“It was a good experience. I had a great time, and I’m glad I was invited, even though I was not chosen this year. I’m going to keep working, I hope to be invited to try out again next year. I’m going to focus on getting the best results I can to finish out this year in the European Talent Cup.”
