The long wait for the next Austrian

2023-08-18 00:04:00

But while the Innviertler manufacturer KTM competes with 28 machines in the field as a mighty home power, red-white-red pilots are still in short supply. After retiring from Moto3 after the 2021 season, Attnang-Puchheimer Max Kofler was the last domestic driver contribution in the World Championship, with Martin Bauer an Austrian drove in the premier class MotoGP for the first time. And that’s only for a few wild card bets.

Experts doubt that this will change fundamentally in the near future. Two Upper Austrians give hope at the Red Bull Rookies Cup, which is held as part of the World Cup and is considered a talent factory, where only performance counts and not the financial dowry. Jakob Rosenthaler from Linz, who is contesting his third and last season here and also had a podium place in the Junior World Championships this year, and rookie Leo Rammerstorfer from the Mühlviertel want to do their homework well. “I have great expectations,” says Rosenthaler.

Committed manufacturers such as KTM, but also talent promoters such as Rookies Cup patron Gustl Auinger, have high hopes for the MiniGP youth program. “It used to be our disadvantage compared to the southern countries that the children started too late,” says Auinger. Now you are on a better way. In the end, this should lead to the World Cup.