19 January 2022 – Announced in November by Dorna Sports, in less than two months, the inaugural season of the North America Talent Cup 2022 has already defined the entry list of the young riders who will be participating in the American races. There will be 17 talented riders from the United States, Canada, and Mexico racing on Aprilia RS 250 SP2 machines, identical for all. These 17 young people will be offered “race packages” at standardised prices with the intention of making it as accessible as possible to participate in the new American Cup, included in the Road to MotoGP™ programme. Indeed, because the 16 young men + 1 young lady (Brittani Vaccarino), ages 13 to 16, dream of becoming World Championship GP Motorcycle Racing riders one day.
Here is the announcement on MotoGP.com:
www.motogp.com/en/news/2021/11/23/introducing-the-north-america-talent-cup/403118?fbclid=IwAR0-lRI0oDJugkWzCtt8Clv115Es3PXY6_ecXKK78-YE5u5aday1Kdv3jjk
Massimo Rivola, Aprilia Racing CEO: “The North America Talent Cup, which is a forge of future talent, fully reflects Aprilia’s racing philosophy, capable of training technicians and riders who have written motorcycle racing history.
The young and promising American talent can count on a product we are proud of, the RS 250 SP2, already extremely popular as an intermediate step between MiniGP bikes and ‘high wheel’ bikes, thanks to its combination of high performance and simplicity of use. I'm certain that we’ll see some fun and educational races that will truly be able to launch new talent.”
In the meantime, the new talent in the States will “cut their teeth” the way young Italian talent already does in the Campionato Italiano Velocità (Italian Speed Championship)-CIV Junior (Aprilia Racing Sport Production: Aprilia’s “school of champions”, beginning from 11 years old), on the Aprilia RS 250 SP2 bikes developed by Ohvale in collaboration with Aprilia Racing.
From the left: Aprilia Racing Technical Director Romano Albesiano and the CEO of Rise Moto, Brandon Cretu, with the Aprilia RS 250 SP2 that will be used by the young NATC 2022 riders (photo by Dorna).
Aprilia Racing Sport Production:
www.aprilia.com/it_IT/aprilia-racing/aprilia-sport-production
Ohvale, Aprilia Sport Production, Aprilia 250 SP:
ohvale.com/rs250sp/?lang=en
The NATC 2022 opening race is scheduled to coincide with the MotoGP Grand Prix of The Americas at Circuit of the Americas (Austin, Texas, 8-10 April 2022), followed by 6 other races on 6 different American tracks. Here is the provisional calendar:
northamericatalentcup.com/calendar
Image and info source - NATC: northamericatalentcup.com
