![]() The pre-2013 Red Bull Rookies Cup KTMs were powered by a 125cc two-stroke liquid-cooled single with CDI ignition that made 48 hp and 22 ft-lbs of torque at 12,800rpm. Though they were being piloted by kids who weren’t old enough to even possess a learners permit, let alone a driver’s license, these 125 two-strokes are professional-class machines that get much of their DNA from the bikes used in Moto3 before the class bumped up to 250’s. In 2009, 24 of the machines from the 2008 season went up for sale, with examples starting at $13,900. Prior to the switch in 2013, the Rookie’s Cup ran KTM 125’s, and despite them being a little dated, these bikes possess everything you need in a competent small-displacement racer and nothing more. (I’m aware of the reasons the CBR is heavier and that the KTM doesn’t require some of the components the Honda does). As a point of reference the new CBR250RR (non-ABS) weighs more than 350lbs, making KTM’s RBR less than half the weight of the CBR. The KTM powerplants sat in a tubular steel frame with an adjustable headstock and swingarm-pivot, after being fitted with bodywork and the rest of its components, the motorcycles still only weighed 177lbs (or 80.5kgs). The new machines were powered by a single-cylinder 249.5cc DOHC four-stroke that made 50hp at 13,000rpm, 500rpm before the quarter-liter racer’s rev-limit. In 2013, the league switched over to a larger KTM 250 RBR racer as the machine every competitor would pilot. Much of the typical snafus and roadblocks faced by financially limited riders’ families had mostly gone out the window with the introduction of this series. Red Bull seriously pulled out all the stops for the Rookies Cup with logic along the lines of “What’s a state of the art racer without a professional mechanic and support team?”. Other riders like Jake Gagne, Lorenzo Savadori and the late Luis Salom (RIP) all competed on the 125cc KTM machines that every competitor used. The league has clearly accomplished what it set out to do, as Johann Zarco was the champion of its inaugural season, followed by JD Beach. ![]() For the last decade, the Red Bull Rookies Cup has been allowing up-and-coming riders to prove themselves on professional-quality machines at world-class motorsport circuits. ![]()
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