Moto Academy NZ goes to Portugal

[mud boy]

You go girl!

hahaha thanks

[t3mp0r4ry nzr]

onya luke!!
go ard!
kyle

[ajturbo]

just found what luke will be riding, the chance that he has been given,
last year there were 1100 aplications.......


http://eu.redbullrookiescup.com/content.php?page=s_bike

[ajturbo]

also.. luke and i would like to thank someone for their donation.. i do not know who it is..
but THANK YOU!!!!

[flame]

Just spied this thread. AWESOME stuff Luke! Congratulations. Go get em!

Cant offer lots of cash but every little bit will help. Pm me your bank details and i'll sort it next week

[Trudes]

I've just seen this too.
That's way cool Luke, good for you!! Have fun and kick arse!

[ajturbo]

this is slowly sinking in for Luke, just how much of an opportunity this is... and where it could POSSIBLY leed...

[steveyb]

Hi all.
I thought that I might offer some explanation around how the opportunity for a Moto Academy NZ rider to participate in the final selection event for RBMotoGPRC 2009 came about, why it is as it is and where we might go next year.
Once I had decided on the idea and the set up for Moto Academy NZ and what I wanted to achieve, I decided that I should shoot for the stars and so contacted Peter Clifford at RBMGRC. Of course making use of the extended Kiwi network through Greg Percival and others helped alot.
Peter was excited by the idea of someone setting up an academy type structure in NZ as he has strong affiliations to NZ. Given that it was an academy being established and not just another racing team, he was able to offer the possibility of a position at the final selection event for 2009, on the proviso that Moto Academy NZ actually did something and had riders that would be worthy of attending.
So for the first year to set up the academy we looked locally, for riders from Victoria Motorcycle Club, so as to allow us to ease into the new structure with some familiar faces around.
Given the age restrictions around RBMGRC it turned out that Luke was the only rider of the founding group that was eligible, but that did not necessarily guarantee him anything. He still needed to demonstrate the right attributes.
RBMGRC is not about finding all the fastest riders around the world, it is more about finding the riders with the right attributes that will allow then to be moulded into the fastest riders in the world.
So, Luke started out as rough and tentative as you might imagine a young fulla riding a 125 for the first time would be. But through his application and our coaching and mentoring he has, in a very short time, developed his approach to the sport and his skills within it. Just what we were all looking for.
So, I made the determination that Luke is demonstrating the right stuff and as such I put his performances and my impressions to Peter Clifford and he agreed to open the spot for us.
This is similar to what happened in Australia, but their spot is now a contestable process.
Assuming Luke is not overawed by the whole thing, he will perform as well as anyone else there I think!!
Which brings me to next year and subsequent years should we be successful enough to be invited back.
In consultation with various interested parties around NZ I believe that we will instigate a contestable process that will allow riders from all over NZ the chance to benefit from this opportunity.
So, given that it was me that got off my arse and actually asked someone about it, and have set up the coaching/mentoring around it (with more than generous help from friends) and have been negotiating with Peter Clifford, I believe that I deserve the time and space to explore this in the way I see fit without being hassled, or having to see Peter hassled either. There has been some talk (not talking about Oyster this time hehehehe) around the place about why not this and why not that. So, this time round it is what it is and that, my friends, is that.
Peter Clifford will be in NZ later this year so perhaps we can organise a forum of relevant parties to discuss a more formal process for next year before he gets here and then present a united proposal to him.

Anyway, the more assitance the better and thanks to everyone who has contributed to the fighting fund and might be thinking of doing so, or has just wished us the best.

Thanks

Steve Bagshaw
www.motoacademy.co.nz

[Her_C4]

YES.. i have had the call up.. they want me at the MOTO GP..
ok
ok

so it was my son Luke..

he has been chosen to have a ride with the

RED BULL MotoGP Rookies Cup in Portugal!!!!

Luke is the FIRST New Zealander to be offered this opportunity...

Casey Stoner


came through the RED BULL MotoGP Rookies Cup....

so the chance is there for him....

now to find the $$$$$

any one willing to offer a couple of $$ do NOT be shy in asking for Luke's bank details..

What can I say but 'wow'.

Terrific news - PM me bank account details, alwyas happy to help.


EDIT: Oh and congratulations of course!!

[ajturbo]

hey steve.. how was the shift?...

[Duke girl]

What fantastic news that is for the Moto Academy and for yourself and Luke. Steve you have put in so much time and effort to get this all up and running and I congratulate you for that. I hope it all goes well for you while you are over there and to Luke I wish you good luck and what a great experience this is for you and for New Zealand Motorcycle racing. A.J u must be so proud of Luke for what he has achieved so far?. I look forward to hearing all about how he goes over there and wish him and the Moto Academy all the very best. Kick arse Luke.

[vtec]

Awesome, wish I'd started racing as a young un. I had to do it under my own steam so ended up waiting till I was 23.

Congrats Luke, I don't know you, but sounds like you're worthy. Don't want to put too much pressure on you, but we'd love someone to follow in international road racing.

[steveyb]

Awesome, wish I'd started racing as a young un. I had to do it under my own steam so ended up waiting till I was 23.

Congrats Luke, I don't know you, but sounds like you're worthy. Don't want to put too much pressure on you, but we'd love someone to follow in international road racing.

Hi again all.
The aforementioned situation of vtec is precisely why in NZ we are unlikely to ever have another world champion road racer, unless the situation here changes.

The sport of motorcycle road racing has changed completely since the days of Anderson, Molloy, then Scott, Crosby and even more recently Crafar, Slight and Stroud.

Around the world riders are now being encouraged and mentored at increasingly younger ages, and new initiatives such as Red Bull Rookies Cup have been set up to identify, groom and train these riders for selection into higher levels of the sport.

The days of a rider picking it up at even 18 years old, learning a couple of years on 400's or something, then heading to somewhere else in the expectation (well, hope really) of being picked up are well and truely over.

All the riders from nations with organised academys (Spain, France, Germany, USA, Australia etc) , Rookies Cups or similar will simply have the same talent (or more) than our rider has, but will have all the background and sponsor exposure that will ensure they get noticed and supported first.

The strongest national youth competition in the world CEV 125GP in Spain is basically all 13-16 year olds with the odd older more experienced rider, 18 yrs, thrown in. These 13 year olds already have more backing than half (or maybe all) of all the 125 riders in NZ put together. Clearly due to the greater amounts of money in Europe, but mostly simply because people are willing to support them and mentor them and provide racing teams for them.

Hence the establishment of Moto Academy NZ and, I hope, many more youth oriented teams in support of growing the youth segment of the sport. We simply cannot have each and every rider reinventing the wheel and operating in isolation if we want to be able to take pride in seeing an NZ rider push into the world scene again.

Cheers

Steve

[johnsv650]

well done to get such an opportunity for a kiwi up and coming rider,
i hope all goes well......are you picking the best person for the country ?
i think the aussy riders have had to win the class (over 5 meetings) to get the ride overseas, and you know it also.....
i know this year has opened some doors but to be fair to everyone in nz i believe it should be open to all, to pick one from a team of three isn't fair and we might not get the best rider to represent our huge group of young developing riders.
Do you think the people who raced in the 125cc nationals last year deserve to be futher up the order than they are now, not even considered ?
even if you get picked from the big group how much is a ride on red bulls for a year ? $80000-100000 who in nz has that amount behind them for one year.......
i believe nz has only two or three people have the backing to go ahead if picked.
is the person who ranks the highest in the nationals (and in the right age group) going to be selected or just people from one team for next year ?
This is just what our developing young riders can aim, plan and budget for but i believe it should be like austrailia and a national class be raced and the winner knows the costs and budget before they enter and have shown the skills over 5 meetings against the others who want the trip and possiblities overseas.....
to pick from nz, i think is going to develope nz riders better than from a 3 man team ..........
good luck who ever goes and look forward to a open competition for 2009 season.

[k14]

John, just so you know, if you get past the selection process then the bike and all those costs are covered for by the red bull academy. The only costs the competitor has to cover are travel to and from each event. Not the $80-$100k but still to go from NZ to europe for 7 or 8 races you would be looking at the best part of 50k. I guess that bridge will be crossed when it arises.

To be honest (and not wanting to tread on any toes), I also had similar thoughts to John on first hearing about this. Now that Steve has explained himself I can understand where he is coming from. All the best luck to Luke for the trial, will be closely watching his progress. Lets hope he makes the most of this massive opportunity for the future of NZ road racing