MotoGP Rookies Win in Valencia

British teen Matthew Hoyle led the way for the MotoGP squad in a 91-49 win in the Oct. 25 race in Valencia, Spain. Though they still lost by a fair margin, the AMA Rookies improved on the 114-26 score in the first half of the Riders Cup in Indianapolis, Ind. in September.

Jacob Gagne finished third in Valencia to record the top finish by an AMA Rookie in either Riders Cup race. Leandro Mercado also notched a sixth-place finish for the AMA squad while Tomas Puerta and Hayden Gillim finished ninth and tenth. In Indianapolis, the MotoGP Rookies swept the top seven spots.

The race was held in dry conditions following wet practice and qualifying sessions. Racing on the unfamiliar Valencias Ricardo Tormo Circuit under tough weather conditions, the AMA Rookies were at a disadvantage.

All the boys from both teams did a great job this weekend, said riders coach Kevin Schwantz. The Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup team had the toughest situation possible with having to learn the track in the wet and then have a dry race. All of our team were able to keep it up on two wheels and finish the race. We learned a lot this weekend and I think every rider came through in the race.

The win was the first for Hoyle in the Rookies program.

Finally my first Rookies win. Its what I came here for and Im so glad to get it in my last Rookies race, says Hoyle. The bike was working well and having won races on my way to the British Championship this year I knew what to do. I just settled into a rhythm and kept my concentration going.

It just snapped round on me and I only just managed to stay on it, says Gagne about the incident. Sure it hurt my foot and made it hard to change direction on the bike after that. I just had to tough it out to the finish.

Gagne had to be carried onto the podium but the experience more than made up for the pain.

Im really happy with the race today, says Gagne. A podium felt really good.