Motorcycles and news

Once again this will prove to be an amazing adventure for these young riders, walking in the footsteps and riding in the tyre tracks of the living legend Valentino Rossi and Moto GP heroes. Series Organiser, Rob Mac, tells us how he is feeling before the big weekend.

“Every young rider dreams of hopefully being Valentino one day and the Virgin Mobile Cup will be remembered for being the starting point of our champions. Tommy Hill, the inaugural series winner, is fast making his mark on the Superbike World, so maybe the dream can come true.

But this weekend the grid of 16-22 year olds will not only have the chance to meet the Rossi and Edwards team but have the opportunity to race in front of the most powerful people in our sport and without question the biggest crowd they will ever see!

With the help of our sponsors; Virgin Mobile, Yamaha and Dunlop and the kind cooperation of Dorna we are able to bring the Virgin Mobile Cup to this huge stage and give these riders the experience of a lifetime.

This is a ‘just for fun’ race as no championship points will be awarded, but with the support of all our sponsors we have got a fantastic array of prizes up for grabs for the youngsters to win. The ultimate winner of the combined two races will win a brand new YZF R6 race-ready Virgin Mobile Cup bike!

This one-off event certainly adds to the Moto GP programme and always proves to be a great hit with the fans, the racing will be fierce as championship contenders have no risk to their championship positions, just a huge prize just waiting to be won!

The unique yellow Dunlop Animal lead bike, normally used to highlight the championship leader, will be ridden by our guest rider John Pearson aged 32 and a journalist with Superbike magazine for the Saturday race. The first race winner and points leader will ride it on the Sunday for the grand finale which is great for the crowd and I am sure ‘Fred Clarke’ our commentator will have some fun with this.”

John Pearson, riding in the Virgin Mobile Cup for one round only said: “I am ten years older than most of these young guys and nervous as hell. I am quite confident that I can stand my ground with them though, I did a track day at Donington last week and went ok. The pressure will come from riding in front of such a big crowd and against all these young lads. I have watched the Virgin Mobile Cup races and these riders really go for it, it will be interesting!”

Rob Mac adds: “With the weather set for sunshine and scorching temperatures, this weekend will be a fantastic event for these young guys and one they will never forget, I want to thank all our supporters and partners for making this event happen.”

Other prizes available:

Saturday
1st Signed Valli Valenntino Rossi AGV helmet (he doesn’t sign many!)
2nd Pair of Dunlop Qualifier tyres
3rd Joe Rocket racing gloves

Sunday (Accumulative points over two races)
1st Brand new Virgin Mobile Cup Yamaha YZF R6
2nd Brand New Virgin Mobile Yamaha team scooter
3rd Head to toe Nitro race gear
4th £1000 Teng Tools Voucher
5th £300 Animal Clothing voucher
6th Pair Dunlop Qualifier tyres