Pol Espargaro'

[Peter Henry]

Ok so he aint a Moto Gp rider....yet.

This kid is just 15 years old and was the youngest rider to ever enter a World Championship race when he rode his Derbi in the Cataluña race this last season.....and finished 8th!

Well Spain being a mad biking country they showed live coverage of the final round of the Spanish 125 National Championship on tv last Sunday.

Pol just destroyed the field and was leading by a hefty 18 seconds, when he then went and binned it big time on a right hander! In to the kitty litter he went in a most ungainly manner. He rejoined the race and due to his massive lead was then in 8th position.

He chased down the field and by the end of the race had climbed back to finish 5th, if the race had been a couple of laps longer I swear he would have got a podium spot. But this was enough to see him crowned champ and although many pay no attention to the 125's watch out for this kid.


He is a tidy and meticulous rider who is destined to be a world star. he will no doubt feature in some world championship races this next season.

[Biker Biggles]

Spain seems to support a lot of young riders and throw a lot of money at developing them.Sooner or later one or more of them comes good.How come we don't do this anywhere near as effectively?

[Alpinestarhero]

wow, sounds like the next valentino rossi is on its way then!

I was impressed mightily by bradley smith this season, the kid is so mature and professional - i hate to call him a kid (but thats what he is..) Anywho, I hope he keeps on his role in the coming season, maybe a podium but certainly a few top-ten finishes!

Matt

[Peter Henry]

BB..I think the problem in the UK is that generally the masses view motorcycles and related matters as a nuisance. Terrible that it should be that way as we have every opportunity to produce challengers with the right kind of support.

In Spain everyone loves bikes! It's crazy but so true. Telefonica have never had a more succesful period for example than when they were sponsoring Dani Pedrosa and Sete Gibernau. There are big bucks to be earned.

But it is the grass roots level where investment is needed. With a heritage in World motorcycle racing that the UK has, this is almost bordering on criminal that our young talent almost gets no help at all.

It is easy for some to knock the Italians and Spaniards, but are they not worthy of winning titles when the infra structure is put in place to encourage youngsters from a very early age?

[Jelster]

This country doesn't invest in sport. Tony Blair may care to differ, but why is all the young football talent coming from overseas ? Why has our rugby team dipped, why can we not sustain a run in cricket, what's wrong with our athletics team ? It's the same everywhere, no matter what the sport is.

Anyway, those crazy European riders have a major advatage over us. You only have to look the roads those guys get to ride on.... The average ability of a French/Spanish/Italian rider is far better than the UK, because every day is lke a track day. :lol:

But I bet I can filter better than them :roll:

.

[Luckypants]

This country doesn't invest in sport. Tony Blair may care to differ, but why is all the young football talent coming from overseas ? Why has our rugby team dipped, why can we not sustain a run in cricket, what's wrong with our athletics team ? It's the same everywhere, no matter what the sport is.Amen to that! My daughter is the current European and British Freestyle Kayak champion. She has already beaten everyone in the top 10 this year. She has done all this from her own money (she is a student), the bank of DAD and any commercial sponsorship she has drummed up. Travel costs are prohibitive to be able to train in the best water conditions.

The Americans were no where in the Junior World champs in 2001 (my daughter's first at age 16) so they invested heavily in youth, set up a school of excellence and took the top 6 places at the next Junior Worlds in 2003! Those athletes are now feeding into the seniors and they will get podium places next year in Canada at the Worlds. My daughter is not going due to money, work, money etc. There is no government / lottery funding for non-Olympic sports and no backing for 'up and coming' sportsmen and women either.

This country has never backed winners in sport, we seem to expect it to just happen.