Please Don’t Shut Down the Best Motorcycle Docuseries, KTM
Somebody, please, think of the children.
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of watching Born Racers, and it engulfed me. Honestly, after all the motorcycle racing movies, documentaries, and shows I've watched, I didn't think one based on teenagers riding in a talent cup—the Red Bull Rookies Cup—would captivate me. Not only was I wrong, but I'd go as far as to say this is the best motorcycle racing docuseries I've ever seen.
The best racing documentary I've seen easily goes to Road. If you haven't watched it yet, do it right now, and then come back to this article.
The last docuseries of this genre that I was excited about was MotoGP Unlimited. How could a series about MotoGP racing that's a Prime Video exclusive fail so badly? And, I'm not being a hater; it failed—There won't be a second season. If whoever produced Born Racers was employed to make MotoGP Unlimited in the first place, that show would've been a hit.
Thankfully, we got Born Racers, and hopefully, whenever someone decides to make a MotoGP series again, the folks behind Born Racers will be involved. Throughout the series, you feel the weight of what's at stake without any seemingly manufactured drama.
The thing is, these teenagers haven't made it yet. They're on the path, but they're all one bad crash away or just not being as good as they need to be from getting a "normal job".
A MotoGP racer who fades away after a year or two can go into a testing or development role for a team or easily pick up a ride in WSBK. But the riders in the Red Bull Rookies Cup don't have anything to fall back on. In fact, most of the riders and their family are all in on racing, including financially.
On the other end of the spectrum, the winner of the series is basically guaranteed to pick up a Moto3 contract, which is another essential step on the ladder toward gridding up on a MotoGP bike. There are currently 29 former Rookies in major world championships, including nine in MotoGP.
So much is on the table to lose, and there's even more to gain potentially. It's thrilling, personal, and most importantly, it's real.
Born Racers isn't just good for us viewers or the platform it's on; it's good for MotoGP as a whole. I'm far more invested in Moto3 now after watching the series because I know some of the riders, and I'm rooting for them, and I'll root for them when they move up to Moto2 and so on. This series will bring non-racing fans into racing and racing fans deeper into racing.
Now I fear for the show because the Red Bull Rookies Cup is raced entirely on bikes provided by KTM.
KTM hasn't made any statement that it'll pull funding from the series, so don't misinterpret what I'm saying to mean it has. But KTM also didn't make any statement that it was pulling its funding for the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, until it did.
Hopefully, KTM doesn't have to pull funding, and the series will continue without a hitch, or if it does, we might see Krämer step in with its newly developed APX-350 MA. Either way, do not sleep on Born Racers. Add it to your holiday watch list, watch it on Prime Video, and let us know what you think in the comments.
All Rookies Once
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