British Talent Cup joins forces with Honda

THE UK’s premier young rider program has joined forces with Honda motorcycles for 2020, ready for the racing season to begin next month.

The racing is scheduled to get back underway at the Donington Park round of the British Superbike Championship on August 7/8/9, following the earlier postponement due to COVID-19 restrictions. For 2020 though, the British Talent Cup will have a new look and a new title partner as Honda UK joins forces to help bring on the talent of tomorrow. The new partnership has even drawn praise from the top of MotoGP, with Carmelo Ezpeleta getting behind the new deal.

He said: “We are very happy to see Honda take on this important role in the British Talent Cup. Honda are such an incredible force in motorcycle racing, and we have already had the pleasure of partnering with them in a number of Road to MotoGP programmes. It makes me proud to see our relationship strengthen once again, this time as part of the British Talent Cup as we work to create more solid foundations for the champions of the future.”

The inaugural British Talent Cup season launched in 2018, with the season eventually being won by Rory Skinner after a scintillating season-long battle with rival Thomas Strudwick. The series is open to riders between 12 and 17 years of age and the technical regulations will mirror the Dorna-promoted European Talent Cup, which uses a lightly modified Honda NSF250R. Part of the appeal for spectators is the level playing field the riders have to compete on, making it easier to highlight individual performances.

Aside from the kudos of winning, the trophies and prize money, the biggest carrot dangled in front of the stars of the future is the chance to compete in the FIM Moto3 Junior World Championship. Dorna will select just one rider from the British Isles to compete in the 2021 event, with two riders also being selected by them to take part in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Selection Event for 2021.

Bennetts British Superbike Championship Series Director Stuart Higgs commented:

“The British Talent Cup has evolved this season and the new partnership with Honda UK shows this country’s combined commitment to working with Dorna to find the UK’s newest potential MotoGP talent.”

Neil Fletcher, Head of Motorcycles at Honda UK added:

“We are proud to be announced as the Title Partner for this key support championship to the highly popular British Superbike race series. The British Talent Cup series provides a fantastic platform for young riders to put themselves on the road to stardom with the ultimate target of racing in the MotoGP World Championship.”

2020 British Talent Cup provisional calendar