Back in January when I did my AMA rider review I made a big deal about how riders like Ben Spies, Roger Lee Hayden and (reluctantly) Jason Disalvo are the future of the sport. Riders like Duhamel, Mladin, Bostrom and Yates, no matter how great, aren’t going to rule the sport forever. In fact, I think the Hayden brothers, Spies and Disalvo will have taken over the championship battles in the next two or three years. So when Ben and Roger Lee are no longer the newcomers, where will the next crop of star riders come from? Well, the answer is already in front of us…

As with many of the other rookies in the sport, the next generation of motorcycles racers are already honing their craft. In fact, they are often on the track at the same time as the current big name riders. The Hayden brothers didn’t just appear on factory bikes, they worked their way through a farm system of privateer and then factory supported teams. Just a decade ago, teams with names like EBSCO, Zero Gravity, Suzuki Sport, Hypercycle and Kinkos were running riders with names like Jamie Hacking, Nicky Hayden and Jake Zemke.

Some other teams, like Erion Honda, Emgo Suzuki (the ex-Team Valvoline/Team Hammer), Hooters Suzuki and Corona Suzuki are still out there today and are still feeding talented riders into the AMA series. I think the teams to watch this year to spot new talent are the Grant Matsushima run MPTRacing team, the Hotbodies team, the Millenium KWS team, the Corona team and Topline Racing. All of these teams are busy scouting new talent that will race for cheap in an effort to get noticed by a factory team next year. Many of the teams have a tire sponsor, usually Pirelli or Bridgestones rather than the front running Dunlops, but their sponsorship list is dominated by small non-motorcycle related businesses like construction companies or printing companies. (Obviously, the Corona Suzuki team is the major exception to this with their big name beer sponsor and massive paddock presence).

Where do these riders come from? Well, it seems there are a few standard places that the small teams are looking to find up-and-coming riders.

First, the most fertile ground for the past thirty years have been on the dirt tracks of America. Racing on short tracks and 1/2 miles teaches kids throttle control and gets them used to the rigors of racing. Since flat track racing doesn’t pay as well as road racing and there is a lot of overlap with the skillset it is usually easy to convinced talented young riders to give road racing a try. Of the current riders MPT Racing’s Danny Eslick is the best example of one who came out of the dirt track world. He’s very fast and very comfortable sliding the bike around. His finishes thus far this season in Formula Xtreme include three top five finishes.

Second, check the local CCS and WERA races to see who is shining there. Riders like Aaron Yates, Scott Russell and Mike Smith all strutted their stuff in WERA and CCS before being picked up by AMA teams. If a rider is fast enough to win in the CCS Race of Champions or the WERA Grand Nationals there is a very good chance they’ll soon be riding in one of the AMA classes. The current racer from this background is Millenium KWS’s Blake Young. This young (pardon the pun) rider made an impression with his rides in CCS and is already backing that up with competitive riders in AMA Supersport (three top 15s) and Superstock (two top 15s). He’s teamed with veteran Lee Acree, so expect to see Young continuing to improve as he learns from his experienced teammate.

Third, casting an eye down under seems to be a popular place to look for riding talent. Over the past decade the AMA series has been dominated by Aussie riders like Troy Corser, Troy Bayliss, Mat Mladin, Anthony Gobert, Aaron Gobert and Damon Buckmaster. There are a few talented Australian riders chasing Yank dollars in the field this year but I think the best example is Corona Suzuki’s Brent George. This kid showed up at last years Suzuki Cup races at Atlanta and impressed many with a podium finish against circuit experts Mike Smith and Geoff May. Thus far this season George has finished in the top 15 at every Superstock race and in the top 15 twice in Superbike. Don’t be surprised to find him as the new Wonder from Down Under in a few years.

Finally, those scouting for international talent sometimes look north of the border and poach riders from the Canadian Superbike series. Duhamel, Picotte, Crevier and Szoke were all Canuck racers before being tempted by warmer weather and US paychecks. While this plan hasn’t paid the consistent rewards of importing Aussies this year brings back a talented young rider named Chris Peris riding for Topline Racing. He has certainly earned great results including four top-10 finishes in the ultra competitive Supersport class and four top-5 finishes in Formula Xtreme.

If you’re really curious about the future stars of the sport, check out Roadracing World and Motorcycle Technology magazine’s annual “Young Guns” feature. It lists riders between the ages of 13 and 19 who have finished in the top three in an expert level road race. Past “Young Guns” include all three Hayden brothers, John Hopkins, Ben Spies, Jason Disalvo, Tony Miering, Nicky Wimbauer and many others. Its another great feature offered to the motorcycle racing community by the often controversial John Ulrich.

In the meantime, watch as these talented riders improve this year and next.

[image from the MPT Racing web site.]