It is a new demonstration that hell can be paved with good intentions and it concerns the new age limit for accessing the world of Grands Prix. She is now 18 years old instead of 16 previously, a measure taken after the emotion aroused by the disappearances in 2021 of young hopefuls Jason Dupasquier in Moto3 and Dean Berta Viñales in WSS300. If this new standard fully adheres to political correctness, it has had consequences on the sectors and professional careers of budding champions. All parts of the file feel protected in spite of themselves, a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding that the boss of the Aspar team Jorge Martinez explains thus…
Jorge Martinez is a natural authority in the Grand Prix paddock. He won four world championship titles (80 and 125 cc) as a racing driver around the world long before and is now the head of a real business involved in various competitions and other sectors. It claims 100 talents and 28 employees in its academy in Valencia. Its colors won the Moto3 World Championship in 2020 with Albert Arenas on KTM and in 2022 with Izan Guevara on GASGAS. The one who is also identified under the pseudonym Aspar therefore knows what he is talking about.
Exactly, he talks about speedweek with this preliminary which shows how this raising of the legal age for accessing the world championship has changed the situation: “ in Spain we have a lot of talent between 10 and 12 years old. What do we do with it? ". And it's not just that. It is also necessary to take into account this parameter indicated by Luca Boscoscuro, Moto2 manufacturer and current boss of Fermin Aldeguer and D'Alonso lopez : " some of the 18 year old riders are too heavy and too tall for the 250 horsepower 55cc single ". The Italian then thinks about this corrective action: “ I therefore propose replacing them with 400 or 500cc twin-cylinder engines. Then, you reach 70 to 75 hp, the aspiration no longer plays such a determining role, the control of the piloting makes a bigger difference than with the 250 ».
Jorge Martínez: “we are investing a lot of money as a team in these guys to prepare them for the world championship"
But in times of crisis, and with technical regulations set until the end of 2026, this revolution is not happening. So we'll have to deal with it. Or at least the actors will have to adapt to rules on which they had no say: “ the situation in the Moto3 World Championship has changed a lot. The fact that young riders will only be able to enter the Moto3 World Championship at the age of 18 instead of 16 is a big problem. Because in Spain, we have a huge pool of motorcycle talent that is ten, eleven or twelve years old ».
He adds : " we invest a lot of money as a team in these guys to prepare them for the world championship. But now, they have to wait two years longer to enter GP than in the past…It's very bad for my program ". Then he finishes: “ I can't let talent appear in JuniorGP for years. Sponsors pay a lot less money there. It's impossible. Large teams also participate in the European Talent Cup ". The side effects of the decision to raise the minimum age have apparently not been sufficiently taken into account.
