This year was the tenth season of the KTM RC250R in the Red Bull Rookies Cup category, a motorcycle similar to those used in Moto3, which in 2013 replaced the KTM RC125 2-stroke which had allowed the Rookies to be discovered during the first 6 seasons of this brand cup.
Just as the RC125 was very close to the 125cc GP machines successfully developed by the KTM factory, the RC250R is the little brother of the factory KTM Moto3. It's a high-performance machine, the proof: the KTM factory won the Moto3 world championship in 2012 with Sandro Cortese, and in 2013, the KTMs occupied the first four places in the World Championship. The success continued in 2018 with ex-Rookies Cup rider Jorge Martín winning the Moto3 World Championship.
The 25 Rookies selected each year come from all over the world, from Japan to the United States via Colombia and from all over Europe, from Spain to Russia.
The paddock closely follows the intensity of the Red Bull Rookies Cup races, looking for future stars who can progress to Moto3, even Moto2 or access the holy grail: the MotoGP category. This is particularly the case of Jorge Martin, who is currently in Moto2 and will move up to the MotoGP category in 2021.
The video below reveals the assembly of one of these machines in 8 minutes flat:
Beauty of the build. (Building a Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup bike from scratch.) from r/motorcycles
The technical data of these machines:
| ROOKIES CUP KTM RC250R | TECHNICAL DETAILS : | |
| ENGINE : | Single cylinder, liquid cooled / 4-stroke / DOHC |
| CYLINDER: | 249,5 tsp |
| BORE X STROKE: | 81 x 48,5 mm |
| POWERFUL : | Guaranteed minimum 39kW at 13.000 rpm |
| MAXIMUM RPM: | max. 13 rpm |
| FRONT SUSPENSION: | WP / Diam 45 mm |
| REAR SUSPENSION: | WP, adjustable length, hydraulic preload |
| FRONT BRAKE: | Brembo Radial caliper, single Galfer disc 290 mm |
| REAR BRAKE : | Formula brake system, 190mm Galfer disc |
| FRONT / REAR RIMS: | OZ Forged Aluminum 2,5 x 17 inch / 3,5 x 17 inch |
| FRONT / REAR TIRES: | Dunlop 90 / 80-17 inches / 115 / 80-17 inches |
| EXHAUST SYSTEM : | Double Akrapovic Full Titanium GP EVO6 (max. 115 dB) |
| FRAME : | Tubular steel with adjustable headstock and swingarm pivot |
| DRY WEIGHT: | Approximately. 82 kg |
| TANK CAPACITY: | Approximately. 11 liters |
Photos: KTM & RedBull
