Phillip Island Preview – Looking for new talent

Like every end of the season, in recent weeks, gossip has begun to spread across the paddocks like a forest fire. Speculators in the business of fishing for a nobody to ride have all been searching for the answer to the all-important question – where the next MotoGP talent will come from. Finding a potential World Champion is a very profitable business, perhaps also in terms of personal satisfaction, but, what is certain, in terms of the bank account. It depends on your point of view.

Forty, or even fifty years ago, all it took was a whistle towards a coal mine in the north east of England to find an international football champion. A similar call, directed instead at the English or Italian Championships, created a row of drivers capable of winning Grand Prix in all classes. The likes of Geoff Duke, John Suertees, Giacomo Agostini, Mike Hailwood and Carlo Ubbiali learned their trade on the track and road circuits of their home, before broadening their talents to the European stage. It was a natural succession and Norton, MV Augusta and Gilera had the opportunity to pick and choose among the drivers competing in their national Championships and in the large number of international meetings that augmented the small number of Grands Prix.

When the Japanese invasion arrived in the early sixties, the majors Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki tended to choose riders who were already established on the international scene. Naturally they tried to get the best, in fact Honda persuaded Mike Hailwood to leave MV Augusta in 1966 and Yamaha, in 1974, pulled off the biggest blow: it snatched the multiple World Champion Giacomo Agostini from his beloved MV team Augusta, to launch its two-stroke attack on the World Championship dominated by four-strokes. Ago did not disappoint her and brought to Yamaha, in 1975, the world title he coveted. However, there was an air of revolution and, although Barry Sheene maintained the traditional European dominance for a few more years, on the other side of the Atlantic, the American dirt tracks were producing a series of drivers, of a caliber that had no equal. , neither then nor now.

A Californian rider, small in stature, but rich in both talent and will and who was never afraid to express an opinion, led the revolution that would change the face of Motorcycle Grand Prix racing forever. Kenny Roberts had trained on the hard and unforgiving American dirt tracks. He came to Europe to race the Tarmac and, at his first attempt, won three consecutive 500cc world titles.

The gates had opened to the revolution and, although the Italians Marco Lucchinelli and Franco Uncini had brought back some European pride, the motorcycle manufacturers looked to America and to the spotlights that illuminated those one and a half mile ovals in beaten earth. The likes of Freddie Spencer, Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson and Kevin Schwantz completely dominated the action and most of those big contracts distributed by the Japanese companies. Starting in 1983, American riders won nine of the next ten 500cc World Championships.

Forget the coal mines and the National Championships, now, to have World class drivers, all you had to do was blow the whistle towards the events on the American dirt tracks, and they would appear. It was an extraordinary era of near-absolute dominance, and European drivers couldn't make any inroads. The situation did not improve for the European pilots when the Americans began to lose ground. Instead, a new breed of drivers entered the scene, determined to conquer the world, even further from home, but with the same background as the dirt tracks.

In the midst of American domination, Wayne Gardner became the first Australian to win the 500cc world title in 1987 for Honda. The indomitable Honda star rider had cut his teeth racing on his home dirt tracks, before arriving in Great Britain and making a name for himself in the national championships. Suddenly Australia became the destination for talent scouts, who were not disappointed.

Honda landed Mick Doohan to lead its challenge into the 21st century, as he had made a big impression, not only in his home country's races, but also by winning some races in the Superbike World Championship. Only an accident prevented him from winning more than five 1994cc World titles between 1998 and 500, when in 1999, due to injuries, he was forced to retire.

Once again, the pendulum began to swing again and this time in favor of the European riders, who had learned their trade not on American or Australian clay, but rather through the traditional path of the 125 and 250cc Grands Prix. Doohan's teammate, former 125cc World Champion, Spaniard Alex Criville, won the world title in 1999. Despite the brilliant diversion of American Kenny Roberts Junior, who brought the world title back to America that year next, history had now turned the page for the kids on the dirt tracks, at least for the moment.

Suddenly it was back in fashion to hire drivers who had competed at the highest levels of the lower classes. A certain Italian became proof that this was the right way to proceed. Valentino Rossi had won several 125 and 250cc world titles before reaching the premier class. He came second in his first year and from then on won everything that came his way, for three consecutive titles, both with two-stroke and four-stroke bikes. There are still many waiting to reach it. Let's think of the teenagers Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo, Andre Dovizioso and Hector Barbara, certainly destined for MotoGP in the coming years.

The advent of MotoGP four-stroke machines also brought an influx of talent from the Superbike World Championship. It is certainly easier for riders to adapt to the characteristics of the four-stroke than it was to adapt to the 500cc two-stroke bike, which is so difficult to master. Even if the Superbike riders have not yet produced the desired results, there is one rider in particular that many MotoGP teams would like to sign. And hiring him would reverse the trend, because he is not European.

So, if you were a talent scout, where would you start looking to grow your bank account? Don't stray from the 125 and 250cc races, go back and take a look at the American and Australian clay, check the Superbike calendar, don't neglect the National and European Championships, or simply take a risk and bring out a nobody. It worked before, as Kenny Roberts will surely tell you.

Camel Honda