The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup is a motorcycle racing series contested by young, up-and-coming motorcycle riders, who have not had experience in a motorcycle grand prix previously. The class was founded in 2007, and since then a number of the rookies have progressed through to the 125cc/Moto3 championship in MotoGP.
Prior to the 2013 season, a 2-stroke KTM RC 125cc engine was used. The year 2013 saw a change of machinery to the 4-stroke KTM RC250RBR, following the introduction of the four-stroke Moto3 class.[1]
Fourteen ex Rookies have gone on to win a world championship as of 2021:
159 points, 57 clear of Lorenzo Savadori. Zarco went on to become the first alumni to win a world championship on any class after winning the Moto2 title in 2015 and 2016 and the first alumni to started a race in the MotoGP class.
149 points, 4 clear of Luis Salom who went on to ride in the MotoGP 125 class. Beach returned to AMA competition afterwards, while Salom would stay in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, achieving success in Moto3 with Salom earning a runner-up finish in 2012 and third-place finish in 2013, before stepping up to Moto2 and raced there until his death in 2016.
132 points, 2 clear of Sturla Fagerhaug. Both went on to ride in the MotoGP 125 class. Kornfeil is currently still competing in Moto3, while Fagerhaug retired after the 2011 season.
170 points, 6 clear of Danny Kent. Gagne has made two call-ups to World Superbike in 2017, while Kent would become the second alumni to win a world championship on any class after winning the Moto3 title in 2015. Brad Binder, the fifth place position on the standing, became the third alumni to win a world championship on any class after winning the Moto3 title in 2016
235 points, 72 clear of Jorge Martín. Hanika would ride in Moto3 for the next season with Ajo Motorsport, but following two crash-filled seasons, he was dropped by Ajo and switched to Mahindra in 2016, only to be fired mid-season due to poor performance.
254 points, 57 clear of Joan Mir. Martín is currently competing in MotoGP, while Mir become the second rider to start in MotoGP class in 2019. Mir also went on to become the fourth alumni to win a world championship on any class after winning the Moto3 title in 2017. Martin went on to become the fifth alumni to win a world championship on any class after winning the Moto3 title in 2018.
243 points, 49 clear of Fabio Di Giannantonio. Bendsneyder is currently competing in Moto2 with , while Di Giannantonio is currently competing in Moto2 with Speed Up.
235 points, 43 clear of Deniz Öncü. Can Öncü currently competes in the . And in 2018 , has scored his first Moto3 win at the Valencian Grand Prix ,becoming the youngest ever winner of a World Championship race. He stayed in Moto3 for 2019, but he failed to score points in the major part of the season and leaved Moto3 for 2020.For these two seasons he was riding for Red Bull KTM Ajo,while brother Deniz races in the Moto3 , and has scored 3 Podiums and 1 Pole Position to date.