Motorcycle racing shares one thing in common with all other sports: if you want to produce top quality competitors, you need to make access to the sport easy from as young an age as possible.

The nature of circuit racing, with its higher speeds and physically larger bikes, means that it cannot be opened up to riders until they are in their teens.

For anyone keen to get involved earlier than that, Junior Motocross, Junior Grasstrack Racing and more recently Minibike Racing have been the easiest starting points. But that’s all about to change with two new initiatives.

The biggest change will see the introduction of the first official FIM – the governing body of world motorcycle sport – series to be run in Ireland, while the second sees support for the Junior Circuit Racing championship increased, with the introduction of a prize fund for the first time.

The traditional route into Irish circuit racing had been through Motocross and Grasstrack racing up until the last ten years, when the emergence of Minibike and Pit Bike racing changed the landscape. Now riders from as young as six can race on tarmac tracks, with a number of different organisations running races.

As in other areas of the world, each race organiser chooses their own way to go, with regards to the classes and types of bikes used, and this has been recognised as an issue by the FIM, which feels a more standardised system will serve competitors better as they learn their craft.

To address the issues, the FIM and MotoGP promoter Dorna looked for applications from countries and regions around the world to be part of their first ever Junior Racing Championship. The FIM MiniGP World Series would see successful applicants being given the opportunity to run a National series, which would feed into a World Final, running alongside the last MotoGP race of the season.

The new championship would be open to ten- to 14-year-olds and would have to run with identical bikes, manufactured by Ohvale, and to a standard championship format.

Motorcycling Ireland was quick to get its submission in and was one of just 14 successful applicants worldwide. Now, for the first time, Ireland’s young racers can compete in a series with a structured progression from off-road racing through to domestic and International circuit racing.

Running under the title of FIM MiniGP Ireland Series, the new championship will be promoted by Motorcycling Ireland’s (MCI) Short Circuit Racing Committee and will run between July and October. Seven events are scheduled at five venues across Ireland. The series will run twice at Athboy Karting Centre in Meath, once at Louth’s Whiteriver Park and there will also be two eagerly awaited guest appearances alongside the Dunlop Masters Superbike Championship at Mondello Park in County Kildare.

The season will be roundd off with trips to Kiltorcan Raceway in Kilkenny and Watergrashill in Cork.

Entry to the championship is open to 10 to 14-year olds who have previous Minibike, Motocross or Grasstrack racing experience. The Ohvale machines used in the championship have been made available to all National MiniGP World Series events at the same subsidised price and this has helped the Irish series to attract significant interest from prospective competitors.

Following the seven events, the championship top three will be offered the opportunity to travel to Valencia in Spain to compete in the World Series final, the prize for the winner of which is an invite to take part in one of Dorna’s ‘Road to MotoGP’ championships.

“This is a major step forward for Irish motorcycle racing” said MCI Short Circuit Committee Chairman Daire Lowe when the Irish series was announced.

“We’ve been working in the background on this since the project was announced, in order to be ready to go once an Irish series was confirmed. For the first time, Irish motorcycling racing is now involved in the Road to MotoGP programme run by Dorna and the FIM and it will allow us to offer the best of our young racers an opportunity to prove themselves on a world stage.”

The next level of support for young Irish riders has come from two enthusiasts with a strong history in the sport. Current Dunlop Masters Superbike Championship racer Declan Madden, of DM Groundworks, and former Masters Superbike ‘Cup’ Champion Frank Smyth, of FJS Plant, will join forces this season to support the transition of Irish motorcycle racing’s stars of the future into circuit racing. The two businessmen will jointly provide backing for the series to the tune of €3,000, with €1,500 split between the top three in each of two junior classes at the end of the year.

Having returned to racing in 2019 following a couple of years away, Declan decided that he wanted to put something back into the sport through sponsorship. Following discussions during the shortened 2020 season, a plan to directly support towards young racers was put together and in early 2021 Declan was joined by former Masters competitor Frank Smyth.

Once the championship was confirmed as starting in June, a decision was made to back the Junior Championships with an end-of-season prize fund and that has now become a reality with the announcement of the 2021 awards.

The introduction of the FIM MiniGP Ireland Series and the addition of a prize fund to the entry-level circuit racing championship means that young racers can now see a more structured and better supported route into racing.

#While still a long way from the levels of support available in some of the more successful Motorcycle racing nations such as Spain and Italy, the new initiatives are a very welcome first step towards the discovery of Ireland’s next international racing star.