MotoGP Brits

Number 45
Place of birth: Quedgeley
Date of birth: 04/Jan/1993
Weight: 45Kg.
Height: 150cm.

Scott Redding follows in the footsteps of countryman and fellow Red Bull MotoGP Academy graduate Bradley Smith in showcasing his talents on the world stage, having enjoyed success on a national level in his homeland of Britain and Spain. The teenager, one of the younger participants in the World Championship this season, began racing in the British Minimoto Championship in 2001 aged just eight years old.

A switch to Metrakit bikes saw him win the MiniGP British Championship in 2004, an achievement followed up by victory of all six rounds of the Spanish Calypso Cup 80cc series. Picked up by the Red Bull MotoGP Academy project in 2006, Redding cut his teeth in 125cc racing with participation in the CEV Buckler 125GP series in Spain, finishing seventh overall and attracting the interest of BQR Blusens Aprilia. His sophomore year in the Spanish Championship saw him taking second place after winning the last three races of 2007, leading to the team giving him the opportunity to ply his trade in the World Championship in 2008.

Redding made history in June 2008 in front of a delighted Donington crowd as he became the youngest rider of all-time to win a Grand Prix race (aged 15 years and 170 days), taking the record from Marco Melandri who had held it since winning at Assen in 1998. The victory also made Redding the first British rider to win in the 125cc class since Chas Mortimer at the Spanish GP at the Jarama in 1973 and the first British rider to win a GP in any class since Jeremy McWilliams won the 250cc race at Assen in 2001.

Redding was the 2008 125cc Rookie of the Year, finishing 11th overall and earning himself a factory bike for 2009 as he continued with the Blusens Aprilia team.
In 2010 he rides in the Moto2 class for the Marc VDS Racing Team.

Source: motogp.com

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Number 99
Place of birth: Kent
Date of birth: 22/Mar/1991
Weight: 51Kg.
Height: 162cm.

Danny Webb undertook his second season in the 125cc World Championship in 2008, continuing with the Degraaf Grand Prix team with competitive Aprilia machinery. The teenager from southern England, one of the smallest riders on the grid, is another British rider to have made his debut off the back of a successful stay in the Red Bull MotoGP Academy programme. Webb had been pencilled in to make his World Championship debut with Repsol Honda at Catalunya in 2006, alongside compatriot Bradley Smith, but a fractured wrist sustained in a practice session crash put a premature end to his weekend. Nonetheless, the promising young rider demonstrated his potential with some good performances in the 125cc Spanish national championships, placing sixth and seventh at Cartagena and Valencia respectively, leading to a final position of 16th.

His debut season in the 125cc World Championship in 2007 was marked by crashes typical of an eager young rider, although his persistence was rewarded with his first points at Motegi in Japan. Webb formed part of a trio of riders in the Degraaf Grand Prix outfit in ’08, alongside Hugo van den Berg and Stevie Bonsey, and an improvement in results saw him climb from 26th the previous year to 19th in the final classification. He rode for Degraaf again in ’09 with Randy Krummenacher drafted in as his new teammate.

Source: motogp.com

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Number 38
Place of birth: Oxford
Date of birth: 28/Nov/1990
Weight: 51Kg.
Height: 172cm.

Concluding a long-standing association with Honda at the end of the 2007 season, 17 year-old Briton Bradley Smith was one of the outside shots to challenge for the World Championship in 2008 after a move to Polaris World Aprilia and some highly promising pre-season performances, but a combination of bad luck and inexperience when leading races eventually saw his title challenge fade away.

A graduate of the Red Bull MotoGP Academy and a former runner-up in the Spanish CEV 125cc Championship, Smith was given the green light to make his World Championship debut in 2006 by mentors Alberto Puig and Raul Jara in the Repsol Honda factory team. A best result of eighth in Japan at a then unfamiliar Motegi circuit, coupled with his first points at his home race at Donington Park, where the highlights of his maiden season, and he took the coveted Rookie of the Year award for the 125cc category despite suffering a fractured left wrist at Brno in the Czech Republic. 2007 saw further success for the Oxfordshire teenager, including his ascension to the podium with an inspired performance at Le Mans, and more podium finishes beckoned for the Briton as he combined his prodigious talent with improved machinery in `08.

Sixth place overall at the end of his third full Grand Prix season, coupled with the fact that a first victory has still eluded him despite three pole positions means that Smith had perhaps not reached his full potential with Polaris World before their departure from the World Championship. A switch to the highly successful Bancaja Aspar set-up for 2009 saw Smith fighting to fulfil his undoubted promise.
After a hugely encouraging 2009 he continues in 125cc, staying with the Bancaja Aspar Team.

Source: motogp.com