Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup officials have published the entry list for the 2027 program tryouts, organized alphabetically by surname. The invitation list features 127 riders from 45 nations competing for six available places. Ten American riders are included: four earned nominations through the 2026 MotoAmerica Talent Cup, while the remaining six qualified through other series recognized by the Rookies Cup.
The list identifies Mahdi Salem Abuawad as representing Palestine. He was born in the United States, currently lives in the United States, and began his racing career there; he is listed in competition as Mahdi Salem.
Derek Sanchez and Mikey Lou Sanchez are not related.
Invited American riders:
Mahdi Salem
Nathan Bettencourt
Julian Correa
Nathan Gouker
Mac Robert MacClugage
Kensei Matsudaira
Joshua Raymond
Derek Sanchez
Mikey Lou Sanchez
Ulises Weyrauch
Invited Canadian riders:
Eric Sergi
Lachlan Alexander
Selection format:
The three-day Selection Event for the 2027 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season will be held Monday through Wednesday in Guadix, in southern Spain. According to Toni Sharpless, who oversees youth racing programs in Canada and will be attending, 127 riders from 45 nations have been invited to compete for the six available openings in the Cup’s 21st season. Over its first two decades, the series has featured 277 riders from 46 different nations.
Sharpless added that approximately half of the riders will be on track on Day 1, with the remaining half scheduled for Day 2. A four-member Selection Committee will then produce a list of riders invited to return on Day 3, from which a short list will be invited to join the Cup for 2027.
Once selected, riders typically remain in the program for three years. American Sean Dylan Kelly, for example, competed in the Red Bull Rookies Cup for three seasons before signing with Team Hammer to race in MotoAmerica beginning in 2019. He won the 2021 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship, spent nearly two years in Moto2, returned to the United States to compete in MotoAmerica Superbike from 2024 through 2026, and will continue in the series in 2027. Another American example is Kristian Daniel Jr., who completed his third year in the Rookies Cup in 2026 and has been signed to compete in the Moto3 World Championship with the Red Bull Tech3 team.
Overall List
(Americans and Canadians are listed in italics)
Mahdi Salem Abuawad (Palestine) (American-born Palestinian-American)
Lachlan Alexander (Canada) (Canadian)
Poojita Anil Kumar (India)
Alessio Arnold (Switzerland)
Marc-Antoine Audard (France)
Rehbar Baktoo (India)
Jakub Belak (Poland)
Enzo Bellon (France)
Nathan Bettencourt (USA) (American)
Laila Bielecka (Poland)
Aymon Bocanegra Boone (Brazil)
Evan Boxenberger (France)
Brayden Burke (Sweden)
Jack Burrows (United Kingdom)
Chenuka Caldera (Sri Lanka)
Oliver Cantos Llorca (Spain)
Cristóbal Carreño (Chile)
Leonardo Casadei (Italy)
Viktor Čech (Czech Republic)
Omri Chen (Israel)
Oleksii Chepurny (Ukraine)
Daniel Climent Cantos (Spain)
Nathaniel Cohen (Kenya)
Julian Correa (USA) (American)
Victor Cubeles (Spain)
Karolina Danak (Poland)
Harrison Day (United Kingdom)
Quinn de Joode (Netherlands)
Luuk de Vries (Netherlands)
Alex Debon Estornell (Spain)
Vincenzo Di Veroli (Italy)
Andoni Dominguez Martinez (Nicaragua)
Ishak Demir Dönmez (Turkey)
Johann Dubois (France)
Jack Dunabie (United Kingdom)
Roman Durdis (Czech Republic)
Johann Emmanuel (India)
Swan Emprin (France)
Alberto Enriquez (Ecuador)
Tomas Escobar (Colombia)
Bautista Farias (Argentina)
Sebastian Jozef Ferrucci (Poland)
Lorenzo Fino (Italy)
Teerin Fleming (Thailand)
Ryan Frost (United Kingdom)
Ignacio Galán Bermejo (Spain)
Andres Garcia Gonzalez (Spain)
Jonathan Garness-Kuzel (Czech Republic)
Murilo Gomes Silva (Brazil)
David Gomez Forner (Spain)
Diego Andrés González Menegollo (Venezuela)
Santiago Gossa (Argentina)
Smilla Göttlich (Germany)
Nathan Gouker (USA) (American)
Frederico Guimarães (Portugal)
Marco Holt (United Kingdom)
Pin-Hung Huang (Taiwan)
Milan Hunneman (Netherlands)
Shingo Iidaka (Japan)
Qabil Irfan (Malaysia)
Julia Jantarska (Poland)
Tiago João (Portugal)
Seong Hyeon Kim (Republic of Korea)
Tobias Kitzbichler (Austria)
Mick Koomen (Netherlands)
Tian Krsevan (Slovenia)
Paul Linsbichler (Austria)
Alex Longarela Montes (Spain)
Jhon Alexander Lopez Castañeda (Colombia)
Alvaro Lucas Esteve (Spain)
Tamas Lukacs (Hungary)
Nolann Macary (France)
Mac Robert MacClugage (USA) (American)
Leonardo Marques Barbim (Brazil)
Pedro Matos (Portugal)
Kensei Matsudaira (USA) (American)
Tobias Mayer (Ireland)
Henry McCartney (United Kingdom)
Xarly Mendez de Oleo (Dominican Republic)
Elisabetta Monti (Italy)
Antoine Nativi (France)
Kolamba Patabandige Hesali Nehansa Peiris (Sri Lanka)
Esteban Neil (France)
Nikola Nikolaev (Bulgaria)
Eneko Osorio Marchan (Spain)
Domi Pekkanen (Finland)
David Peris Bartual (Spain)
Nejc Petric (Slovenia)
Gabriel Pio (France)
Judd Plaisted (Australia)
Jimmy Primaut (France)
Lorenzo Pritelli (Italy)
Joshua Raymond (USA) (American)
Alex Remesal Lomas (Spain)
Jose Reyes (Spain)
Luca Rizzi (Italy)
Izan Rodriguez Alvarez (Spain)
Iker Rodriguez Romero (Spain)
Tom Rolin (Belgium)
Nicolas Romeral Grotkopp (Denmark)
Levi Russo (Australia)
Eric Ruz (Spain)
Mário Salles Neto (Brazil)
Derek Sanchez (USA) (American)
Mikey Lou Sanchez (USA) (American)
David Sanchez Ruiz (Spain)
Remy Sanjuan (France)
Edoardo Savino (Italy)
Eric Sergi (Canada) (Canadian)
Rakshith Srihari Dave (India)
Franciszek Stoklosa (Poland)
Filip Surowiak (United Kingdom)
Riichi Takahira (Japan)
Mathias Tamburini (Italy)
Juan Pablo Telo Santaella (Venezuela)
Anina Urlass (Germany)
Jason Van Breda (South Africa)
Ryan van Nieuwkerk (South Africa)
Santiago Vega Izquierdo (Mexico)
Simone Vianello (Italy)
Daniel von Zeschau Tomelin (Brazil)
Adam Vyskocil (Czech Republic)
Thias Wenzel (Germany)
Ulises Weyrauch (USA) (American)
Kacper Wojcik (Poland)
Enzo Zaragoza Benedi (Spain)
Wen-Ze Zhong (Hong Kong, China)