1993 500cc world champion Kevin Schwantz was among the guests present for the Trackhouse Aprilia MotoGP team launch in Los Angelis on Friday night.
When Schwantz won his title, it was the 13th by an American in just 16 seasons, with only Italians Marco Lucchinelli (1981) and Franco Uncini (1982) then Australian Wayne Gardner (1987) breaking the US dominance.
But there have been just two American champions since Schwantz; Kenny Roberts Jr in 2000 and the late Nicky Hayden in 2006. The last American victory was by Ben Spies in 2010, and there have been no full-time US riders for the past decade.
Schwantz is hopeful that the involvement of an American team can help, “find some of those new kids, generate some excitement. You’ve gotta love the stars and stripes on it!”
FIRST LOOK: Miguel Oliveira, Raul Fernandez unveil Trackhouse Aprilia’s 2024 MotoGP livery
Fellow former American grand prix racer John Hopkins suggested Trackhouse need look no further than his (American Racing) Moto2 rider Joe Roberts for a future homegrown MotoGP star.
Meanwhile, for 2024, Trackhouse will rely on the talents of Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez, with the Portuguese promoted to factory spec RS-GPs.
“I think we all saw that Raul just needs a little fine-tuning. He’s an aggressive, fast, hard rider and that’s exactly what you’ve got to be,” said Schwantz.
“Miguel had a few injuries but led the Portuguese Grand Prix and is a proven race winner. I think Trackhouse has a lot to look forward to.”
The Texan added: “We know the Aprilia is a competitive bike [two MotoGP wins last season]. And what Trackhouse has done in their short time in NASCAR means they obviously know how to work hard and get good results.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Trackhouse will take to the track for its first MotoGP test at Sepang in Malaysia from February 6-8.
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