Laverty and how he intends to marshal British talent into MotoGP

Spain and Italy have become the driving forcing in motorcycle racing over recent years with the number of Brits making it to MotoGP dwindling, fast.

Bikesportnews.com caught up with Michael Laverty to discuss what’s missing in the UK and how he hopes to harness a blossoming youth programme for the future with the development of his MLav VisionTrack Academy and introduction of VisionTrack Honda Moto3 team

“I used to receive some funding from the Sports Council of Northern Ireland, it was lottery funded,” Laverty explained, reflecting on his own start in the sport alongside his brothers, current WorldSBK and ex-MotoGP rider Eugene and former BSB front runner John.

“That was quite a good step up for us to go and race in Europe. We could submit a request each year and put a proposal together. I don’t know if that’s even still available. It would be nice if some of the [current] riders did have support from governing bodies, but as things stand, it’s up to the riders to go and try and find a team or find sponsors and brand themselves, but there’s no real assistance from the ground up.”

European structures sees support, funding and track opportunities for Spanish and Italian riders open from a young age, with riders up to speed and harnessing their own individual brands as teenagers. Clear paths from national and junior world championships allow talent to perform Infront of the world’s best teams with managers and manufacturers spotting the next big potential early in their career. It’s something Laverty is hoping to emulate with his own set up as he builds a route from minibikes through to the MotoGP paddock with his VisionTrack sponsored Academy and Moto3 team.

“Definitely. Obviously, even Valentino Rossi took over the