Kgopotso ‘KJ’ Mononyane is half way through his second full season of Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup and the likeable Johannesburg teenager who turned 18 on the 07th June is making massive strides with each passing event. He is the sole South African in the field and through hard work has now found real pace in the second part of the year, even if his results don’t quite show it.
Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup is a breeding ground for young motorcycle talent and is the official feeder series to MotoGP that has helped develop several of the winners in the top-flight series including South African superstar Brad Binder.
Picture credits: Double Apex
“Rookies Cup is one of the toughest bike-racing series anywhere in the world where you have the best up-and-coming riders all on identical bikes all trying to prove that we have what it takes to be champion,” said the teenager after the most recent round in Mugello. The circuit in Tuscany is one of the most technical of the eight-round calendar, testing all parts of a rider’s abilities and to be quick at Mugello means you can be quick anywhere else.
“This last race weekend was really good for me, even if the results don’t show it. I worked really well with the team of engineers from Red Bull to set up the bike. In the first race I was charging hard. We
fitted slightly longer gearing on my bike and I was pushing hard throughout the race to close a 13-second gap to the leading pack. I managed to get it down to six seconds at one point and set the second quickest lap of the race. I ended race one in 20th, but I knew I had the pace of the front riders,” said Mononyane of race one on Saturday.
Each round of Rookies Cup follows the MotoGP circus through some of the most famous racetracks in Europe and the budding champions race twice on each weekend, once on Saturday and again on Sunday morning. KJ felt he made even better progress in the Sunday event.
“Race two started badly. I fell to last place at the start. But I knew I had the pace to catch the faster guys so I made quite a few overtakes as I felt comfortable with the bike. I kept pushing and caught the front pack.”
“We were in a massive group and anyone could have won. It was a really close battle. All the guys were fighting really hard, making overtakes down Mugello’s long pit straight. This is something I need to work on a bit more” he added.
“In the end I finished 18th, but I was just 2.7 seconds behind the race winner, that’s how close it was. I also set the fifth fastest time of the race and was 0.8 sec behind the top five.”
He held his own in the front group the entire race, showing maturity, race craft, and incredible pace around one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar. When the flag dropped, KJ crossed the line just over 2 sec’s off the race winner in 18th – a massive achievement in a field this competitive.
“18th doesn’t sound great and it doesn’t show how much progress I made through the weekend. I want to show that I am capable of riding with, and passing the guys at the front, this is something I want to work on for the last few races of the year,” concluded Mononyane.
Three rounds of the 2025 Red Bull Rookie Cup season remain and these are at Sachensring (12-13 July), Red Bull Ring (16-17 August) and Misano (13-14 September).
