Motorbike Road Racing
From Superbikes to Enduro, we look at the best bikes to feature a Red Bull livery.
Red Bull’s motorsport programme isn’t just confined to four wheels. A large part of it takes place on two wheels as well – and here’s just a small selection of some of the best Red Bull bikes:
Red Bull Rookies Cup: KTM RC 250RBR
Formula One has GP2, but the premier category of Moto GP also has its own feeder category: the Red Bull Rookies Cup, designed to prepare up-and-coming young riders for the rigours of life at the top of motorbike racing. The bike used is a KTM RC 250, which, like Red Bull, comes from Austria. It may have just a 250cc engine, but with a dry weight of only 80.5 kilograms (about the weight of Le Mans star Mark Webber) it’s a bit like having a rocket pack strapped to your back. Felix Baumgartner would feel at home.
KTM 1190 RC8 Red Bull Limited Edition
The problem with most of these racing bikes is that the average person will never experience them. But that’s not always been the case. In 2011, Red Bull released a KTM 1190 RC8 R limited edition road bike, which is highly sought-after by collectors. It packs a mighty 1195cc V-Twin engine, plus all sorts of other bits including an exhaust system that’s made out of titanium. The result is 167bhp – which can even be increased if you also go for the special kit that turns it into a competition bike. Track day racers don’t get any more extreme than this.
Red Bull Yamaha YZR 500
This fully liveried Red Bull 500cc GP monster burst onto the racing scene in 1998 and was made famous by Regis Laconi, among others, setting new records on many courses. One of the most famous wins was from rookie New Zealander Simon Crafar, who won his very first MotoGP race on it at the 1998 British Grand Prix. The 29-year-old also took pole position and set the lap record, winning the race by 11 seconds from the legendary Mick Doohan. However the rider who led the Red Bull Yamaha YZR500 to the top was Australian, Garry McCoy, who finished 5th in the 500 cc in 2000. Between 1999 and 2002 the 'Slide King' won three races and took 10 podium finishes.
KTM 350 SX-F
Red Bull has also dominated the World Motocross Championship, with Red Bull rider Antonio Cairoli securing his seventh career title last year in the MX1 class, riding for the Red Bull KTM team. This year, he’s aiming for an eighth title. The free-revving 350cc bike is more than capable of taking on more powerful rivals thanks to its superb driveability and light weight. A very close relative of this machine is also ridden by Red Bull ace Taddy Blazusiak on events such as the Erzberg Rodeo. Put simply, this is a bike that will go absolutely anywhere – as its multiple titles testify.
MV Agusta F4 1000 CC Edizione Toro Rosso
In terms of rarity value, it doesn’t come much more exclusive than this. MV Agusta is the Rolls Royce of motorbike firms anyway, having been founded by a certain Count Agusta in 1923. But only two of the Edizione Toro Rosso bikes were made: and surprisingly they’re not in the hands of Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat. Coming complete with 1000cc and 240 horsepower, they will propel their riders all the way to 315kph at more or less the same rate as a Toro Rosso STR9. But that’s strictly theoretical: the two handcrafted bikes are cossetted by their private owners and more likely just to remain as valuable museum pieces.
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