And after the Márquez brothers, what?

There was a time, not so long ago, when Catalonia was the world's epicenter of motorcycling talent. Just 10 seasons ago (2016), Catalan riders were the most numerous in all three MotoGP categories, half of the Spanish riders (12 out of 24). Their quality was beyond question: in the 2010-2020 decade, Márquez, Viñales, Elias, Rabat, Pol Espargaró, Arenas, and so on contributed 15 of the 22 world titles won under the Spanish flag. The Catalan youth academy's formula for success was replicated (or even copied) in other regions and countries.

Paradigm shift Why isn't the Catalan model, a world benchmark, working now, 20 years after its launch? Why do Murcia, Valencia, Madrid, and Andalusia produce more drivers and titles than Catalonia?

However, over the last five years, Catalan hegemony and notoriety have been progressively waning. From 2021 to 2024, of the six crowns won by Spanish riders, none had a Catalan stamp. And in 2025, there are only five Catalans in the entire World Championship, 17% of the 29 Spaniards, the lowest figure in at least 20 years (8 out of 26 in 2006). This weekend at Mugello, a sixth rider , Eric Fernández, will join them as a substitute in Moto2 for Valencian Sergio García Dols.

Why isn't the Catalan model, once a world benchmark, working now, 20 years after its launch? Why do Murcia, Valencia, Madrid, and Andalusia produce more drivers and titles than Catalonia, once Spain's driver factory ? La Vanguardia has consulted six key players in the development of the Catalan youth system to find an explanation for this decline.

Angel Viladoms "I pull my hair out seeing how speed was abandoned in Catalonia years ago."

“I pull my hair out when I see how speed has been abandoned in Catalonia; it makes me very sad, given the efforts that were put into it,” laments Àngel Viladoms (79), who was president of the Catalan Motorcycle Federation (FCM) between 1996 and 2012, the period of greatest flourishing for the four-barred quarry.

“In 2016, there were 12 Catalans in the World Championship, but because Carmelo [Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna] wouldn't let us have more, he asked us to help youngsters from other countries in our promotion cups, like Quartararo or Bagnaia, who were trained here. So, there were more riders born in Catalonia…” explains Viladoms, who blames the federation's management for the decline in the youth system. “The abandonment, the poor sporting policy, the lack of support for riders… it's all down to the FCM, which should make an effort to support the youth system. They haven't found the key, they haven't found a cheap way to promote the youth system. You have to have 200 kids to get a special one. Now, there's no youth system; the one that exists is very small.”

Pol Espargaró “Before, there were powerful sponsors who made motorcycles cheaper and racing more accessible for families.”

Pol Espargaró (34) was one of the fruits of the Catalan model designed and promoted by the RACC and the FCM in 2003-04. "What has happened is worth studying. We still have a deep-rooted motorsport culture in Catalonia, but the presence of Catalan drivers in the World Championship has decreased," comments the Granollers native.

“I think it's due to the promotion cups. Before, there were championships with powerful sponsors that made the bikes cheaper and racing more accessible for families,” the KTM test rider believes. “It's difficult to create a base of young riders. Right now, there isn't one; there are no sponsors, and everything has become extremely professional.”

Tato Prat The key is to reduce aid, which is growing elsewhere, and the Catalans are moving away."

The economic reason Espargaró alludes to is the main argument seen by the Catalan Motorcycle Federation, the regional one that contributes the most riders in Spain as a whole (37%), between 6,500 and 8,000 licenses. For its president since 2022, Tato Prat (61), the culprit for the decline in Catalan riders "is the reduction in subsidies, which are growing in other places, which makes people move to other areas. Now it is more interesting to race in Valencia or in the races of the Spanish Federation and Dorna... What we did before has been replicated in other places, where now there are more subsidies," the president analyzes.

According to Prat, the Catalan promotional cups created in the early 2000s "were loss-making and were maintained; they couldn't be stopped. But over the years, parents and riders prefer to participate in the Spanish Championship rather than the Catalan one."

Here's one of the key reasons: the shift in regional focus. For several analysts consulted, the Catalan Championship, which saw riders like Marc Márquez, Maverick Viñales, Fabio Quartararo, and Pecco Bagnaia gain experience at the age of 14, has become obsolete, superseded by the new ranking.

"Now the 125cc Catalan Championship no longer makes sense; it's out of the game. It's more important to compete in the Spanish Moto4 Championship (the ESBK) than in Catalonia, which is at a lower level," reasons Jaime Serrano (50), general manager of Monlau Technical School, the benchmark school –based in Montcada i Reixac– for training riders, mechanics, and engineers specializing in motorcycle and motorsports competitions.

Jaime Serrano "Nowadays, a driver who wants to reach the World Championship must follow a different path. The longer the journey, the bigger the budget, so it's more expensive to get there."

Serrano, with more than two decades of experience in the training field, believes the path to the top has changed. “Before, a Catalan Championship made more sense, there was a higher level, with Espargaró, Viñales, Márquez, Quartararo, or Bagnaia… Now, a rider who wants to reach the World Championship must follow a different path: start with the ESBK (Spanish Superbike Championship, Moto4, for ages 12 and up), the pre-Moto3 championship (called ESBK Talent, for ages 13 and up), the European Talent Cup (for ages 14 and up), and then the Moto3 Junior GP (for ages 16 and up).”

“Now there are more steps to get there; before, they could enter the Moto3 Junior World Championship at 14, but now they can get there at 16. The further they go, the bigger the budget, so it's more expensive to reach the World Championship. Without institutional support, it's not so easy.” Therefore, for Serrano, the continuation of the PromoRACC in Catalonia as an introductory championship on karting tracks “is very good, but it's not enough; there's still more to go.”

Emilio Alzamora "Off-roading needs to be encouraged by providing assistance because it has increased speed."

Emilio Alzamora (52), former driver, manager and mentor of young drivers since 2004, including the Márquez brothers, also believes this. According to the former driver from Lleida, "the Catalan championships" as they were originally conceived "no longer make much sense" given the Spanish championships and Dorna's platforms (the Talent Cup, the Red Bull Rookies Cup or the Junior GP). "You can't race them all due to budget issues; it no longer makes sense to race the Catalan Championship."

Alzamora, who runs the SeventyTwo Motorsport team with five riders—none of them Catalan "because there's no base"—was one of the architects of the Catalan model for promotional cups created in 2003-04, when he began advising and managing the Monlau and RACC grassroots team (with the children Aleix and Pol Espargaró, Pere Tutusaus, Marc Márquez, and later Álex Rins and Àlex Márquez). The riders started out in the grassroots championships, at ages 8-12, which didn't exist in Spain. Spanish riders came to race in Catalonia, and the model was replicated in other regions, such as in Valencia with the Cuna de Campeones.

According to Alzamora, a key aspect has been lost in those championships: the synergies between disciplines. “Before, many riders from off-road disciplines (enduro, motocross, trial) came to speed, with very good technique, like Marc… Children's registrations in these disciplines have also dropped significantly,” according to Alzamora. He attributes this to economic reasons, a lack of promotion, and the closure of circuits like Rufea and Bellpuig. “ Off-road must be promoted by giving it tools and aids, because it has always fostered speed. From here, another generation of riders may emerge; it will take time to have that, because it's not in sight.”

Jordi Barrabés "With the change in the entry age, there are more steps to reach it, and more investment is required."

Since 2000, the RACC, Catalonia's leading automotive body, has distinguished itself in its training work by promoting promotional championships and aid programs for young riders in both motorcycling and motorsport, in collaboration with the Catalan federations and the Circuit. "We haven't stopped doing what we were doing, helping the Federation create a larger base, with PromoRACC and the promotional cups," explains Jordi Barrabés (51), RACC sports director. "This model, applied in the Valencian Community, Madrid, Murcia, and Andalusia, has diversified. Here, we've continued pushing forward, with ups and downs, due to the pandemic and the loss of sponsorships. We've helped non-Catalan riders such as Izan Rodríguez (in Talent, with the Girona ETG team) and Brian Uriarte (in Junior GP with Alzamora), also from PromoRACC."

This introductory championship for children ages 6 to 13, held on karting circuits, currently has between 40 and 50 drivers. In addition, the organization has designated 52 RACC drivers, both car and motorcycle, whom it supports by paying for their racing licenses and providing them with financial assistance.

The problem that the Catalan model has suffered, in the eyes of the RACC, is that "with the change in the entry age for the World Cup and the lower categories, entry is slower. There are now more steps to get there, and more investment is required and more years of participation." Therefore, it advocates "continuing to do the work already being done and finding more resources, trying to ensure continuity on the ladder by seeking more support."

Recipes for returning to success From creating a Catalan Motorcycle School, to strengthening synergies with off-road disciplines, the role of scouting, the involvement of the Circuit, or increasing funding

To restore prominence to the Catalan youth team and capture the titles—beyond any crowns Marc Márquez may still win in his final stretch—the stakeholders are putting forward several proposals. Some have already been launched, such as the Escola Catalana de Motociclisme (Catalan Motorcycle School), promoted by the FCM and the General Secretariat of Sports of the Generalitat (Catalan Government) for the past year and a half. The initial stage involves "creating a census of more than 400 children, between the ages of 3-4 and 14, in all disciplines" to achieve "a new promotional network, with the help of institutions," explains Tato Prat, who also calls for the Circuit's involvement "as they already do in Valencia with Cheste"; that is, allowing young riders to ride on a world-class track like Montmeló to raise their standards.

His predecessor at the FCM, Viladoms, advocated "finding an affordable bike and organizing a powerful championship," modeled on those that were so successful. "A kid has to master the bike he's riding; in 2012, the promotional cups were changed, from the Metrakit to an old bike, a big piece of junk used as a postman... Kids couldn't learn on those bikes."

Pol Espargaró is committed to creating a training center or school based at the Circuit. "We'd have to start by choosing two or three young former riders with a passion for training, then carry out scouting and selection work for the kids, and create two or three promotional cups with reliable, standard bikes, all the same, and that could be linked to Moto3."

Read also New pilots wanted Toni López Jordà

For Emilio Alzamora, it's essential to "strengthen the base with off- road disciplines and the PromoRACC, and to award scholarships, which are no longer available," in addition to promoting the role of scouting or talent scouts who discover potential talents, as happened with Marc Márquez at the Rufea circuit. Meanwhile, for Jaime Serrano, it's essential to "increase institutional collaborations. There are Catalan riders, but whether they reach the World Championship is another story..."