Discovering the riders who won a GP at a very young age. The surprising ranking.

There are riders who shine from a young age and others who mature later, either because they started late, like Giacomo Agostini who debuted in the World Championship at 21, or because they didn’t find the right conditions, both in terms of the bike and the team environment.

 

Take, for example, the three-time world champion (twice in MotoGP) Francesco Bagnaia: he debuted in the World Championship in 2013 but only won his first race in 2016, at his 59th GP. Pecco won at Assen, beating Andrea Migno by 18 thousandths (although he was later demoted by one position), Fabio Di Giannantonio by 39 thousandths, and Romano Fenati by 84 thousandths.

 

For a couple of years now, to compete in Moto3, Moto2, and MotoGP, you must be at least 18 years old. The only exceptions are in Moto3 for the top 3 finishers in the Junior GP and the Red Bull Rookies Cup, and in Moto2 for the winner of the European Championship in the category. However, even for these exceptions, a minimum age of 17 is still required.

 

This principle will therefore prevent the increase of the contingent of riders who have won at least one GP before celebrating their 17th birthday. Some of these 11 riders have used this success as a springboard for a brilliant career, others have alternated victories with pauses, and others have lost their way.

 

Although these first times span a quarter of a century (from 1996 to 2021), all eleven of these Under 17s climbed to the top step of the podium using Brembo calipers, pads, and pumps, and nine of them even used Brembo discs.

 

Here is the story of the 11 winners.

11th Pedro Acosta – GP Doha 2021 Moto3 at 16 years and 314 days 
In 2020, he won the Red Bull Rookies Cup with 6 victories in the first 6 races, using Brembo front calipers and brake pumps. He found them again the following year in Moto3 and immediately won the title. In 2023, he was the Moto2 champion and is also showing his skills in MotoGP.


10th Dani Pedrosa – GP Netherlands 2002 125 at 16 years and 273 days 
The jockey rider won with the Honda of the Telefonica MoviStar team, beating Manuel Poggiali by 2.5 seconds. He continued to enjoy winning at least one race a year until 2017, winning 54 GPs and 3 world titles in 125 and 250.


9th Hector Barbera – GP Great Britain 2003 125 at 16 years and 253 days 
Despite the pressure from Andrea Dovizioso, the Spaniard led the last 12 laps, winning with the Aprilia 125 of the Aspar team. Although he raced in the World Championship until 2018, he did not go beyond 10 victories, all with Aprilia.

 

8th Sergio Garcia – GP Valencia 2019 Moto3 at 16 years and 240 days 

A race full of twists and a photo finish: the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda of the Spaniard won thanks to an overtake on Andrea Migno at the last corner, beating him by 5 thousandths. Vice world champion in Moto3 in 2022, he is among the best in Moto2 this year.
 

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7th Ivan Goi – GP Austria 1996 125 at 16 years and 157 days 

This race is remembered by the Cremonese rider for his victory on the Honda of the Matteoni team, while the rest of the world identifies it with Valentino Rossi’s first podium (3rd place). Unfortunately, it will remain Goi’s only victory in the World Championship and also his only podium.

 

6th Jorge Lorenzo – GP Rio 2003 125 at 16 years and 139 days 

Seventh after 8 laps, the Majorcan took the lead on the 12th lap, but on the penultimate lap, he dropped to 4th place. The chance seemed lost, yet with a perfect lap, he went on to win with his Derbi. It was the beginning of a splendid career: 68 GPs won (47 in MotoGP) and 5 world titles for the Majorcan. 

 

5th Maverick Viñales – French GP 2011 125cc at 16 years and 123 days 

Only 4 races in the World Championship were enough for him to achieve his first triumph: he won it with the Aprilia Esponsorama after a tough battle with the twin bike of Nicolas Terol. The Catalan has a Moto3 World Championship and 26 GP victories, about ten of which in MotoGP with 3 different manufacturers.

4th Romano Fenati – Spanish GP 2012 Moto3 at 16 years and 105 days 

Like Acosta, the rider from Ascoli was 2nd in his World Championship debut and won the following race, but he did it with a 36-second lead with the FTR Honda of Team Italia. He has won 13 GPs in Moto3, a class in which he was vice world champion in 2017.

 

3rd Marco Melandri – Dutch GP 1998 125cc at 15 years and 324 days The rider from Ravenna was the first Under 16 to win a GP: he did it with the Honda of the Matteoni team, beating Kazuto Sakata by just 28 thousandths. He left the World Championship with 22 victories and the 2002 250cc title, then won another 22 times in Superbike, the last in 2018.

 

2nd Scott Redding – British GP 2008 125cc at 15 years and 170 days The Briton’s only victory in 125cc with the Aprilia Esponsorama coincided with Marc Marquez’s first podium. Redding then won 3 races in Moto2, in 2019 he won the British Superbike with Ducati, with which he was vice world champion the following year.

 

1st Can Oncu – Valencia GP 2018 Moto3 at 15 years and 115 days In 2018, the Turk won the Red Bull Rookies Cup and as a reward, Red Bull KTM Ajo made him debut in the World Championship at Valencia. He repaid them by winning on his debut with a 4-second lead, but the following year he couldn’t repeat the feat. Since 2020, he has been in the World Supersport Championship, where he won in Indonesia in 2023.

This ranking lacks legends like Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez, who won their first GP at 17 years old, remaining loyal to Brembo for the rest of their careers.
Brembo not only makes no distinction between established talents with millions of followers worldwide and emerging young talents. On the contrary, remembering its origins – Brembo was founded in 1961 as a small mechanical workshop and gradually grew to establish itself worldwide – it has great sympathy for young people who show quality.
The company strongly focuses not only on its technological know-how but also on its human resources, investing in new generations, on profiles that can contribute with their enthusiasm, determination, and competence to enrich the entire group both humanly and professionally.
They will be the Rossis and Marquezes of tomorrow, and who knows, maybe one day you could be like them too.