The MotoGP features riders from all around the world. The paddock is filled with teams from Australia, Japan, Italy, Spain, America, etc... So it's no surprise to see plenty of British riders on the grid. But the 2011 MotoGP will have the highest number of British participants in the past 22 years.
There will be 8 fulltime British riders spread out across the three MotoGP divisions.
Cal Crutchlow will lead the charge for the Brittish as he makes his MotoGP debut. Scott Redding, Bradley Smith and Kev Coghlan will be fighting for the Moto2 Championship, and Danny Webb, Danny Kent, Taylor Mackenzie and Harry Stafford will be competing in the 125cc category.
“I think this level of British rider involvement is recognition on an international scale of the progress being made by British riders and the talent they’ve shown," said BBC MotoGP reporter Matt Roberts. "The way that Bradley Smith and Scott Redding have performed in recent years has maybe made teams look at British riders in a different way as genuine potential and worth investing in. I think we still don’t have enough British backed riders in terms of sponsorship and team structure, but thankfully there are now Spanish and Italian teams looking towards British riders and recognising their talent."
The last time that 8 British riders participated in Grand Prix racing was in 1989.
