Doncaster teenager Scott Ogden poised to make Moto3 World Championship debut

Ogden will become the first motorcyclist from Doncaster to line up on a Grand Prix grid since Tony Rogers rode in the 1982 French GP.

The 18-year-old will be racing for the new Vision Track Racing Team and from Qatar onwards will be travelling the world as Moto3 appears at 21 events on five different continents alongside MotoGP – the pinnacle of motorcycle racing.

He will first head out onto the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar on Friday for two free practice (FP) sessions.

This is followed on Saturday by FP3 and then two qualifying sessions to decide the starting grid ahead of Sunday’s big race – Moto3’s opening round of 2022.

Millions around the world will see Ogden’s races across multiple broadcasting channels. In the UK, fans can watch the Moto3 action live on BT Sport and the MotoGP app.

Ogden enjoyed a successful season of racing on the continent last year, including a breakthrough first win in the Junior World Championship at Jerez, Spain.

His impressive CV includes the British Talent Cup and British Motostar Standard Class titles in 2019, plus the British GP70 FAB Racing and British Minibikes (70cc) titles in 2016. Ogden started racing in 2010 at the age of just six.

He took time out from his preparations to answer some quick questions about his forthcoming debut season at World Championship level.

How has pre-season testing gone?

We seem to have come out of the blocks well. We’re within a second of the fastest and that’s without me putting my best sectors together on one complete lap – with that we calculate I’d have maybe been P4.What Michael (Laverty) has done is incredible. To put the team together is one thing. To get everyone working well with each other as a team is another. Everyone has gelled and there’s a really good buzz in the garage.

There was a pic on social media of one of the established Moto3 names (Sasaki) pulling up alongside you and waving his hand at you?

Yes that was quite funny. I’d been in front of him, he tried passing me and it didn’t work for him – he almost wiped me out. I don’t know what he was getting so upset about. I don’t have a problem.

Have you been able to pick up a few things from the more established names in the tests at Jerez and Portimao?

Yes. Some of the techniques they use on the bike – a few little things but added up it makes a bit of a difference.

Also the way they find track position for a qualifying lap.

These races are going to be about 10 minutes longer than the ones I’ve done before, so the more experienced riders will know how the tyres are going to behave late on or how much you can still push on them at the end. It’s one of the unknowns still for me.

Expectations for the first part of the season – after Qatar you are on to Indonesia and then Argentina and the USA?

I’m hoping we can be inside the top ten in the races. Qualifying is another thing altogether and a lot of it will be in the timing, when you head out on track and who’s around you.

We’ve also done our testing using an older engine with mileage on it. For Qatar we’ll have a new engine so that might give us a bit more speed.

Like a lot of the circuits, I’ve not been to them before but if you haven’t learnt the circuit by the end of FP2 on Friday then you’re probably never going to.

This is the moment – your debut in the Moto3 World Championship is just a few days away. How are you feeling?

I’m excited of course! I already feel part of the whole MotoGP scene.

Testing has been nice but there’s nothing like racing to see where we’re at compared to the others.

I’ve not been nervous so far because nobody’s really been watching. That might change a bit when we get to Qatar when the cameras start rolling.

It’ll feel a bit surreal knowing we’re sharing the track with the MotoGP teams and riders but I’m proud as well – ten years ago Moto3 seemed so far away but hopefully this can be a good example to youngsters in the UK that if you put in the work and apply yourself then good things can happen.