Dominique Aegerter (35) sees promising signs among the next generation of Swiss riders

Dominique Aegerter and his manager and brother Kevin are still fighting against the looming end to the 35-year-old Rohrbach native’s World Championship career. However, the two-time Supersport World Champion (2021 and 2022) and MotoE World Cup winner (2022) is by no means indifferent to what lies ahead in the Grand Prix or Superbike World Championship paddock.

Speaking to SPEEDWEEK.com, ‘Domi 77’ shared his thoughts on the next generation of Swiss racing talent, highlighting the fact that there is currently no racecourse in his home country.

“It’s quite difficult for young Swiss racing talent, including from a financial perspective. It’s very positive that the Swiss federation, Swissmoto, has really been going full throttle in recent years,” said Aegerter, praising the national federation’s commitment. “They’re trying to motivate young people and also build a squad where they support young riders financially, as well as with coaches, fitness training and the events they organise. I think that’s absolutely brilliant. We certainly have five or six potential young talents there.”

Aegerter goes into more detail: “Take Noah Dettwiler, for example, who’s been racing in the Moto3 World Championship for the last two years but perhaps hasn’t quite made the leap yet. But maybe, after his crash, he’ll still make it – albeit via a roundabout route. And then there’s Alessandro Binder, who’s already secured a podium finish in the R3 Cup. We also have various others in different championships, such as Alessio Arnold, whom I naturally wish all the best and hope they’ll eventually make the leap into the World Championship too.”

His advice to young riders is: “It’s important to start young and learn a lot in different championships – such as technique, travelling, circuits, teams, language and riding style. I think all of that is important. If you only start at 15 or 18, you’ve already missed the boat to some extent. It starts at twelve, when you have to compete in the Spanish, Italian or German championships. Then, at some point, you should make the leap to Moto3 or the sportbike class. Once you’ve got there, you’ve already taken a big step. Then you just have to work your way up to the top class. That involves a lot of luck, but also health, injuries and so on. What’s important is perseverance, ambition and motivation.”

Now Aegerter himself knows better than anyone that the climb to the top involves sacrifices and setbacks. “The important thing is that you enjoy riding a motorbike. But the biggest challenge when you’re young is actually financial. Whether it’s your parents or your managers who take you around. You can’t just turn up at a racetrack on a motorbike; you always have to be driven there. It costs a lot of money and time to travel there almost every weekend, and to travel even further in winter because, weather-wise, you can only ride in the south.”

And because he really does care about the next generation of Swiss racing talent, he also has a plea: “If anyone’s reading this: please help us so that, together, we might once again have a Swiss rider in the premier class. That would, of course, be a dream of mine, but also a dream shared by many motorsport enthusiasts in Switzerland.”