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How a new British MotoGP junior team is about more than developing young riders
Danny Webb’s new Moto4 British Cup team is not only about developing talented young riders but also the next generation of technicians.
Former 125cc grand prix rider Danny Webb enters the world of team ownership in 2026 with his Stanford Racing team in the Moto4 British Cup, part of the Road to MotoGP.
Formerly known as the British Talent Cup, the Moto4 British Cup enters a new era of sorts in 2026 after MotoGP renamed all of its ‘Talent Cup’ series under the new Moto4 banner for this year.
The same is true for Webb who, after spending time as a rider coach and running a riding school, will become a team owner at BSB level for the first time this year with Henry McCartney aboard the Honda NSF250R that is mandated in the newly renamed Moto4 class.
Crash.net spoke to Webb just after Moto4 British Cup team for 2026 was announced in December as Webb himself was having suspension work done for McCartney’s bike to be ready for a testing programme that was due to start a couple of months later in February.
“With the British Talent Cup you can run like a fork kit, so you can get a fork kit from K-Tech – you can run a K-Tech, Ohlins, Maxton, whatever you choose, really,” Webb said.
“To be honest, the standard stuff works quite well, but with the other stuff you’ve just got more options and more range to work in. So, we’re getting the suspension re-done to sort of accommodate for Henry’s [McCartney] weight and size, et cetera, so you can hit the ground running.
“It’s never going to be perfect straight away, don’t get me wrong, but you can just hit the ground running a bit better and have more of a base setting in from early on.”
McCartney is a rider Webb settled on having worked with him at the riding school he set up in 2022 with Chas Mortimer.
“I started a kids’ race school about three years ago, and we took a liking to about six or seven of the young riders and Henry was one of them,” he explained.
“So, I’ve worked with him for about three years now and [in 2026] he is old enough to do the British Talent Cup [Moto4 British Cup].
“So, everything’s kind of come around at the right time and we’ve managed to get something set up for him to be the first one to come in next year, and then after that we’ll hopefully have another rider who’s sort of under my wing coming each year.
“We’ve got a range: Henry [turned 14 on 31 December 2025], so we’ve got a range of riders from 14-years-old to eight-years-old, and it’s sort of a year’s difference between them all.
“We’ve got a good range of them, so hopefully we can keep the project going as long as we can, and we can bring one in each year.”
Webb added: “Wilson Dilks won the [British Minibike Championship] 190 championship [in 2025], he’s under our wing; Sebastian Gaslawski, Franky Watson, Chloe Gleeson, Emilio Pereira, Austin Dilks, Archie O’Brien, Ethan Sparks we helped at the beginning, and Travis Shaw.
“Me and Chas Mortimer set the school up together and Chas has sort of taken Ethan under his wing and he’s kind of taking care of Ethan now, which is good for Ethan because you can always spread yourself too thin as well.
“We’ve got some great talent and I believe our kids are very talented.
“There are other kids out there who are just as talented as well, but I try to take them on not just looking at their talent level, looking at their attitude, also the families et cetera.
“There’s a lot more to it than just riding a motorbike fast.”
The technical side
Webb’s team was originally due to run its bikes out of the University of Wolverhampton, which already has its own car racing outfit.
A change of plans means Webb is now utilising a family connection to prepare his bikes, but the team will still give experience to the university’s engineering students.
“It’s changed a little bit now because we’ve got someone building our bikes for us – he’s my father-in-law, so that’s near my place so we’re running the bikes out of there now,” Webb said.
“But we are still working with Wolverhampton University and in the future we will run out of their uni’.
“We’re going to have a junior mechanic and a junior data guy, but they’re kind of in their final years of uni’.
“Wolverhampton University already have a car racing team, so the guys we’re going to have, have got experience with the car racing team and are expressing an interest in motorcycle racing.
“So, the plan is to basically develop their skills as well, and then hopefully they can go on and make a career for themselves in the sport and do something they love doing.
“The relationship with Wolverhampton University actually came through Beta Tools. Beta Tools supported us, we met them at an event, and then when this opportunity came up for the British Talent Cup [Moto4 British Cup] I thought it would be great to get them involved because we’re going to try to expand the team to two riders in 2027.
“So, if we can get some good mechanics, some good data guys in the team, they can learn the ropes and then for the second year of the project we’ve got a fully built team. They’re going to be learning from professionals throughout next year as well.
“Then hopefully we can start rolling the students through the programme.
“Obviously, our team’s going to be the starting point for them and hopefully they can go on to bigger and better things, and go on to, I don’t know, Honda UK, Yamaha Racing, whoever.
“That’s the plan because I believe there’s a lot of skilled young talent out there, not just racing motorcycles but also from the technical side as well. We’re trying to cover a lot of the mechanical side of things as well.”
This aspect of Webb’s Stanford Racing team links in with the Paddock Network project he launched late last year with Taylor Mackenzie.
“The Paddock Network kind of came from [that] I was struggling earlier in the year to get mechanics and a data guy to come and work for me,” Webb explained.
“Everyone who I knew was busy, and with my experience in the sport and with the amount of people I know in the sport I was struggling. So I thought it must be difficult, especially for new engineers and stuff, to come in.
“I was thinking ‘If only there was a platform where I could go and look for CVs or I could advertise a job and see what comes of it’. Me and Taylor [Mackenzie] put our heads together and we thought ‘Let’s give it a go’ and the reception we’ve had from it has been great.
“It wasn’t the initial idea with that way of thinking, with the uni’ and that, but it would work perfectly.
“It’s the perfect platform for people who want to get involved in the sport and who have a good CV, who’s done all their uni’ work and now they’re ready for some practical [experience].
“Also, that’s the side we’re putting in, is the students are getting practical work done because when you’re working under pressure it’s a lot harder to do that rather than just sitting in a classroom. So, that’s one side we’re bringing in.
“But when they’ve got their degrees and stuff like that, then they can move on and they’ve got a platform to show their skillset on basically.”
Webb added that the experience of working in a team is also important for learning to work well with other people and different personalities.
“You can know as much as you can know, but you also need to try and experience real life and dealing with people,” he said.
“Everyone has a different personality, so it’s understanding how to work and navigate different personalities and stuff like that.
“I feel like we’ve definitely got good intentions and with Stanford, with Kevin from Stanford, with his backing we’re managing to make it a reality.
“I can’t express how much he’s doing for us and how thankful I am to have him on our side.”
McCartney and the Stanford Racing team had their first official test at Donington Park last weekend (3–4 April), finishing 19th in the combined times for the Moto4 and Junior Sportbike classes. McCartney was 13th of the Moto4 riders.
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Danny Webb’s new Moto4 British Cup team is not only about developing talented young riders but also the next generation of technicians.
Former 125cc grand prix rider Danny Webb enters the world of team ownership in 2026 with his Stanford Racing team in the Moto4 British Cup, part of the Road to MotoGP.
Formerly known as the British Talent Cup, the Moto4 British Cup enters a new era of sorts in 2026 after MotoGP renamed all of its ‘Talent Cup’ series under the new Moto4 banner for this year.
The same is true for Webb who, after spending time as a rider coach and running a riding school, will become a team owner at BSB level for the first time this year with Henry McCartney aboard the Honda NSF250R that is mandated in the newly renamed Moto4 class.
Crash.net spoke to Webb just after Moto4 British Cup team for 2026 was announced in December as Webb himself was having suspension work done for McCartney’s bike to be ready for a testing programme that was due to start a couple of months later in February.
“With the British Talent Cup you can run like a fork kit, so you can get a fork kit from K-Tech – you can run a K-Tech, Ohlins, Maxton, whatever you choose, really,” Webb said.
“To be honest, the standard stuff works quite well, but with the other stuff you’ve just got more options and more range to work in. So, we’re getting the suspension re-done to sort of accommodate for Henry’s [McCartney] weight and size, et cetera, so you can hit the ground running.
“It’s never going to be perfect straight away, don’t get me wrong, but you can just hit the ground running a bit better and have more of a base setting in from early on.”
McCartney is a rider Webb settled on having worked with him at the riding school he set up in 2022 with Chas Mortimer.
“I started a kids’ race school about three years ago, and we took a liking to about six or seven of the young riders and Henry was one of them,” he explained.
“So, I’ve worked with him for about three years now and [in 2026] he is old enough to do the British Talent Cup [Moto4 British Cup].
“So, everything’s kind of come around at the right time and we’ve managed to get something set up for him to be the first one to come in next year, and then after that we’ll hopefully have another rider who’s sort of under my wing coming each year.
“We’ve got a range: Henry [turned 14 on 31 December 2025], so we’ve got a range of riders from 14-years-old to eight-years-old, and it’s sort of a year’s difference between them all.
“We’ve got a good range of them, so hopefully we can keep the project going as long as we can, and we can bring one in each year.”
Webb added: “Wilson Dilks won the [British Minibike Championship] 190 championship [in 2025], he’s under our wing; Sebastian Gaslawski, Franky Watson, Chloe Gleeson, Emilio Pereira, Austin Dilks, Archie O’Brien, Ethan Sparks we helped at the beginning, and Travis Shaw.
“Me and Chas Mortimer set the school up together and Chas has sort of taken Ethan under his wing and he’s kind of taking care of Ethan now, which is good for Ethan because you can always spread yourself too thin as well.
“We’ve got some great talent and I believe our kids are very talented.
“There are other kids out there who are just as talented as well, but I try to take them on not just looking at their talent level, looking at their attitude, also the families et cetera.
“There’s a lot more to it than just riding a motorbike fast.”
The technical side
Webb’s team was originally due to run its bikes out of the University of Wolverhampton, which already has its own car racing outfit.
A change of plans means Webb is now utilising a family connection to prepare his bikes, but the team will still give experience to the university’s engineering students.
“It’s changed a little bit now because we’ve got someone building our bikes for us – he’s my father-in-law, so that’s near my place so we’re running the bikes out of there now,” Webb said.
“But we are still working with Wolverhampton University and in the future we will run out of their uni’.
“We’re going to have a junior mechanic and a junior data guy, but they’re kind of in their final years of uni’.
“Wolverhampton University already have a car racing team, so the guys we’re going to have, have got experience with the car racing team and are expressing an interest in motorcycle racing.
“So, the plan is to basically develop their skills as well, and then hopefully they can go on and make a career for themselves in the sport and do something they love doing.
“The relationship with Wolverhampton University actually came through Beta Tools. Beta Tools supported us, we met them at an event, and then when this opportunity came up for the British Talent Cup [Moto4 British Cup] I thought it would be great to get them involved because we’re going to try to expand the team to two riders in 2027.
“So, if we can get some good mechanics, some good data guys in the team, they can learn the ropes and then for the second year of the project we’ve got a fully built team. They’re going to be learning from professionals throughout next year as well.
“Then hopefully we can start rolling the students through the programme.
“Obviously, our team’s going to be the starting point for them and hopefully they can go on to bigger and better things, and go on to, I don’t know, Honda UK, Yamaha Racing, whoever.
“That’s the plan because I believe there’s a lot of skilled young talent out there, not just racing motorcycles but also from the technical side as well. We’re trying to cover a lot of the mechanical side of things as well.”
This aspect of Webb’s Stanford Racing team links in with the Paddock Network project he launched late last year with Taylor Mackenzie.
“The Paddock Network kind of came from [that] I was struggling earlier in the year to get mechanics and a data guy to come and work for me,” Webb explained.
“Everyone who I knew was busy, and with my experience in the sport and with the amount of people I know in the sport I was struggling. So I thought it must be difficult, especially for new engineers and stuff, to come in.
“I was thinking ‘If only there was a platform where I could go and look for CVs or I could advertise a job and see what comes of it’. Me and Taylor [Mackenzie] put our heads together and we thought ‘Let’s give it a go’ and the reception we’ve had from it has been great.
“It wasn’t the initial idea with that way of thinking, with the uni’ and that, but it would work perfectly.
“It’s the perfect platform for people who want to get involved in the sport and who have a good CV, who’s done all their uni’ work and now they’re ready for some practical [experience].
“Also, that’s the side we’re putting in, is the students are getting practical work done because when you’re working under pressure it’s a lot harder to do that rather than just sitting in a classroom. So, that’s one side we’re bringing in.
“But when they’ve got their degrees and stuff like that, then they can move on and they’ve got a platform to show their skillset on basically.”
Webb added that the experience of working in a team is also important for learning to work well with other people and different personalities.
“You can know as much as you can know, but you also need to try and experience real life and dealing with people,” he said.
“Everyone has a different personality, so it’s understanding how to work and navigate different personalities and stuff like that.
“I feel like we’ve definitely got good intentions and with Stanford, with Kevin from Stanford, with his backing we’re managing to make it a reality.
“I can’t express how much he’s doing for us and how thankful I am to have him on our side.”
McCartney and the Stanford Racing team had their first official test at Donington Park last weekend (3–4 April), finishing 19th in the combined times for the Moto4 and Junior Sportbike classes. McCartney was 13th of the Moto4 riders.
Former 125cc grand prix rider Danny Webb enters the world of team ownership in 2026 with his Stanford Racing team in the Moto4 British Cup, part of the Road to MotoGP.
Formerly known as the British Talent Cup, the Moto4 British Cup enters a new era of sorts in 2026 after MotoGP renamed all of its ‘Talent Cup’ series under the new Moto4 banner for this year.
The same is true for Webb who, after spending time as a rider coach and running a riding school, will become a team owner at BSB level for the first time this year with Henry McCartney aboard the Honda NSF250R that is mandated in the newly renamed Moto4 class.
Crash.net spoke to Webb just after Moto4 British Cup team for 2026 was announced in December as Webb himself was having suspension work done for McCartney’s bike to be ready for a testing programme that was due to start a couple of months later in February.
“With the British Talent Cup you can run like a fork kit, so you can get a fork kit from K-Tech – you can run a K-Tech, Ohlins, Maxton, whatever you choose, really,” Webb said.
“To be honest, the standard stuff works quite well, but with the other stuff you’ve just got more options and more range to work in. So, we’re getting the suspension re-done to sort of accommodate for Henry’s [McCartney] weight and size, et cetera, so you can hit the ground running.
“It’s never going to be perfect straight away, don’t get me wrong, but you can just hit the ground running a bit better and have more of a base setting in from early on.”
McCartney is a rider Webb settled on having worked with him at the riding school he set up in 2022 with Chas Mortimer.
“I started a kids’ race school about three years ago, and we took a liking to about six or seven of the young riders and Henry was one of them,” he explained.
“So, I’ve worked with him for about three years now and [in 2026] he is old enough to do the British Talent Cup [Moto4 British Cup].
“So, everything’s kind of come around at the right time and we’ve managed to get something set up for him to be the first one to come in next year, and then after that we’ll hopefully have another rider who’s sort of under my wing coming each year.
“We’ve got a range: Henry [turned 14 on 31 December 2025], so we’ve got a range of riders from 14-years-old to eight-years-old, and it’s sort of a year’s difference between them all.
“We’ve got a good range of them, so hopefully we can keep the project going as long as we can, and we can bring one in each year.”
Webb added: “Wilson Dilks won the [British Minibike Championship] 190 championship [in 2025], he’s under our wing; Sebastian Gaslawski, Franky Watson, Chloe Gleeson, Emilio Pereira, Austin Dilks, Archie O’Brien, Ethan Sparks we helped at the beginning, and Travis Shaw.
“Me and Chas Mortimer set the school up together and Chas has sort of taken Ethan under his wing and he’s kind of taking care of Ethan now, which is good for Ethan because you can always spread yourself too thin as well.
“We’ve got some great talent and I believe our kids are very talented.
“There are other kids out there who are just as talented as well, but I try to take them on not just looking at their talent level, looking at their attitude, also the families et cetera.
“There’s a lot more to it than just riding a motorbike fast.”
The technical side
Webb’s team was originally due to run its bikes out of the University of Wolverhampton, which already has its own car racing outfit.
A change of plans means Webb is now utilising a family connection to prepare his bikes, but the team will still give experience to the university’s engineering students.
“It’s changed a little bit now because we’ve got someone building our bikes for us – he’s my father-in-law, so that’s near my place so we’re running the bikes out of there now,” Webb said.
“But we are still working with Wolverhampton University and in the future we will run out of their uni’.
“We’re going to have a junior mechanic and a junior data guy, but they’re kind of in their final years of uni’.
“Wolverhampton University already have a car racing team, so the guys we’re going to have, have got experience with the car racing team and are expressing an interest in motorcycle racing.
“So, the plan is to basically develop their skills as well, and then hopefully they can go on and make a career for themselves in the sport and do something they love doing.
“The relationship with Wolverhampton University actually came through Beta Tools. Beta Tools supported us, we met them at an event, and then when this opportunity came up for the British Talent Cup [Moto4 British Cup] I thought it would be great to get them involved because we’re going to try to expand the team to two riders in 2027.
“So, if we can get some good mechanics, some good data guys in the team, they can learn the ropes and then for the second year of the project we’ve got a fully built team. They’re going to be learning from professionals throughout next year as well.
“Then hopefully we can start rolling the students through the programme.
“Obviously, our team’s going to be the starting point for them and hopefully they can go on to bigger and better things, and go on to, I don’t know, Honda UK, Yamaha Racing, whoever.
“That’s the plan because I believe there’s a lot of skilled young talent out there, not just racing motorcycles but also from the technical side as well. We’re trying to cover a lot of the mechanical side of things as well.”
This aspect of Webb’s Stanford Racing team links in with the Paddock Network project he launched late last year with Taylor Mackenzie.
“The Paddock Network kind of came from [that] I was struggling earlier in the year to get mechanics and a data guy to come and work for me,” Webb explained.
“Everyone who I knew was busy, and with my experience in the sport and with the amount of people I know in the sport I was struggling. So I thought it must be difficult, especially for new engineers and stuff, to come in.
“I was thinking ‘If only there was a platform where I could go and look for CVs or I could advertise a job and see what comes of it’. Me and Taylor [Mackenzie] put our heads together and we thought ‘Let’s give it a go’ and the reception we’ve had from it has been great.
“It wasn’t the initial idea with that way of thinking, with the uni’ and that, but it would work perfectly.
“It’s the perfect platform for people who want to get involved in the sport and who have a good CV, who’s done all their uni’ work and now they’re ready for some practical [experience].
“Also, that’s the side we’re putting in, is the students are getting practical work done because when you’re working under pressure it’s a lot harder to do that rather than just sitting in a classroom. So, that’s one side we’re bringing in.
“But when they’ve got their degrees and stuff like that, then they can move on and they’ve got a platform to show their skillset on basically.”
Webb added that the experience of working in a team is also important for learning to work well with other people and different personalities.
“You can know as much as you can know, but you also need to try and experience real life and dealing with people,” he said.
“Everyone has a different personality, so it’s understanding how to work and navigate different personalities and stuff like that.
“I feel like we’ve definitely got good intentions and with Stanford, with Kevin from Stanford, with his backing we’re managing to make it a reality.
“I can’t express how much he’s doing for us and how thankful I am to have him on our side.”
McCartney and the Stanford Racing team had their first official test at Donington Park last weekend (3–4 April), finishing 19th in the combined times for the Moto4 and Junior Sportbike classes. McCartney was 13th of the Moto4 riders.
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