Tom Booth-Amos' manager reveals what goes on behind the scenes during a MotoGP campaign

After winning the British Motostar title in 2017, then showing glimpses of his talent in the Junior World Championship last year, he was chosen to line up in the Moto3 class with the CIP-Green Power team.

Kevin Molloy, from Truth Racing, who had worked with the 23-year-old, from Newport, during his championship-winning year, believed he had the talent to make it through to the highest level of motorcycle racing.

“We had spotted Tom in 2016 and watched his progress closely," he said.

"In 2017, as well as winning the British championship, he also made an impressive appearance at MotoGP as a 'wildcard'.

"After this we worked with Dorna and IRTA to see what could be done for 2018.

"They very kindly supported our plans, which led us to the CEV Junior World Championships and ultimately onto MotoGP."

Truth Racing's ethos is pretty simple but very important. The foundation aims to support young riders giving them the opportunity to be the best they can be.

And despite Booth-Amos having a tough time when it came to results, Molloy said there had still been some real flashes of brilliance over the last two years.

During his first race in the Junior World Championship in 2018, he qualified second and was leading the race until he was taken out by another rider.

He also broke his wrist in that incident but still decided to race in Valencia. Under examination, another long-standing issue that had not been fixed properly from three years ago was revealed, so the team was faced with a double blow as he needed to get the undiagnosed problem sorted too.

"It all happened over such a short space of time and he was never really able to recover properly during that 2018 campaign," said Molloy.

"This was apart from the last few rounds when he qualified 15th and finished in fifth at Albecete, which I think made him the highest-placed British rider in a race for that series."

Despite the misfortunes, Truth Racing and MotoGP organisers Dorna still decided to take him into the Moto3 class at world championship level with the CIP-Green Power team.

Molloy said: “This year has turned out t be six-of one and half-a-dozen of the other because he has made mistakes.

"This is the reason Tom is a 'rookie'. It’s about learning and making those mistakes.

"As well as riding, he is also learning 16 new tracks. This is Grand Prix racing and there are 31 riders of a similar calibre on the grid pushing to the limits, it’s a major step up from the Junior World Championships.

"Behind the scenes there were things developing that I was not comfortable with.

"As an ex-team owner and an engineer, there have been aspects that I've not been happy with.

"We were told that for whatever reason the team did not take some of the upgrades being offered by the factory.

"Tom was also having his own problems after picking up more injuries because he was pushing so hard.

"He was overriding just to try and qualify correctly and then in the race catch the lead group. With Moto3 it’s vital to qualify well in order to stay with the pack."

Booth-Amos broke his ankle in Missano but before that had been just half a second off pole, and then in Thailand he was 11th quickest at one stage as he had been supplied with a new chassis.

Sadly, in the race, the bike broke down because the battery was not changed on the grid.

“From my perspective, Tom has had some crashes when he has been in great positions both in qualifying and in the race," said Molloy.

"Trying to give a balanced view, it is fair to say the team has made some mistakes as well, some of those things are around strategy and technical issues.

"These errors shouldn’t happen by either party at world championship level if you want to be the best."

Following a season of ups and downs, which included a stunning top-eight finish at Phillip Island in Australia, Truth Racing made a decision not to sign an agreement to race with CIP-Green Power for 2020.

Molloy said: “There appears to be a little confusion with what happened regarding 2020.

"It was unfortunate how things turned out with CIP-Green Power as they wanted us to sign a new contract.

"In the end Truth Racing decided it was in both their, and Booth-Amos', best interests not to sign. The budget would have gone through the roof, in reality a rise of about €230,000.

"We totally understand Tom feeling upset but it just didn’t make sense. We are talking about a massive financial commitment and believe, in hindsight, we have done the right thing."

Molloy said that in spite of the various disappointments, Booth-Amos had been working hard and had just been trying to get on with the job.

"He has worked well with his crew to get the best out of the package from the CIP-Green Power KTM," he said.

“Finally I would like to thank Dorna and IRTA who have been very supportive of Tom.

"We are currently trying to find him a new team within the Moto3 class and we’re still hopeful something will come to fruition for 2020."