Dominique Aegerter, 34, is Switzerland’s most famous motorcycle pilot

The motorcycle season gets underway with the final Grand Prix in Barcelona on Sunday. The balance sheet from a Swiss perspective: Noah Dettwiler (19) won't be the next Tom Lüthi. Switzerland's best and most famous motorcycle pilot remains Dominique Aegerter (34). Our motorcycle world is eerily similar to our…tennis scene.

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The “Beautiful Era” is over. The radiant figure Tom Lüthi (Swiss Athlete of the Year in 2005 ahead of Roger Federer) no longer drives. Noah Dettwiler was the only Swiss in the Grand Prix circus and made no progress except for a small bright spot at the United States Grand Prix. The most famous of all Swiss asphalt cowboys remains the veteran warhorse Dominique Aegerter (34), who tried in vain to challenge Tom Lüthi.

Federer (left) congratulates Luti on winning the award.Image: PHOTOPRESS

All of this is a surprising reminder of the world of tennis: here, too, the “Belle Epoque” is long gone. The radiant Roger Federer is no longer playing. Dominic Stricker (22) is the greatest talent who has made no progress except for a small highlight at the US Open. Veteran veteran Stan Wawrinka (39), who once unsuccessfully challenged Roger Federer, remains the most famous among them.

Detwiler only scored one goal

Noah Dettwiler only scored one world championship point in his first GP season in the Moto3 World Championship: a 14th place finish at the US GP. Other than that, he doesn't have any rankings in the top 15. In 20 races he has only finished in the top 20 seven times, and in the World Cup final he was only 25th since his first Grand Prix.

Although no Swiss motorcycle racer had as good conditions at the beginning of his career as Dettwiler: preparation in Spain, care from experts in all aspects, Tom Lüthi as an advisor, a good team , and no money worries. As far as he's concerned, there are no excuses, otherwise it's cheap in motorcycle racing.

His critics say he is simply not good enough to compete in the Moto3 World Championship, pointing out that he has never finished higher than fifth in more than 100 races at international level in different classes. Jason Dupasquier failed to score any points in his first season in the Moto3 World Championship at the same age and fell behind the following year, his supporters warned. Tragedy of this career: Du Pasquale, by far the greatest talent since Ruti, had a fatal accident at the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello the following year on May 30, 2021.

Second Chance 2025

The “Noah Dettwiler Project” is designed to last two years and is funded for a two-year period. Therefore he will compete again in Alain Bronec's team in 2025. The Moto3 World Championship is wild, balanced and the level is probably higher than ever.

Detwiler in the spring of Qatar.Image: trapezoid

Media interest in road racing focuses almost entirely on the Grand Prix circuit. The superbike scene is demanding and spectacular. But the games are largely played out to the exclusion of large swaths of the sporting public: TV images can only be viewed on private channels or on the Internet. Under these circumstances, anyone who can continue to be noticed outside the motorcycle community must have achieved something extraordinary. Dominique Eggert still manages to do it.

Eggert found a way

How is it possible that he is still the most famous Swiss motorcycle racer? In the fall of 2019, after an unsuccessful Moto2 World Championship season, he left the GP stage after more than ten years. He was 29 years old at this time and the future was behind him. In 99 out of 100 cases, a Swiss rider's international motorcycle career ends without ever appearing on the Grand Prix stage.

But Eggert found a way. He will spend a year in the Battery Bike Series before moving into Superbike in 2021. Like the GP circus (MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3), the Superbike business is divided into three classes: Superbike, Supersport and Supersport 300. Aegerter immediately dominated the 2021 Supersport World Championship and defended it in 2022. At the same time, he will also win the 2022 battery motorcycle championship.

The winner remains in the conversation. It also helps that he can keep the number 77, which he has developed into his trademark over the years in the GP circus.

Bon Vivant Aegerter in Australia.Image: trapezoid

Contract extended for one year

In the fall of 2022, Dominique Aegerter, 32, is actually too old for new challenges. But he dared to take a new risk: he left the Supersport World Championship, where he could almost continue to dominate at will, and advanced to the Superbike World Championship. Yamaha gave him the opportunity to enter the “top” of the superbike world.

Aegerter finished 10th in the inaugural Superbike World Championship in 2023, becoming the second-best Yamaha rider. He exceeded expectations and it was logical to renew with Yamaha. In 2024, it is “only” good enough to finish 16th in the World Cup finals. After a promising start to the season, technical flaws became apparent and he had to miss nine of 36 races after an accident during mountain bike training. He made the best out of a difficult situation and Yamaha has now extended his contract for another year.

Rohrbach will compete in the 2025 Superbike World Championship with the same team. So next season he will race under the same conditions, but against stronger and better motorized competitors. Winning the World Cup is impossible. He has learned to live with it and is adapting. The legendary end-of-season party on December 7 at Huttwil Campus Perspectives is no longer known as the “World Champions Party” as it was in 2021 and 2022. It is now simply known as the “Domi Fighter Racing Party”. It still rocks. Even after the 2024 season, Eggert remains the most recognizable and celebrated motorcycle racer in the country.

What does the future hold?

The next Dominique Aegerter hasn't emerged yet, and the next Tom Lüthi certainly won't. Are there no other geniuses besides Noah Dettwiler? Daniel M. Epp made Tom Lüthi's career possible. Today he is one of the sponsors of Dettwiler, a donor association that supports Swiss talent.

Epp has a good overview and currently sees one promising talent: Lenoxx Phommara (17). Next season he will also compete at the highest youth level (the Red Bull Rookies Cup). Connoisseurs say Phommara is more agile and talented than Dettwiler. Become the next Dominique Aegter.

November 17, 1968: Just one minute remains in an NFL game between the Oakland Raiders and the New York Jets. It will have it all. It's a real shame for half of America that they saw a cute girl in the Graubünden Alps.

There is a fierce rivalry between the Jets and Raiders. Both have had strong starts to the season and are considered serious contenders for the Super Bowl title. In the end, the New York Jets, led by legendary quarterback Joe Namath, defeated the Baltimore Colts 16-7 to win the championship.