When the young riders who learnt their craft at Blackstone Belle Foret International Moto Arena (BIMA) arrived on the grid at the 2025 FIM MotoMini World Series Final in Valencia, it marked a defining moment for Northeast Asian motorsport.

For Apex Circuit Design, it was also a powerful demonstration of what the right facility — intelligently planned, thoughtfully engineered and purpose-built for youth development — can achieve in a remarkably short period.

A facility designed with a purpose

The commission to design the Belle Foret International Moto Arena has an unusually clear brief: build a world-class training and competition environment specifically engineered for young riders and emerging talent.

The result is a 1.5 km motorcycle-friendly circuit designed to support incremental learning. Everything — corner radii, braking arcs and runoff design — was optimised around the realities of youth racing.

Apex’s Jack Wheeler, who oversaw major design elements, recalls: “The goal was never to create a circuit defined by speed — it was to create one defined by progression. Every section needed to teach something.”

The surrounding Belle Foret resort infrastructure was a crucial enabler. Under the direction of Korea Mobility Group (KMG), led by businessman and motorcycle racer Stephen Won, the wider masterplan integrated accommodation, hospitality and family-friendly facilities, ensuring riders could train regularly while families and coaches remained close by in an inviting environment.

As Won put it during the facility’s commissioning phase: “The environment around the circuit matters as much as the circuit itself. Families and coaches need a home base — that’s how you keep young riders committed.”

Laying the groundwork for a true development pathway

Before Belle Foret, Korea had passion for motorcycle racing but lacked the structured ecosystem needed to produce international-level competitors. MiniGP – now rebranded as MotoMini - provided the global framework; Apex’s facility provided the domestic foundation.

With KMG hosting the FIM MiniGP Northeast Asia Series at Belle Foret, a genuine regional development hub quickly formed. Grids grew from local hopefuls to a multi-national group of riders from Korea, China, Macau and Northeast Asia.

This created something Korea had never truly enjoyed: a reliable, repeatable pathway from domestic racing to regional qualification to the MotoMini World Final.

Won highlights the significance:

“If you want long-term success, you need consistency — same coaches, same corners, same learning model week after week. Belle Foret allows that.”

In 2025, several riders who grew up on this model qualified for the World Final — the first official step on the Road to MotoGP™.

The World Final: a new reality for Northeast Asia’s rising talent

Held at Circuit Ricardo Tormo alongside MotoGP’s season finale, the World Final brought together the strongest MiniGP riders worldwide.

For the Northeast Asia entry, the event was a transformative experience — a step into a deeper, faster and more intense competitive environment than anything they had encountered at home.

Their exposure to the global paddock atmosphere, professional workflows and international race craft has already reshaped their training priorities for 2026.

Won captured the sentiment succinctly after the event:

“What they saw in Valencia will stay with them. It resets their goals in the best possible way.”

But the foundation of that journey — physically and structurally — was built in Korea.

“Apex attended the finale and to see riders who wouldn’t be there but for Belle Foret was a tremendous experience,” said Wheeler.

Design that accelerates progress

The success of the Belle Foret riders is rooted in Apex’s design principles. The circuit teaches the fundamentals: braking discipline, line selection, throttle modulation and decision-making under pressure.

Its scale and geometry allow coaches to break skills into digestible steps. Riders return repeatedly to familiar corners, refine techniques, and build speed with confidence.

The facility’s year-round accessibility, paired with the on-site accommodation and family-oriented setup, created a regional hub where training is constant rather than occasional.

The fact that riders reached the World Final within a few years demonstrates how quickly progress can accelerate when infrastructure, coaching and consistency align.

A growing future for Korean motorsport

Korean motorsport is now entering a period of structural maturity. Belle Foret has become the grassroots anchor in the two-wheel world as well as being a popular karting destination, while the Korea International Circuit (KIC) — now operating under KMG — is being repositioned to host more events and attract broader motorsport tourism.

KMG’s operational stewardship of both facilities provides continuity across grassroots and national levels, but the story remains fundamentally about the riders and the infrastructure that nurtures them. Belle Foret proves Korea can train, retain and elevate talent within its own borders — without sending young riders straight to Europe.

The Northeast Asia riders’ appearance in Valencia was not an endpoint. It was proof of a rising tide.

Apex’s ongoing commitment

Apex continues to support clients and organisers across Asia in creating facilities that prioritise development, safety and long-term viability. Belle Foret stands as a showcase of that philosophy: a place where young riders begin their journey and where Korea begins to see its motorsport future more clearly.

From the first lap at Belle Foret to the final grid slot in Valencia, Apex is proud to have contributed to Korea’s emerging story on the Road to MotoGP™. For the young riders who stood on the world stage for the first time this year, this is not the conclusion — it is the beginning of something far greater.