Joined Oct 2006
25K Posts | 4K+
Your Mom's House
What do you think about Kenny Roberts?
Since his World Championship in 2000, it seems he has been outside looking in; and in doing so has wasted his youth and abundant talent for several years with Suzuki. I mentioned in another thread that I think Roberts could have been a contender this year. Perhaps this is a stretch to most of you; but lets look and some very interesting points regarding his career.
At least, I think he could have been a 2 time champion and challenged for the runner up to Valentino from 2001-2005. This is why I think he is better than what he has shown. Of the current riders for 06, Roberts in his career has won 8 premiere class wins, only Sete Gibernau (with 1 more) and Max Biaggi (13 wins) have won more; and Sete has been the only true rival to Rossi by finishing runner-up twice. Roberts won these 8 races on 7 different tracks (twice at Malaysia). This to me indicates a versatility to ride on different track designs, which says something about his learning curve and riding ability to adapt to track challenges.
Roberts won the 2000 World Title. The previous year he was the runner-up to Alex Criville, who only won 2 races more than Roberts that year. Keep in mind Alex was on the all-powerful Honda (which had won the previous 6 titles, 5 of which were with Doohan). After Roberts won the 2000 title, this was the last title won by Suzuki, yet, Honda won the following 3 titles with Rossi. (He won a title for Suzuki sandwiched by 9 titles to Honda). The year that Roberts won the title, Suzuki claimed to have their best bike but critics still believed Honda was the better machine. Yet Roberts stayed with Suzuki 5 more years, in 02 when they went to the GP 990’s (no longer the 500cc) the Suzuki has amounted to nothing significant despite the talent that have been on their bikes. Roberts developed their bike and has wasted and languished with a sub-par development program.
Now here is the meat and potatoes why I think Roberts is better than he has shown. In 06 when he went to develop his dad’s bike on the KR team. For all intents and purposes, this team is the equivalent of a privateer team; which, in MotoGP as in F1, privateer teams are hardly a match for factory or factory backed enterprises. These levels of racing are so elite that privateer teams really just can’t compete, and that’s an understatement (for various reasons which are beyond the scope of this discussion, but for an idea of how privateer teams perform at the highest levels of international racing, one only need to look at the success (or lack of) the Patronas in WSBK, but even that is not a true comparison since MotoGP required ample more resources, development, and precision). Yet, despite this reality, Roberts again has shown signs of resurgence. With a respectable 6th place in overall points this year and two podiums, with a total of 134 points, which is the most he has earned since he won the title. (Keep in mind that 6th place was with 2 DNFs.) He qualified 6 times in the top 5 and finished 6 times in the top 5 as well (one of his DNFs came at Germany where he qualified 2nd). In the final standings, he beat 12 other factory or factory backed teams. This is astonishing and is something that if you understand the dynamics of this level of racing is truly an extraordinary accomplishment! Now think about this for a moment. Here is the short list of the only rider/teams that came ahead of him: Pedrosa (who some believe is the heir apparent), Meladri & Capirossi (each previous world champs with 3 wins a piece), Rossi (who some believe to be a prophet), and Hayden, the Champ. One of the significant things that has changed is that he is no longer with the notoriously underpowered Suzuki (and that’s an undeniable fact) and was on a bike powered by Honda. One only need to look to Portugal to see the power output of this engine which beat Rossi to the line despite him going into the last turn in P1 and losing to Elias by .002 (same engine).
I’m sure I have left out some other things that I have thought about Roberts while observing him race and the trends of his career. In my opinion, he is often overlooked because his brand is not marketable or sensational. But he goes about his business very similar to his dad, who is a 3-time world champion no less; that is to say, he is very enigmatic, meticulously professional and non-charismatic. Which is a tough sell for the media; moreover, this coupled with the fact that factories and global sponsors demand media attention for their riders.
<u>I would like to get your thoughts and opinions on Robert’s career and potential.</u> What do you think his career would have been like had he gone with a full factory team like Honda or Yamaha on 990’s or even Ducati. Do you think he has the talent and ability of the top five riders this year? Do you think he would have been a contender for a multiple title? Why?
Since his World Championship in 2000, it seems he has been outside looking in; and in doing so has wasted his youth and abundant talent for several years with Suzuki. I mentioned in another thread that I think Roberts could have been a contender this year. Perhaps this is a stretch to most of you; but lets look and some very interesting points regarding his career.
At least, I think he could have been a 2 time champion and challenged for the runner up to Valentino from 2001-2005. This is why I think he is better than what he has shown. Of the current riders for 06, Roberts in his career has won 8 premiere class wins, only Sete Gibernau (with 1 more) and Max Biaggi (13 wins) have won more; and Sete has been the only true rival to Rossi by finishing runner-up twice. Roberts won these 8 races on 7 different tracks (twice at Malaysia). This to me indicates a versatility to ride on different track designs, which says something about his learning curve and riding ability to adapt to track challenges.
Roberts won the 2000 World Title. The previous year he was the runner-up to Alex Criville, who only won 2 races more than Roberts that year. Keep in mind Alex was on the all-powerful Honda (which had won the previous 6 titles, 5 of which were with Doohan). After Roberts won the 2000 title, this was the last title won by Suzuki, yet, Honda won the following 3 titles with Rossi. (He won a title for Suzuki sandwiched by 9 titles to Honda). The year that Roberts won the title, Suzuki claimed to have their best bike but critics still believed Honda was the better machine. Yet Roberts stayed with Suzuki 5 more years, in 02 when they went to the GP 990’s (no longer the 500cc) the Suzuki has amounted to nothing significant despite the talent that have been on their bikes. Roberts developed their bike and has wasted and languished with a sub-par development program.
Now here is the meat and potatoes why I think Roberts is better than he has shown. In 06 when he went to develop his dad’s bike on the KR team. For all intents and purposes, this team is the equivalent of a privateer team; which, in MotoGP as in F1, privateer teams are hardly a match for factory or factory backed enterprises. These levels of racing are so elite that privateer teams really just can’t compete, and that’s an understatement (for various reasons which are beyond the scope of this discussion, but for an idea of how privateer teams perform at the highest levels of international racing, one only need to look at the success (or lack of) the Patronas in WSBK, but even that is not a true comparison since MotoGP required ample more resources, development, and precision). Yet, despite this reality, Roberts again has shown signs of resurgence. With a respectable 6th place in overall points this year and two podiums, with a total of 134 points, which is the most he has earned since he won the title. (Keep in mind that 6th place was with 2 DNFs.) He qualified 6 times in the top 5 and finished 6 times in the top 5 as well (one of his DNFs came at Germany where he qualified 2nd). In the final standings, he beat 12 other factory or factory backed teams. This is astonishing and is something that if you understand the dynamics of this level of racing is truly an extraordinary accomplishment! Now think about this for a moment. Here is the short list of the only rider/teams that came ahead of him: Pedrosa (who some believe is the heir apparent), Meladri & Capirossi (each previous world champs with 3 wins a piece), Rossi (who some believe to be a prophet), and Hayden, the Champ. One of the significant things that has changed is that he is no longer with the notoriously underpowered Suzuki (and that’s an undeniable fact) and was on a bike powered by Honda. One only need to look to Portugal to see the power output of this engine which beat Rossi to the line despite him going into the last turn in P1 and losing to Elias by .002 (same engine).
I’m sure I have left out some other things that I have thought about Roberts while observing him race and the trends of his career. In my opinion, he is often overlooked because his brand is not marketable or sensational. But he goes about his business very similar to his dad, who is a 3-time world champion no less; that is to say, he is very enigmatic, meticulously professional and non-charismatic. Which is a tough sell for the media; moreover, this coupled with the fact that factories and global sponsors demand media attention for their riders.
<u>I would like to get your thoughts and opinions on Robert’s career and potential.</u> What do you think his career would have been like had he gone with a full factory team like Honda or Yamaha on 990’s or even Ducati. Do you think he has the talent and ability of the top five riders this year? Do you think he would have been a contender for a multiple title? Why?
