Kel Carruthers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kel Carruthers |
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Carruthers on a 1969 stamp of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen, incorrectly displaying the Union Jack.
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| Nationality | Australian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 3 January 1938 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
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Kelvin "Kel" Carruthers (born January 3, 1938) is an Australian who used to be a professional motorcycle racer. He also became a successful manager for racing teams.
Kel competed in the Grand Prix world championships from 1966 to 1970. He also raced in America from 1971 to 1973. Kel Carruthers is famous for winning the 1969 250cc World Championship. After he stopped racing, he helped other famous riders like Kenny Roberts and Eddie Lawson win their own world championships.
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Kel Carruthers' Racing Journey
Kel Carruthers grew up around motorcycles. His dad owned a motorcycle shop. This meant Kel learned how to fix bikes when he was very young. He started riding at age 10 and entered his first race at 12.
By the early 1960s, Kel had become a top rider in Australia. He won many national championships. These included the 125cc, 250cc, 350cc, and 500cc classes.
Moving to Europe and World Championship Win
In 1966, Kel and his family moved to Europe. He wanted to compete in bigger races, including the Grand Prix World Championship. He first rode for a team called Aermacchi.
In the middle of the 1969 season, Kel got a chance to ride for the Benelli factory team. This was a big opportunity! He then won the famous Isle of Man 250cc TT race.
After this win, Aermacchi let him go so he could stay with Benelli. Kel then went on to win the 1969 FIM 250cc world championship. It was a very close race for points against other top riders, Santiago Herrero and Kent Andersson.
Racing and Managing in America
After the 1970 Grand Prix season, Kel accepted an offer from Yamaha. He moved to America to race for them. By 1973, Kel was doing much more than just racing for Yamaha. He became the team manager and also helped coach younger riders. These riders included Kenny Roberts, Don Castro, and Gary Fisher.
For the 1973 Daytona 200 race, Kel was in charge of getting all the Yamaha bikes ready. This included the 250cc bikes for the lightweight race. Yamaha also asked him to prepare a bike for the 1972 250cc World Champion, Jarno Saarinen. Even with all this work, Kel still raced. He finished second to Saarinen in the Daytona 200. This was his best finish in that race, which was one of the most important motorcycle races in the world at the time.
Becoming a Full-Time Team Manager
Kel stopped racing after the 1973 season. He wanted to focus completely on managing the team and coaching Kenny Roberts. With Kel's help, Roberts won the Grand National Championship in 1973 and 1974.
Yamaha realized their dirt track bikes couldn't beat the strong Harley Davidson team. So, they decided to send Kel and Roberts to Europe. Their goal was to compete in the road racing world championships. Kel worked on the bikes and gave advice. Because of this, Roberts won three world championships in a row: 1978, 1979, and 1980. Kel also managed another famous rider, Eddie Lawson, who won the 500cc World Championship in 1984.
Kel Carruthers continued to work for different Grand Prix teams until 1995. In 1996, he worked for the Sea-Doo watercraft racing team. He helped them win many national and world titles. In 1998, he returned to motorcycle racing. He managed a Yamaha motocross team.
In 1985, Kel Carruthers was honored by being added to the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999.
See also
In Spanish: Kel Carruthers para niños
