Kenny Roberts Jr. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kenny Roberts Jr.
Roberts Jr. on the Suzuki GSV-R
Born	(1973-07-25) July 25, 1973 (age 51) Mountain View, California, United States
Motorcycle racing career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Active years 1993–2007 First race 1993 250cc United States Grand Prix Last race 2007 MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix First win 1999 500cc Malaysian Grand Prix Last win 2000 500cc Pacific Grand Prix Team(s) Yamaha, Modenas, Suzuki, KR211V, KR212V Championships 500cc - 2000 Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 185 8 22 10 9 1210

Kenny Roberts Jr. was born on July 25, 1973, in California, USA. He is a famous American motorcycle racer who used to compete in Grand Prix races. In 2000, he won the 500cc Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing Championship, which is a very big deal in motorcycle racing. He also won 8 top-level races.

What's super cool is that he and his dad, Kenny Roberts, are the only father-son team to both win 500cc World Championships! In 2017, Kenny Roberts Jr. was added to the MotoGP Hall of Fame, which means he's one of the best riders ever.

Racing Career Highlights

Starting Out

Kenny started racing motorcycles when he was young. In 1990, he raced in the 250cc class at Willow Springs and won 5 races in his first year! By 1993, he got to race in his first World 500cc event. For 1994 and 1995, he raced full-time in the 250cc class with the Marlboro-Yamaha team.

Joining His Father's Team

In 1996, Kenny moved up to the 500cc World Championship with Yamaha. He finished his first 500cc season in 13th place. After that, Yamaha did not keep him on their team.

So, in 1997, Kenny joined his father's racing team, called Team Roberts. For two years, they worked on making their own special Modenas two-stroke bike better. It was a tough time, and Kenny finished 16th in 1997 and 13th in 1998.

Success with Suzuki

Kenny Roberts Jr. riding the Suzuki RGV500 in 1999.

In 1999, Suzuki signed Kenny to their Grand Prix team. His very first race with Suzuki in Malaysia was a huge surprise! He won, beating the champion, Michael Doohan. He then won the next race in Japan, beating Doohan again. This made Kenny a strong challenger for the championship.

Sadly, Doohan had to retire because of injuries from an accident in the third race. After that, Kenny's main rival was Doohan's teammate, Àlex Crivillé. Kenny didn't win as often for the rest of the season, getting only two more wins and four more podium finishes (top three). Crivillé took the lead and won the championship. Kenny still finished a very good second place overall.

Kenny came back strong in 2000 to challenge for the championship again. This time, Crivillé wasn't racing as well. Kenny's main challenge came from Valentino Rossi, a new rider who had just won the 250cc title. Kenny was very consistent this year, winning four races and getting five more podiums in 16 races.

Kenny won his first championship title with two races left in the season! He became the first son of a former champion to also win the title. His win also meant Suzuki stopped Honda's six-year winning streak.

The Suzuki GSV-R bike from 2002.

In 2001, defending his title was hard for Kenny and Suzuki. Rossi was dominating the races and won the title. Kenny only got one podium finish and ended the season in 11th place. This year also marked the end of the 500cc two-stroke bike era, as new rules came in for 2002.

From 2002 to 2005, Kenny had a tough time. He was working to develop the new four-stroke 990cc Suzuki GSV-R bike. It was hard to compete with Honda and Yamaha. His younger teammate, John Hopkins, often performed better than him. Kenny only managed two podium finishes during these four years. At the end of 2005, Suzuki decided not to keep Kenny, choosing a younger rider instead.

Back with Team Roberts

In 2006, Kenny returned to his father's team. Honda gave them a powerful V5 engine, and Team Roberts designed the bike's frame. It was called the KR211V. Kenny got his first podium finish of the season in Catalunya, starting from the front row.

He had a great run of five top-five starting positions in the middle of the season, showing how good the bike was. He finished 3rd again in Estoril, even leading the race with one lap to go. Kenny later said he miscounted the laps, which distracted him and allowed another rider to pass him. With these two podium finishes, he ended the year in 6th place overall. This was Kenny's best result since winning the championship in 2000.

Kenny stayed with his father's team in 2007. But 2007 brought new rules: the bikes changed from 990cc to 800cc engines. Kenny rode the KR212V bike, which used a Honda V4 engine. The 2007 season was not as successful. Honda was focusing on improving their own factory team's bikes. After earning only 4 points in the first part of the season, Kenny Jr. stopped racing mid-season. His brother, Kurtis Roberts, took his place. Kenny never returned to racing in 2007, and the whole team did not race in 2008.

Career Statistics Summary

Kenny Roberts Jr. competed in 185 Grand Prix races. He won 8 of those races and stood on the podium (finished in the top three) 22 times. He also earned 10 pole positions, meaning he started from the very front of the grid 10 times. Overall, he collected 1210 points in his career and won one World Championship in 2000.

See also

In Spanish: Kenny Roberts Jr para niños