Kurtis Roberts, (born 17 November 1978 in Turlock, California) is an American motorcycle road racer. He is the youngest son of three-time 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts, and the younger brother of 2000 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts, Jr. He has raced in most major US and international motorcycle racing championships, in both Grand Prix and Superbike categories.
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| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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AMA
editIn 1998 Kurtis joined Erion Honda, starting out in 250s as he had experience of this level. He was runner-up in the AMA 250cc series that year, also riding in a few 600cc Supersport races. In both 1999 and 2000 he won the AMA Formula Xtreme series, adding the 600cc Supersport in 2000. Moving to the prestigious American Honda team, his first 3 AMA Superbike Championship podium finishes came in 2001 - taking his first wins[1] and third overall in 2003, after missing much of 2002 due to injury. 2005 was a disastrous return to Erion,[2] despite a second place in the Daytona 200.[3]
International
editIn 1997 Kurtis contested the 250cc World Championship.
In 2004 he joined his father's Proton MotoGP team, but this was uncompetitive, scoring just one point all year. In 2006 he rode in selected Superbike World Championship rounds for the Pedercini Ducati team.[4]
After attempting to set up an AMA team with former champion Doug Chandler[5] he resumed his links with his father's MotoGP team for 2007, taking over from his brother when Kenny Roberts, Jr. decided the bike was not competitive enough. He took minor points in three successive rounds.[6]
Career statistics
editGrand Prix motorcycle racing
editBy season
edit| Season | Class | Motorcycle | Team | Number | Race | Win | Podium | Pole | FLap | Pts | Plcd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 250cc | Aprilia, Honda | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | ||
| 2001 | 500cc | Proton KR | Proton Team KR | 80 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2004 | MotoGP | Proton KR | Proton Team KR | 80 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 29th |
| 2005 | MotoGP | Proton KR | Team Roberts | 80 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2007 | MotoGP | KR212V | Team Roberts | 80 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 19th |
| Total | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
Races by year
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Class | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 250cc | Aprilia | MAL Ret |
JPN Ret |
SPA Ret |
ITA Ret |
AUT 18 |
FRA | NED | IMO | NC | 0 | ||||||||||
| Honda | GER 22 |
BRA 18 |
GBR 18 |
CZE 18 |
CAT 19 |
INA Ret |
AUS | |||||||||||||||
| 2001 | 500cc | Proton KR | JPN | RSA | SPA | FRA | ITA | CAT | NED | GBR | GER | CZE | POR | VAL | PAC | AUS | MAL Ret |
BRA | NC | 0 | ||
| 2004 | MotoGP | Proton KR | RSA WD |
SPA Ret |
FRA 15 |
ITA Ret |
CAT Ret |
NED Ret |
BRA 19 |
GER Ret |
GBR Ret |
CZE DNS |
POR | JPN | QAT | MAL | AUS | VAL DNS |
29th | 1 | ||
| 2005 | MotoGP | Proton KR | SPA | POR | CHN | FRA | ITA | CAT | NED | USA | GBR | GER | CZE | JPN | MAL | QAT | AUS | TUR | VAL Ret |
NC | 0 | |
| 2007 | MotoGP | KR212V | QAT | SPA | TUR | CHN | FRA | ITA Ret |
CAT 18 |
GBR 13 |
NED 15 |
GER 12 |
USA Ret |
CZE 15 |
RSM 15 |
POR Ret |
JPN Ret |
AUS 17 |
MAL 20 |
VAL Ret |
19th | 10 |
References
edit- ^ "Rubber Magazine - Interview: Kurtis Roberts Talks". Rubbermag.com. Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ "Soup :: Kurtis Roberts Unsigned For '06". Superbikeplanet.com. Archived from the original on 2008-07-20. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ "DuHamel Wins Record Tying 5th Daytona 200!". Theautochannel.com. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ "WSBK: Kurtis Roberts replaces Neukirchner at Pedercini". Crash.net. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ "Kurtis Roberts, Chandler Trying To Form AMA Superbike Team For 2007". Roadracing World Publishing. 2006-11-13. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ "Kurtis Roberts Doubles His Points At Sachsenring". Londonbikers.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
External links
edit- Kurtis Roberts at MotoGP.com
- Kurtis Roberts at WorldSBK.com
- AMA career summary Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine