Kenny Roberts Jr returns to the track on KR211V MotoGP machine
Kenny Roberts Jr rides his 2006 MotoGP bike at Barber Motorsports Park.
Kenny Roberts Jr returned to the track aboard his 2006 MotoGP machine, the KR211V, during the MotoAmerica round at Barber Motorsports Park.
The American delighted fans by completing demonstration laps on the Honda V5-powered bike that he rode to sixth overall in the World Championship.
“I remember my first time on the Honda,” said Roberts Jr, whose bike is now part of the of the permanent collection at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum.
“It was difficult to tell which gear I was in; the engine was so linear.”
A 500cc world champion with Suzuki, Roberts returned to his father 'King' Kenny Roberts' team in 2006, turning heads by taking the privateer machine to podiums in Catalunya and Estoril.
“If we had six months to find all the gremlins with the chassis we found in the last 25% of the season, we could have been fighting quite often for podiums.”
Roberts might even have won the famous Estoril race, where Valentino Rossi regained the title lead after Dani Pedrosa took down team-mate Nicky Hayden, if he had not misunderstood the number of laps remaining.
Still, it marked the last time a bike built by a privateer team led a MotoGP race or finished on the rostrum. A feat unlikely to be repeated in the foreseeable future.
The only machines classified ahead of the KR211V in the final 2006 championship standings were three Hondas, a Yamaha and a Ducati.
“It gave me a better perspective of what I rode, what I didn’t ride, and what we did with a lot less," Roberts Jr said.
Unfortunately for Roberts and Team KR, they weren't able to build upon the momentum from their debut Honda-powered campaign.
Honda’s new RC212V powerplant struggled at the start of the 800cc era in 2007 and Roberts Jr bowed out after a best finish of 13th in six starts.
Meanwhile, with Liberty Media rumoured to be nearing completion of its MotoGP takeover - and keen to expand the sport in the US - Barber is among the venues that could be upgraded to potentially join COTA on the Grand Prix calendar.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
