Win Baby part 3

Here is part 3 of the "King" Kenny Roberts story I recently sold to sportbikes.com, they have given me permission to print the articles here for the world to read. I hope you enjoy the read, happy hubbing!

Win Baby! Just Win!

Part 3

In part 2 of the King Kenny Roberts story we followed Kenny through his growing years as a bike racer to the age of 26 and the black-day he found out he would not defend his AMA Championship for a 3rd time, that his destiny awaited him on the roads of Europe. Let's accelerate our sportbike into the bend at the end of the year 1977, pulling up a few yards behind the King's rear tire, just sit back and read as our young legend begins the year 1978 in search of glory and maybe a few more of those championship perks.

Arriving in Europe early in 1978, the reality of their situation quickly set-in-their-minds, Kenny wasn't really a Yamaha factory rider with all bells and whistles a professional sportbike racer needs to move fast and win. All they had to do was compare their equipment to that of a Yamaha factory rider like Johnny Cocotto to see the uneven ground the 27 year old Kenny and team would need to manoeuvre around to succeed on the roads of Europe. The early part of the year 1978 would be a trial for Kenny and team while they learned what was needed to race and triumph during Kenny's early battles on the circuits around Europe. Kenny was competing in three classes 250cc GP, 500cc GP and Formula 750 for the 1978 season and with only a single bike per class was having a hard time challenging in all three classes at the same time. Add to this the team's inexperience with the European tracks, necessitating a thirty minute fly through the course to try to figure out the nuances of the track before each run started. And one gets an idea of the trials undertook by Kenny and his team on their way to glory, of the pitfalls and sacrifices necessary to achieve legendary status in the Grand Prix world during Kenny's era. The lack of track knowledge effected many aspects of Kenny's races in Europe in 1978, learning the track lines, selecting the correct rubber for the track and conditions, if they had any tyre options, Europe was no bed of roses for the determined gentlemen.

Goodyear being Kenny's sponsor meant he was running Goodyear tyres all year on his sportbikes, while the rest of the competitors were using Michelin's on their bikes during the contests. And it quickly became crystal clear that the tyre company's sudden sponsorship of Kenny was a spur of the moment thing, undertook half-heartedly by the corporation in the hope they could create confidence in their tyres. Goodyear would show up for Kenny's race with no previous knowledge of the track and conditions at the circuit, which meant they always had the wrong tyres for the road Kenny was competing on that day. A nightmarish scenario for a bike racing team, especially the rider, but a situation Kenny had to deal with if he was going to win on the circuits of Europe.

As is often the case in life chance, possibility, jumps up to meet destiny when we need it most, but expect it least, and Kenny's career was about to meet one of these key moments in a persons life. For at the race at the Paul Richard circuit in France, a 27 year old Kenny's met his destiny in the form of a French gentleman by the name of Bernard Cahier. A photojournalist for the Formula 1 series at the time, Cahier had been watching the exploits of Kenny at the French course. His struggles despite running an amazing race under extreme disadvantages as compared to his competition, he knew Kenny's tyres were not suited for the courses of Europe. Wanting to see what the young rider could do on an even field of battle, he decided to intervene on the gentlemen's behalf at this crucial time in Kenny's development. Cahier made a call to Chuck Pilliod, then President of Goodyear America, in the middle of the night to tell him of the plight of the talented young man and have the situation corrected in Kenny's favour.

Goodyear responded to Bernard Cahier's midnight phone call describing the plight of Kenny's team and the problems they were dealing with on the circuits of Europe. For at his next competition the story was a little different, as Kenny's team was joined by Goodyear technician John Smith, and a tractor trailer of racing equipment provided by the company. A fire had been lit under the feet of Goodyear America, by a fan that saw the talent in the 27 year old being held back by his equipment, and the attitude of his sponsor. And he decided to lend a helping hand to the destiny he saw within this young gentleman who would one day be considered a sportbike legend. The events at the Paul Richard circuit energized Kenny and his team, pumped adrenalin into Kenny's racing heart, now he was ready to ride and win in Europe.

The infusion of better bikes, tyres designed for the courses he was to travel on and additional equipment to help Kenny battle for the title in Europe. Gave a 27 year old Kenny the tools he needed to journey to victory in Europe, and ride he did, in 1978 Kenny Roberts would triumph enough times to become the first American competitor to win the 500cc World Grand Prix Championship. His victory made him the only rider in Grand Prix racing history to win the title in his first year competing in the series, a feat that may never be accomplished again considering the level of competition in the Grand Prix world today. But without the help of men like Bud Aksland and Bernard Cahier, the little boy from Modesto, California, never would have had a chance to prove his ability that first year and go on to become an icon of sportbike competitions. Something, were sure Kenny is extremely grateful to the two gentlemen for, so appreciative that he used the opportunity they provided, to make Kenny Roberts a living legend of sportbike lore, maybe the best way to pay back a helping hand of a fan. The year 1978 was a great year in the life of Kenny Roberts despite the difficulties of his 27th year of life, but was just a shadow of the great events about to transpire on the Grand Prix tracks of the world in years to come. For Kenny's exodus to Europe opened the door for more American competitors in the following years to become World Grand Prix Champions, and in his little way put his imprint on the circuits of Europe.

The sun was shining above the track at the first Grand Prix in San Carlos, Venezuela in 1979, especially for riders expecting to compete with last years 28 year old 500cc title holder Kenny Roberts. For last years champion was absent from the start line of the first venue of the 1979 500cc Grand Prix Championship in Venezuela, due to a preseason fall riding at a private Yamaha testing, that the other racers were probably hoping would keep Kenny on the sidelines for awhile. No such luck as the King would prove just how physically and mentally tough you had to be to win the 500cc world title during his era. By showing up at the start line of the second competition at the Australian circuit of Salzburgring, still recovering from crushed vertebra, leg injuries and a broken foot suffered in the preseason fall. The King would stun the other competitors and the world, while proving the quote "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" to millions of amazed fans on that day under the Australian sun, by winning the second race of the 1979 Grand Prix season at the old circuit. The 1979 season would turn into a war between former world champion Barry Sheene, Italian racer Virginio Ferrari and the 28 year old King still talked about around the Grand Prix world today with awe. The three champions would battle all season for dominance in the series with Kenny taking the title over Virginio Ferrari and Barry Sheene, with five victories to Barry's three victories and Virginio's single chequered flag of the season. The final points total would be Kenny 113, Virginio 89 and Barry Sheene 87 for the 1979 season, maybe the toughest season of King Kenny Roberts's illustrious career battling on the GP circuits of the world.

The 1979 500cc Grand Prix season will always be famous for the final race of the 1979 season at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone between British heart-throb Barry Sheene and a 28 year old Kenny Roberts. This competition proved to be a moment for the ages, as the events in this battle would go down as one of the greatest sporting contests in history. The television clips of Barry Sheene scraping the pavement at 130 mph around Woodcote, to lose to the hard riding King by the margin of only three hundredths of a second at the line, has been played thousands of times since 1979. And will go down in the books as one of the true legendary moments of King Kenny Roberts's career, one of many in his distinguished career that lead many fans to believe Kenny to be one the greatest sportbike competitors to ever wrangle a sportbike around a Grand Prix circuit. And a not so memorable one for the legendary British rider Barry Sheene who's celebrated career you can read about in upcoming issues of this publication.

Kenny had always been an outspoken critic during his career of the unsafe state of many of the circuits he routinely ran on during a season on the Grand Prix stage. Never satisfied by the safety precautions taken by the FIM when he arrived on the Grand Prix scene in 1978, a 27 year old Kenny worked to change the conditions for his fellow man from the beginning of his journey. From the first competition in which he noticed the riders had to deal with railway tracks on the circuit, and hay bales wrapped around obstacles surrounding the circuit while competing against each other. Kenny had been belligerent, disagreeable, and totally unsatisfied with the state of safety precautions taken by the FIM to ensure the safety of the true stars of the Grand Prix universe. So in 1979 Kenny Roberts joined with a group of forty of the top riders in the industry, at the Belgian Grand Prix, to boycott the race in an attempt to get the FIM to listen to their safety concerns with the series. The FIM bowed to the wisdom of the riders in many aspects in the years to follow changing the courses, building safer ones, and closing unsafe ones at the request of the riders. They increased the prize money for the winners and started giving the competitors the respect they earn as the true heroes of their sport. Ushering in an age of increased professionalism in the sport of motorcycle racing that is at least partly due to the leadership shown by the King at this critical time in Grand Prix history. But Kenny unsatisfied with the results of the boycott banded together with a group of unsatisfied riders at the end of the 1979 season, to form a new rival series to the Grand Prix Championship. Unfortunately the rider's infighting and disagreements eventually killed the project and the possibility of the World Series of sportbike racing. Additionally Hockenheim who had originally agreed to support the creation of the World Series decided to pull their support for a competing series to the Grand Prix despite earlier agreements, essentially killing Kenny Roberts's idea for the World Series of sportbike racing.

Well that's it for now, join us next time as we will finish our story, and wrap up the life and times of the King Kenny into a nice, neat, little package for your enjoyment. His rise to legendary status among the greats of sportbike racing history, and his current activities that are continuing to make the industry he has given his life too better for all involved. Not bad for a little American boy who just wanted to race and win, not bad at all! So until next time, happy riding traveler!