Before the Austin Grand Prix, our friends from crash.net have carried out a very interesting interview with Kenny Roberts, one of the most exciting American riders off the track, and one of the most spectacular on a motorcycle. Whatever the surface, dirt or asphalt, he beat the greatest and left lasting memories for those who saw him race.
You had a lot of success in the United States before coming to race in Europe full time. Did you always intend to compete in the 500cc championship?
" No. Never ! Never ! In America, at the time, it was about being the Grand National Champion. It was the greatest form of racing at the time. And that's what all the kids wanted to do: they wanted to be the best. I wanted to be the best, and to do that, I had to win the Grand National Championship.
“So that was my goal, and that was my goal when Yamaha announced that they were going to stop track racing, which blew me away. I thought that was what everyone wanted to do.
“They gave me two options: you can stay in America and race on asphalt with a Yamaha, or you can race with a Harley Davidson on dirt. That would have allowed me to win the championship again.
“But for some reason I just wanted to stay with Yamaha. I wanted to be Yamaha. The other option was to support me in a satellite project from America to Europe. »
You had some racing experience in Europe before 1978 with Imola 200 and the Trans-Atlantic series in 1974. Did you expect to be so competitive, so early in the 500?
“For some reason I felt like I could win. I didn't have any experience with it, but not winning wasn't something I thought about. I felt I could ride a motorcycle as well as anyone, so my chances of winning were as good as anyone's.
“Obviously there was a lot of uncertainty about how the Grands Prix were going because people were telling you : “You're going to have language problems and you're going to have problems with different money all the time, and the race tracks aren't the same, and it's not like Formula 750. "And so there was some uncertainty, but for me, a home run is a home run. »
“Traveling in Europe is easier than traveling in America because of the distances we travel in America. So the things that should have bothered me didn't bother me. My RV was ten yards behind Kel Carruthers' RV every day. Traveling wasn't a problem and tours obviously weren't a problem. »
“We had some speculation of course because Goodyear had never raced in Europe. Some of the biggest issues for me were that the tire had never been driven on the circuits in Europe and there was only one guy using them, and that was me. »
“But putting on road racing leathers every weekend was very different than putting on TT leathers, dirt track leathers and then asphalt racing leathers five times a year. There were many things that were easier, but there were also many things that were uncertain and difficult. »
Like only having one 500 for most of the year?
“Yeah, I didn't get a second bike until the British Grand Prix. I literally had to threaten to quit Yamaha unless they gave me one. There are a lot of politics in the world of Grand Prix racing that I don't understand.
“I thought I was a factory driver until I came to Europe and found out I wasn't a factory driver! »
Was this the biggest challenge you had to overcome on the way to the title in 1978?
“The problem I had was that I had to test tires. In practice, you only have 30 minutes. I was doing three or four laps, trying to learn a track and test the tires at the same time. Then I would stop and waste six or seven minutes changing tires to get going again. »
“In most Grands Prix, the guy I had to beat – Barry Sheene – got twice as much track time as me. He drove, stopped, got on the other motorcycle and drove away. I was in my stand waiting for my bike to be ready.
“That was one of the reasons we needed another bike. I received it two races before the end, so it wasn't much of a relief, but at least I had another bike! »
(...)
You obviously enjoyed a famous rivalry with Barry Sheene, but was Freddie Spencer the toughest competitor you faced?
“I think the addition of him, the bike and the tires was great. The Dunlop tire we were using at the time wasn't the best they could find. It was a Japanese tire that was four years old when we received it. But it worked.
“Unfortunately, we had to race all the Grands Prix with this tire. So on some Grands Prix it didn't last and on others it worked poorly.
« Freddie spencer on the other hand had the three cylinder which was almost as fast as mine in top speed, but it accelerated well. It was just a fight every week. Sometimes it was a question of whether the tire would last, or whether we would have to slow Freddie down half way to make the tire last. It was one of those years where every week was a dog fight.
“With Sheene, it was more in the press. It was more psychological than with Freddie. Freddie and I were racing. Either he won or I won. It wasn't really a mind game with Freddie. Sheene was the biggest star in motorcycle racing at the time, especially in England.
“The press just hammered him or me, depending on the situation. But Freddie and I didn't care about the press. They didn't care if I said “He’s a bad driver.” Never mind. Sheene was the complete opposite. It was more what was in the press each week that mattered than what was on the circuit.
“Sheene and I haven't had as many battles as Freddie and I. Freddie and I got into a fight on the track that year and we fought. Some races, every two laps it changed position. It was unique that year, with Freddie and me.
“It went by very quickly because every two weeks we were racing again. To add pressure, I announced that it was my last year in Grand Prix. Of course I had a good bike and I wanted to win the championship. And I should have. It happened differently, and there are no regrets. I did every race as hard as I could and Freddie did the same.
“I think I could have done three or four more years if I wanted to, but it wasn't in my frame of mind. I've done everything I wanted to do in motorcycle racing. »
The whole of this interview can be read here.
Photos © Yamaha
