Joe Roberts (motorcyclist)

Joe Roberts (born June 16, 1997 in Los Angeles) is an American professional motorcycle racer.[1][2] Roberts competes in the FIM Moto2 World Championship with American Racing aboard a Kalex chassis bike. [3]

Joe Roberts
Roberts in 2017
NationalityAmerican
Born (1997-06-16) June 16, 1997
Los Angeles, California, United States
Current teamItaltrans Racing Team
Bike number16
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Moto2 World Championship
Active years2017
ManufacturersKalex, NTS, KTM
2020 championship position7th (94 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
56 0 1 3 0 109

Career

Roberts' introduction to motorcycles was at a young age. He first rode a 50 cc motorcycle just shy of his 4th birthday. Roberts's earliest competition was in youth flat track and Supermoto.[1] From there he transitioned to mini-road racing on kart tracks and then to full sized tracks on a Honda RS125. He competed successfully for two seasons in the USGPRU (United States Grand Prix Racer's Union) finishing 3rd in points in 125GP in 2010. At the end of 2010 he was invited to the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup try-outs for the 2011 season and was one of 12 selected from 100 applicants.

Roberts spent 3 seasons[4] (20112013) with the Red Bull Rookies. In his first season he recorded a win and a track record at Brno,[5] a track he had never seen before. He improved his results in 2012 with best finishes of 2nd, 4th, 5th[5] and was one of very few riders to be invited back for a 3rd year in 2013 to ride the new KTM Moto3 bike. Roberts showed good promise on the 4 stroke machine leading races in Jerez, Brno and Silverstone but some bad luck saw him fail to finish a number of races which lowered his final standing. That same year, just 6 days after his 16th birthday, he competed back in the US in the AMA aboard a Honda CBR600RR, recording a sensational double win at Barber Motorsports,[6] setting a record for the youngest win in AMA Pro Road racing. He won again at Laguna Seca and scored another double win at Miller Motorsports Park,[7] thereby scoring 5 wins from the 5 AMA races he entered.

In 2014 he returned full-time to the US to ride for Team Hammer[8] in AMA Daytona Sportbike on a Honda CBR600RR. However, the combination of an uncompetitive package and some injuries meant he wasn't able to continue his run of success from 2013. For 2015, Roberts returned to his winning ways aboard a Yamaha R6 in the new AMA/FIM MotoAmerica Stock600 class with 9 wins and a 2nd from 11 starts, sealing the championship at Laguna Seca,[9] before the final round of the series at New Jersey, where he moved up to the Supersport class.[10] There, he dominated practice and qualifying, had a runaway victory in Race 1 and finished a close second in Race 2. Finishing 3rd in Superprestigio in Las Vegas at the end of the year. 2016 saw him compete in AMA/MotoAmerica Supersport[11] on a Yamaha R6 where he climbed the podium 3 times and scored 3 pole positions. He was unfortunately forced to miss several races due to injury.[12] In 2017 Roberts returned to Europe[13] to compete in the FIM CEV Moto2 class with the AGRteam. Mid-year due to his strong performance on the Kalex machine, he was invited by AGR to join the World Championship Moto2[14] team and made a sensational debut in Brno coming from 29th on the grid to finish 10th[15] in his first race at the world level. In 2020 Roberts qualified on pole position at the opening round of the season, becoming the first American rider to do so since Ben Spies at the 2010 Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix and the first one in Moto2 since Kenny Noyes at the 2010 French motorcycle Grand Prix. He finished the race in fourth, after never having finished better than 13th over the previous two seasons. He would qualify for pole again in the fourth round and finished the race in third, becoming the first American driver on the podium since Spies at the 2011 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix and the first in mid class since John Kocinski at the 1993 Dutch TT.

Career statistics

By season

Season Class Motorcycle Team Race Win Podium Pole FLap Pts Plcd
2017 Moto2 Kalex AGR Team 5 0 0 0 0 6 30th
2018 Moto2 NTS NTS RW Racing GP 18 0 0 0 0 5 27th
2019 Moto2 KTM American Racing 18 0 0 0 0 4 28th
2020 Moto2 Kalex Tennor American Racing 15 0 1 3 0 94 7th
Total 56 0 1 3 0 109

By class

Class Seasons 1st GP 1st Pod 1st Win Race Win Podiums Pole FLap Pts WChmp
Moto2 2017–present 2017 Czech Republic 2020 Czech Republic 56 0 1 3 0 109 0
Total 2017–Present 56 0 1 3 0 109 0

Races by year

(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 19 Pos Pts
2017 Moto2 Kalex QAT ARG AME SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER CZE
10
AUT
19
GBR
21
RSM
Ret
ARA
26
JPN AUS MAL VAL 30th 6
2018 Moto2 NTS QAT
25
ARG
25
AME
23
SPA
Ret
FRA
19
ITA
14
CAT
22
NED
21
GER
22
CZE
18
AUT
19
GBR
C
RSM
16
ARA
24
THA
13
JPN
18
AUS
18
MAL
18
VAL
Ret
27th 5
2019 Moto2 KTM QAT
22
ARG
22
AME
Ret
SPA
20
FRA
14
ITA
Ret
CAT
20
NED
14
GER
25
CZE
DNS
AUT
21
GBR
22
RSM
16
ARA
30
THA
Ret
JPN
18
AUS
16
MAL
19
VAL
18
28th 4
2020 Moto2 Kalex QAT
4
SPA
17
AND
17
CZE
3
AUT
10
STY
12
RSM
10
EMI
Ret
CAT
5
FRA
6
ARA
8
TER
10
EUR
Ret
VAL
11
POR
7
7th 94

References

  1. "Profile: MotoAmerica Supersport Racer Joe Roberts". Sport Rider. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  2. Sports, Dorna. "Introducing Joe Roberts: the new American on the block". www.motogp.com. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  3. "Moto2: American Joe Roberts Will Race Full-Time In 2018 World Championship (Updated)". www.roadracingworld.com. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  4. Cup, Red Bull MotoGP Rookies. "Joe Roberts | Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup". Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  5. Aitken-Cade, Stewart (2018-03-15). "USGPRU > Rider Profile: Joe Roberts". usgpru.net. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  6. "16-Year-Old Roberts Sweeps Barber AMA SuperSport Round". Ultimate Motorcycling. 2013-06-24. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  7. "MotoAmerica Sunday Race Report From Miller Motorsports Park". Motorcyclist. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  8. "Joe Roberts Signs With Team Hammer for 2014 - Cycle News". Cycle News. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  9. "Joe Roberts Crowned Champion At Laguna Seca - Cycle News". Cycle News. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  10. "Meen Yamaha Rider Joe Roberts Conquers Supersport Class – MotoAmerica". motoamerica.com. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  11. "MotoAmerica 2016 Season Finale Race Results and New Champions". Motorcyclist. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  12. "Injuries Will Keep Joe Roberts Out Of MotoAmerica Action This Weekend At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca". www.roadracingworld.com. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  13. "American Joe Roberts Interview: "Moto2 Is The Hardest Championship In The World" | MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks". motomatters.com. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  14. "American Joe Roberts Promoted To AGR Moto2 World Championship Team". www.roadracingworld.com. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  15. "American Joe Roberts Scores Top-10 Finish In Moto2 Debut At Brno". Cycle World. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
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