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
Nationality	American
Born	(1997-06-16) June 16, 1997 Los Angeles, California, United States
Current team	American Racing
Bike number	16
Motorcycle racing career statistics Moto2 World Championship Active years 2017– Manufacturers Kalex, NTS, KTM 2019 championship position 28th (4 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 45 0 1 2 0 44

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] (2011–2013) 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

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

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 KTM	18	0	0	0	0	4	28th
2020	Moto2	Kalex	American Racing	4	0	1	2	0	29*	8th*
Total				45	0	1	2	0	44

 * Season still in progress.

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		45	0	1	2	0	44	0
Total	2017–Present				45	0	1	2	0	44	0

 * Season still in progress.

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	RSM	EMI	CAT	FRA	ARA	TER	EUR	VAL						8th*	29*

 * Season still in progress.

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.

External links

• Joe Roberts at MotoGP.com