E
xactly 40 years ago this year, Kenny Rob-
erts Sr. defeated the theoretically more
powerful rotary-valve Suzukis to win the
third of his hat-trick of 500cc GP World Cham-
pionship titles aboard the factory piston-port
Yamaha YZR500 OW48R. Coincidentally, exactly
two decades later, his son Kenny Roberts Jr.
became King Kenny in his own right, by following
in Dad's tire tracks and beating the then much
more potent Yamahas and Hondas to win the
2000 500cc GP title on his Suzuki RGV500.
In doing so, he achieved a unique double vic-
tory—the first time ever that a father and son
had won 500cc GP world titles on two wheels,
exactly 20 years apart.
I've been rather lucky in my career in that I
have tested many a great rider's machine, but to
ride the Kenny Sr.'s Yamaha and Kenny Jr's Su-
zuki on separate occasions was indeed special.
Let's take a trip down the Roberts family
memory lane, starting off with Kenny Roberts
Sr.'s 1980 Yamaha YZR OW48R.
VOLUME 57 ISSUE 12 MARCH 24, 2020 P63
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