Kennv Roberts Jr.
"Are
By MICHAEL SCOTT
PHOTOS By GOLD & GOOSE
you gonna eat that?" Kenny Roberts Jr., at
the breakfast table, reaches across, grabs a
crust from the center of the table, and hands it out
through the 'French doors to where a peacock is
waiting, beady eyes glittering, shimmering tail
furled. Nervous as hell, the bird darts forward and
seizes the morsel from his hands. And Kenny laughs
as it steps hurriedly out of reach again to gobble it
down.
There's a metaphor there. Something to do with
crumbs from the table, and scavengers awaiting
Roberts' pleasure in picking them up. It might be, at
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MARCH 15. 2000'
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least in Kenny's mind, that the peacock is Max Biaggi, or perhaps Alex Criville; and the crust is what's
left of the World Championship points, once Roberts
has had his fill.
Then again, maybe not. GP racing is a matter-offact business, more to do with motorcycles than
metaphors. Yet the thought remains tempting, especially as later on in the day Roberts was to go out on
the Jerez circuit and firmly take control, just as he
had the day before.
It was, at this stage, only testing - the first group
IRTA tests in the run up to the 2000 season, and
Crivi)le, Tadayuki Okada and the other full-factory
Honda riders weren't there. The striking thing that
was firmly present was Roberts' massive, towering
Sf
confidence. With 16 races stretching ahead, and
everything to play for, he's not even thinking about
the other guys.
"My main rival for this year? I don't have one," he
stated. "We only have to beat 'ourselves - the championship is ours to lose." Warming to his theme, the
confidence shines out of his eyes, and the set of his
.jaw - this son of a legend who is looking harder now
at 26 than when he first came GP racing back in
1994.
"Last year, at the start of the year, everybody
knew who they would have to beat," Roberts said.
"Then all of a sudden Mick Doohan wasn't there
anymore. I kind of lost a little bit of focus. That's
why I'm thinking differently this year. I'm only think-
