Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

· Intervie~ : Kenny Roberts Next 'year By Dale Brown Photos by Henny Ray Abrams The 1982 edition of the Kenny Roberts For World Road Racing Champion campaign is over. Failed. While Kenny was at home recuperating from an injured finger suffered in a crash in England, Italian Suzuki rider Franco Uncini clinched the 500cc WorId Road Racing Championship in Swe- 22 den . Ironically, Sweden was Uncini' s first DNF of the season, but th ere aren't en ou gh races for Roberts to overcome the points defi cit. The last few weeks of the European campaign have produced massive amounts of rumors that Roberts would sign for Honda in 1983, possibly .directing the Honda assault on the AMA Grand National Championship. Still, Roberts has been with Yamaha since he began his Expert career in 1972. So with the rumors in mind, as well as a few other questions, we called Roberts... How's your hand doing? It 's coming along nicely. The last couple of days it's gained a lot of ground. It looks like I may be able to do Italy, and I'll be at Hockenheim for sure. How did that accident happen? We had a problem getting the bike started. I got off the line very badly. I was going around th e outside of a lo t of these guys he ading into turn one, and somebody fell off. It had rained and the track was dry but the curbs were wet and as the guy went up on the curb, going around a couple of guys, he fell off. Well I was right behind him and it startled me because I was using the same line. My firs t reaction was to pick the bike up and try to miss him and I thought I'm not gonna do that because that's off th e race track, so I leaned the bike down again. That put me right directly into him and right on the white line and my bike let go too. How do you feel about Unicini being crowned world champion in Sweden just because you and Barry Sheene weren't there? If anybody's going to win it, Uncini deserves it for sure. I've never seen such a year of consistency. The only time he faltered was in Sweden when he broke a chain and it was all said and done by then. Uncini ran consistent the whole year, not a failure and there's just nothing that anyone can do about it. I've never seen such a consistent year. lems. When you race a motorcycle But it was basically the same situayou want things built constantly, tion last year with Marco Lucchinelli and this is one of the problems that being very consistent.' Is there somewe 've had. There's just absolutely thing about Roberto Gallina's team? nothing to this Honda business, not Lucchinelli was never as consistent. a truth. What happens in negotiaHe had a couple of failures last year tions at the end of the year happens, but everybody else had more failures. but right now it 's just absolutely He had a couple of bad races, fell off false. in one when the brakes went out and ch ain problems another race , but I Your contract with Yamaha is a one had a lot of engine problems, had a year contract, right? shock break and stuff like that, so I It always has been. had more problems than he did. This What motivates you more at this yea r Uncini has not had any probstage of your career, money or comlems and we had problems with tires petitive machinery? and then we had a failure in YugoCompetitive mach in ery. One of th e problems that we have had this year slavia which just put us out. One failure and you're out because Uncini is th a t I thought that we needed stuff never missed th e top five. built quicker than I was getting it. A lot of pressure on me because the tires The problems you mentioned, engine wer e a bit of a problem and we were . failures and shock failures. We take it getting beat from all sides: I had to that you're not real happy with the race all th e Yam aha people and all way the program's going and as a the Suzuki people because halfway result of this we've heard rumors that through the year they had already you may be jumping ship to ride for given team orders for Uncini. Honda. I had to race all of them pi us all the I don't know who started that rumor. Yamaha riders, and tr y to sort the tire It 's one of the things that gets written problems out as well as developing a that you have no power over what. new bike. When you get in that posisoever. I have no power over what the tion you start saying " H ey, if I'm press says but I can assure you that I going to do this let's get some help, I have not spoken to Honda and to my need this, I need that, I need this...", knowledge neither has anybody else But that's the .on ly problem that I who works for me. The thing about have had this year was getting the Honda came from comments I made stuff made quick enough for the new about American racing, that was that - bike. there's only two factories racing in You have been quoted as saying your America now for the Grand National Championship, Honda and Harleypreference . for a teammate, rather than an established star like Barry Davidson, and to race for the number Sheene or Graeme Crosby, would bea one plate you'd have to ride for Haryoung and up and coming American ley or for Honda. They took it off that or European rider, the equivalent of I was going to come back to America and race for Honda. And they said an Eddie Lawson or Wayne Rainey. r they phoned America and someone Is that true? told them this big Honda story and Not really. The question that was they put it in the front page. I don't . posed to me was who is a new and up and coming rider and I suggested know who it was, it certainly wasn't anybody from Honda or my people. th ree or four people. Then they wrote in that I would like to see these pea- ' I've had problems with Yamaha before but they're not actually probpie as a teammate. The thing that I T

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