Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1514840
Anthony Gobert Passes A nthony Gobert has passed away follow- ing a short battle with an illness. He was 48. A short Facebook post from Anthony's mother, Sue, read, "My heart is breaking as I write this as my first-born beautiful son Anthony has passed late this afternoon. I loved him from the mo - ment he was born until the day I die. At times, he was challenging, to say the least, but he always had a kind heart and cared for everyone. Sadly, he was a victim of addiction, which runs deeply in our families. He tried many times to get better, but he couldn't quite make it. I am so proud of him and thank all those good people who added to his life. You know who you are." Gobert was widely regarded as one of the most talented riders of his generation, having claimed numerous motocross and supercross titles in his native Australia before claiming the 1994 Austra - lian Superbike Championship for Winfield Honda at his first attempt in what would turn out to be his only major road racing title. He burst onto the WorldSBK scene that same year, winning the second race at Phillip Island as a wildcard for Muzzy Kawasaki, the team he would stay at for the next two seasons before switching to Lucky Strike Suzuki for an ill-fated 1997 season in which he would lose his ride by testing positive for marijuana. Gobert then spent the next eight seasons racing in the United States for teams such as Vance & Hines Ducati, the factory Yamaha team and Erion Honda, as well as a short stint back in WorldSBK in 2000 on the factory Bimota and re - turned to Australia after a DUI charge in Huntington Beach in 2005. Gobert raced sporadi - cally in Australia until the end of 2007 and after several high-profile run- ins with the law, disap - peared from public life in 2008. A slew of distasteful social media videos re - cently emerged, showing Gobert almost unrecog- nizable to the racer every- one knew and caused the Gobert family great pain, especially as he was go - ing through treatment for his eventually fatal illness at the time. Paul Carruthers was editor of Cycle News during the Anthony Gobert American years and remembers his countryman fondly. "As the editor of Cycle News back when An - thony Gobert arrived on the scene, I was there for all of his victories and all of his off-track problems," Carruthers says. "I remember covering the opening round of the 1998 AMA Superbike Championship at Phoenix International Raceway and what would be Anthony's first AMA Superbike victory. The win came at the expense of his rival and countryman Mat Mladin with the pair battling together out front for the majority of the race. "The press conferences were electric back then with the media more nervous than the riders, thanks mainly to Mladin's take-no-nonsense ap - proach. The pair of Aussies obviously respected WIND IN THE P28 Anthony Gobert has passed away in Australia. He was 48.