IN
THE
WIND
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KENNY JR., LUCCHINELLI
TO BE MOTOGP LEGENDS
A
merica's 2000 World 500cc
Champion Kenny Roberts
Jr. and 1981 500cc Champion
Marco Lucchinelli will be named
MotoGP legends in separate
ceremonies, one to be conduct-
ed at Circuit of the Americas,
USA, and the other at Mugello,
Italy, this year.
Roberts Jr. started his career
in the top flight of Grand Prix rac-
ing in 1996, riding for Marlboro
Yamaha. He took his first win at
Sepang in 1999—the first of four
that season—aboard a factory
Suzuki. He would go on to take
another four wins and the 500cc
title the following year in
2000, becoming the only
rider to repeat the success
of his father in securing the
sport's top prize.
Lucchinelli took his title
after a run of five victories
to emerge victorious over
Randy Mamola and Kenny
Roberts Sr.
Roberts Jr. and Lucchinelli
will join fellow MotoGP legends
Giacomo Agostini, Mick Doo-
han, Geoff Duke, Wayne Gard-
ner, Mike Hailwood, Daijiro Kato,
Eddie Lawson, Anton Mang,
Angel Nieto, Wayne Rainey, Phil
Read, Jim Redman, Kenny Rob-
erts Sr., Jarno Saarinen, Kevin
Schwantz, Barry Sheene, Marco
Simoncelli, Freddie Spencer,
Casey Stoner, John Surtees,
Carlo Ubbiali, Nicky Hayden,
Franco Uncini and Alex Crivillé
on the prestigious honor roll. CN
(Left) Kenny Roberts Jr. joins his dad in the
MotoGP Legends ranks. (Right) Lucchinelli,
always a thorn in Kenny Roberts Sr.'s side,
will join the elite group of MotoGP Legends.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX?
D
ucati debuted at the season
opening MotoGP test at
Sepang with a suspicious box
located under the seat of the
Desmosedicis ridden by Jorge
Lorenzo, Andrea Dovizioso, Casey
Stoner and Michelle Pirro. But
what's inside it? The Ducati team
was remaining very tightlipped
about the whole deal, but re-
spected veteran MotoGP journalist
and commentator Mat Oxley has a
theory.
In a story published on British
publication motorsportmagazine.
com, Oxley states the box under
the Desmo's seat could contain
a spinning gyroscope designed
to reduce wheelies, thus mitigat-
ing the loss of the winglets
Ducati developed over the
past couple of seasons that
are now banned in MotoGP.
Oxley's article states that
according to an unnamed en-
gineer he spoke to at the test
"the gyroscope is positioned
in the very center of the bike
as far back as it can possibly go,
which is where it needs to be to
have any effect. It must be heavy
and spin forward at a very fast rate
to affect the attitude of the bike
during acceleration.
The article then goes on to say,
"The gyroscope might work some-
thing like an engine turbocharger,
spinning at an incredibly high rate
(between 80,000 and 200,000
rpm is normal for a turbocharger).
This gyroscope would obviously
do a very different job—spinning
forward to overcome the rearward
rotation of the motorcycle as it
wheelies." CN
Ducati was remaining tightlipped about
just what was in the little black box.
