Kenny Roberts, Jr.

Kenneth Leroy Roberts Jr. (born July 25, 1973, in Mountain View, California) is an American former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who won the 2000 FIM Road Racing World Championship, after finishing runner-up in . Roberts Jr. is an 8-time Premier Class race winner. He joins his father Kenny Roberts as the only father-son duo to have won 500cc World Championships. Roberts was inducted into the F.I.M. MotoGP Hall of Fame in 2017. Career Early years Roberts first raced in the 250cc class at Willow Springs in 1990, winning 5 races in his debut season in road racing. By 1993, he made his World 500cc debut at the Laguna Seca Raceway event, and was a full-time 250cc racer for 1994 and 1995 with the Marlboro-Yamaha team. Team Roberts Roberts moved up to 500cc World Championship racing with Yamaha in 1996. He finished his debut season in 500cc in 13th position overall and Yamaha decided not to renew his contract. He then joined his father's team in 1997, spending two years developing their Modenas two-stroke bike. In those two years, he struggled to get into the top position, finishing 16th and 13th respectively in 1997 and 1998.