Why Roberts’ Brilliant Performance Should Get Him The Sack
[by Michelle Dove]Thursday, July 28th, 2005 at 12:47 pmPaul Denning commented in November last year that one of his main tasks ahead of the 2005 season was to get Kenny Roberts Jr motivated by putting a better bike under him, but stated that “obviously the effort and commitment has to come from him”.
At Donington on Sunday, Kenny Roberts once again proved that he has got what it takes to get great results. But, what he also proved is that he only rides to his full potential when he is up there racing with the best riders.
If Paul Denning wants Kenny Roberts to perform like this in every race he needs to be able to immediately stick a bike under him that will enable him to be up there with the ‘quick crew’ every time. It seems like Kenny only performs well when the mood takes him and there is no therapeutic magic motivation technique that will make him any different. Why, then, is he still holding onto him?
Denning has the awareness that when Kenny is at his best he really is “something special”, and may feel that this is worth holding on to, but have Suzuki got the time, money or patience to wait for that “something special” to only come around once every so often?
I don’t think the real problem here is Kenny’s so called ‘lack of motivation’. A rider should not have to make the effort to be more motivated. It should come naturally. Kenny Roberts’ talent only comes naturally when he is in with a certain crowd, and Suzuki at present is not providing him with the right equipment in order for this to happen.
I think the real problem is Paul Denning’s pipe dream that he can mould Kenny into performing the same way that he did when he was World Champion 5 years ago. This will not happen on a bike that does not live up to Kenny Robert’s standards. Denning needs to stop thinking in terms of how he can motivate Kenny Roberts and start thinking about what is happening now.
Language such as ‘making the effort’, ‘trying hard’, and ‘having the motivation’ only cloud the real issues. If a rider needs to consciously do any of these things, then he might as well throw his gloves in and give up racing altogether. As long as Denning uses this kind of talk to describe what Hopkins has lots of, and what Kenny is lacking in, he can convince himself that Kenny will eventually perform.
Kenny Roberts is not the type of rider that gets satisfaction from what, for him, might as well be called a test drive for Suzuki, and no ‘how to get motivated’ instruction manual is going to change this. He has the talent, but only uses it when it suits him. Paul Denning needs to face up to this, get rid of him, let him go spread his wings elsewhere, and get another rider in better suited for the job.
July 28th, 2005 at 4:45 pm
…get another rider in better suited for the job.
He did, and his name is John. If John can ride a crap bike better than Kenny, what does that say? That John has more motivation, or is better at setup? Or that Kenny is so disgruntled he isn’t riding to his full potential?
-jim
July 28th, 2005 at 6:36 pm
Kenny is a primadona. ’nuff said
and i totally agree with Jim. Hopper is ridiculously motivated and donington was excellent proof of that. riding with a misted visor, misted so bad he missed a corner and ran off. then he goes back to the pits, gets the bike fixed up and goes back out.
and not to mention that this was the first time this year that hopper did not place better than roberts.
July 28th, 2005 at 11:23 pm
And coming next year…. Big Brother: MotoGP. Your chance to vote Kenny off the Island!
July 29th, 2005 at 10:51 am
If hopkins could ride a crap bike better than Kenny, then Denning would be laughing. Hopkins is like the goody goody grade A kid at school that always gets his homework in on time. On the whole Hopkins is the better student. Kenny is like the kid who hates school and never works, but the teachers have a soft spot for him because when a subject does take his fancy, his work is a cut above the rest. Kenny is the better rider, Hopkins is the better student. It is about what would be more more productive for the team. Two of Hopkins or one of Kenny??
Big Brother has spoken:)
July 29th, 2005 at 4:19 pm
What good does riding a bike 101% when the bike’ potential is only 7th place or so? Kenny is heavier than other riders, has one title under his belt for extra cushion and has a father who is a legend. John has none of this. He’s fighting a war out there and he has an internal fire that feeds him, pushes him forward and to go out and takes whatever is given. Both guys on Hondas, for a starters? Or Ducs? And traction control for sure. The second place came without traction control.
If I was Denning I wold ask for better bikes, if something. More commitment from factory - look what they did for 2005, the Suzu Superbikes are flying. I bet they would be faster if you make them as light as the MotoGP bikes are, with carbon disks and everything.
July 29th, 2005 at 7:52 pm
If anything will say anything about Hopper tomorrow, he apparently suffered a heavy crash during his fastest lap in FP2 today, suffering some injuries which put tomorrows race in doubt. More here:
http://www.motogp.com/en/motogp/news_info/news_info_14867_1.htm?menu=home
Let’s see what Johns made of….
-jim
July 29th, 2005 at 7:55 pm
More commitment from factory - look what they did for 2005, the Suzu Superbikes are flying. I bet they would be faster if you make them as light as the MotoGP bikes are, with carbon disks and everything.
If you look at the times from the USGP weekend , Mladins fastest AMA SBK race lap was faster than KR Jr’s fastest MotoGP race lap.
That’s gotta hurt.
-jim
July 29th, 2005 at 9:16 pm
tires are probably different ones, too. Oh boy, oh boy
July 29th, 2005 at 10:44 pm
ouch michelle, Ouch with a capital O
i love this article, and i love the way you think, but i think that hopper has yet to be utilized properly.
i don’t think i was implying that he’s a BETTER rider thank KR (although i do think so), but he has a lot more heart, and that can take you a long long way.
i really hope he’s not too badly hurt.
July 30th, 2005 at 10:47 am
yes, but I am not disputing the position of hopkins. It is kenny I have thrown into the dock! I am questionning whether Suzuki are better off with or without Kenny.
July 30th, 2005 at 10:55 am
Better with. I do belive that when Suzu delivers the bike, Kenny delivers.
July 31st, 2005 at 6:24 am
I will agree to disagree. Kenny said in a recent interview (paraphrased) that if he’d had the opportunity to sign a contract in the late 90’s to race a for a team that could get him just one world championship and that was it he would have signed it, no matter the results after the win.
Strangely enough, so far that is exactly what has happened. I’m not saying Kenny is a no talent git. I’m saying he isn’t fighting his team hard enough to make them give him a bike that will allow him to compete, and he isn’t as motivated as Hopper to do so.
That’s kinda hard to argue against.
-jim
July 31st, 2005 at 7:25 am
Hopkins isn’t out in warmup. Not a good sign….
-jim
July 31st, 2005 at 7:40 am
I take that back, he just came out late and ripped off a nice lap. 3 Minutes left in warmup and *everybody* is sandbagging. This should be fun.
Top Ten in MGP Warmup:
Melandri 1:23.867
Checa
Capirossi
Barros
Gibernau
Rossi
Hayden
Nakano
Hoffman
Bayliss
Compare that with Haydens 1:22.785 with a “Q” in QP and things get interesting indeed. I don’t have the energy to stay up and watch, it’s nearly 1 a.m. here in California. Enjoy, and we’ll make more stories up in the morning.
Cheers,
-jim
July 31st, 2005 at 7:49 am
no worries, have a nice sleep. I’ll record the Eurosport version as well, so you have plenty to watch
July 31st, 2005 at 10:05 am
I decided to stay up. It’s 3 a.m. here in the the States, and I mowed the 1 acre lawn last night at 9 p.m. with the temperature still at 95 F, so I figure I’ve done my weekend chores. If I have to sleep until noon tomorrow, so be it. It’s too bad the 125’s were red-flagged so early though as I was was looking for tha to keep me coherent for at least a few hours….
Nonetheless, I have a nice cool pool handy and BBQ planned tomorrow. I’m thinking bacon-wrapped filet mignons, sweet white local corn cooked in then husk after a rub with honey buter and maybe some bleu chese stuffed burgers. Yum.
:)
-jim
August 1st, 2005 at 12:51 am
and you didn’t invite me?
August 1st, 2005 at 3:29 am
Anytime you’re willing to drive to Fair Oaks, Ca. the invite is always open. Same for the Ro2 girls.
-jim
August 1st, 2005 at 12:09 pm
why thankyou…now that would be interesting, I’m sure there would be a few heated debates or should I say ‘discussions’ during a night like this!!
August 2nd, 2005 at 6:50 am
oooh what I’d give for some summer weather and a BBQ right now. Damn Southern Hemisphere.