Kurtis Roberts to race 500 GP

As hard as Kurtis usually pushes, you're probably right.

I think he is going to push too hard on the brakes. Dunlops save much ass on the brakes, ask ben bostrom and haga. $50 bucks says he loses it on the brakes.

Come on. He knows how to race. Unless he gets overexcited and loses his cool, which is unlikely, he's out to see what he can do and what the bike feel like to him, not win the race. I think if anything, the Roberts family is all about being smooth and controllable, which got Kenny Jr. the number 1 plate last season. A friend of mine was hanging out at a recent AFM weekend at Sears Point and met Roberts-the-grandpa. The man used to race Indians. He talked about how aggressive Jr. used to be when he was 17 and look at him now! They all obviously have the talent and I think are just as capable of using their brains too. I wish Kurtis the best of luck and am very excited to see the brothers on the same circuit.

high-side...front-end...high-side...front-end? Hell, I bet he loses the front-end, returns later and high-sides.



I'm a fan of the whole Roberts bunch, but as Momma says, without Dunlops to slide around on Kurtis could be picking gravel out of his teeth all weekend. Can't wait for tape delayed, Dorna approved, action!

Man, you guys are harsh. I'm guessing that Kurtis is there to impress, and while that means pushing hard, and thus an increased likelyhood of crashing, I'm guessing that tossing daddy's multi-million dollar toy into the barrier at 160mph right in front of daddy's sponsors isn't the best impression he could make... and he knows that.



Does anybody know if Kurtis will be replacing v.d.Goorbergh at the Malaysian round or running an additional bike?

Hmmm... I recall a comment to that effect, but I thought he was just being realistic... meaning that if he wanted to win, he had to make that pass, so he went for it, but the location of the other riders meant that if he screwed it up, the reality was that they were all going to end up crashing.



I didn't take it mean that his plan was to take the others out if he couldn't win.



But maybe that's just me being naive...

Hmmm... could this come down to a Roberts vs. Bostrom class in a few years??? My money is on the Bostrom brothers.

Kurtis Roberts to race 500 GP crashathon

We all know how Kurtis likes to over-ride a bike, like he did last year. All the superbike races that he praticed and qualified for, he was up front, but he crashed the RC51 each time. A change to Bibs is a big one. I can't tell much difference but the pros say it's a big difference when it comes to getting away with sliding. Anyway, even though I think he will curl that bike up in a knot, I hope the best for him because I want American riders to rule once again in GP racing.

Well if he had to make that move to win, and if he was to screw up (not make the pass), the other riders were goingto crash. Sure he wasn't just thinking that he was going to win, or take them out.



The real problem was making that comment to the media. I'm sure his dad told him something like, "Don't ever make a comment like that. Just say it was a tough pass, but I was confident I could make it."

He's gonna bin it, no doubt. Or else score a no-point finish. :-(



And the vd Goorbergh bit is what I want to know too. Can't KR sr bare it he's riding a 2002 NSR500 next year?

Michelins simply suck, so he's gonna bin it, bad.

Personally, I think Kurtis is a rockhead and a spoiled brat riding on his family name. He may have inherited some amount of talent but not enough to really be a great rider. I bet if you put some privateers on his machinery they'd be running up front, too. But it's the bonehead passes he makes that leave me unimpressed. In a 600SS race earlier this year he crashed John Hopkins by flying into a turn, already crowded by six or seven riders, and trying to back it in under Hopkins. Roberts hit Hopkins and they both crashed with Hopkins out and Roberts able to continue the race. I understand winning means taking some risks, but the risks he takes with the safety of others and his own personal safety just leaves him a wannabe. But that's just my opinion.

It's not just your opinion, it's accurate, insightfull, and on-the-money truthful (in my opinion!).

Many of his way too aggressive and downright dangerously selfish moves in 600 Supersport are etched in peoples minds, and by now he's earned the reputation he deserves. If he tries any of the same crap in a 500GP, the consequenses will be very costly indeed- in more ways than just dollars.

It'll be interesting either way...maybe he'll surprise everyone and show some maturity and judgement.

Agreed, I didn't get the feeling there was anything "malicious" about it, just wreckless.



Presonnaly, I've just never liked him. No real reason, just one of those instant decisions.



Mac

I have to agree that Kurtis often rides beyond his ability and endangers other riders.

An amusing Kurtis story:



At Pikes Peak this year Kurtis crashed his 600 in Turn 7 coming onto the front straight. The crowd cheered. Through some stupid AMA rule he was able to get back into the race w/o losing any positions after a re-start. He then crashed in the same spot. The crowd cheered again.

funny, i feel the same about you asssmomac. dunno why, i just do. one of those "instant decisions"