Joe Roberts
Roberts in 2017
NationalityAmerican
Born (1997-06-16) June 16, 1997
Malibu, California, United States
Current teamItaltrans Racing
Bike number16
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Moto2 World Championship
Active years2017–
ManufacturersKalex (2017, 2020–
NTS (2018)
KTM (2019)
2022 championship position9th (131 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
111 1 4 4 1 384.5

Joe Roberts (born June 16, 1997) is an American professional motorcycle racer.[1][2] Roberts competes in the FIM Moto2 World Championship with Italtrans Racing Team aboard a Kalex chassis bike.[3]

Career

Early career

Roberts' introduction to motorcycles was at a young age. He first rode a 50 cc motorcycle just shy of his 4th birthday. Roberts's earliest competition was in youth flat track and Supermoto.[1] From there he transitioned to mini-road racing on kart tracks and then to full sized tracks on a Honda RS125. He competed successfully for two seasons in the USGPRU (United States Grand Prix Racer's Union) finishing 3rd in points in 125GP in 2010. At the end of 2010 he was invited to the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup try-outs for the 2011 season and was one of 12 selected from 100 applicants.

Roberts spent 3 seasons[4] (2011–2013) with the Red Bull Rookies. In his first season he recorded a win and a track record at Brno,[5] a track he had never seen before. He improved his results in 2012 with best finishes of 2nd, 4th, 5th[5] and was one of very few riders to be invited back for a 3rd year in 2013 to ride the new KTM Moto3 bike. Roberts showed good promise on the 4 stroke machine leading races in Jerez, Brno and Silverstone but some bad luck saw him fail to finish a number of races which lowered his final standing. That same year, just 6 days after his 16th birthday, he competed back in the US in the AMA aboard a Honda CBR600RR, recording a sensational double win at Barber Motorsports,[6] setting a record for the youngest win in AMA Pro Road racing. He won again at Laguna Seca and scored another double win at Miller Motorsports Park,[7] thereby scoring 5 wins from the 5 AMA races he entered.

In 2014 he returned full-time to the US to ride for Team Hammer[8] in AMA Daytona Sportbike on a Honda CBR600RR. However, the combination of an uncompetitive package and some injuries meant he wasn't able to continue his run of success from 2013. For 2015, Roberts returned to his winning ways aboard a Yamaha R6 in the new AMA/FIM MotoAmerica Stock600 class with 9 wins and a 2nd from 11 starts, sealing the championship at Laguna Seca,[9] before the final round of the series at New Jersey, where he moved up to the Supersport class.[10] There, he dominated practice and qualifying, had a runaway victory in Race 1 and finished a close second in Race 2. Finishing 3rd in Superprestigio in Las Vegas at the end of the year. 2016 saw him compete in AMA/MotoAmerica Supersport[11] on a Yamaha R6 where he climbed the podium 3 times and scored 3 pole positions. He was unfortunately forced to miss several races due to injury.[12]

Moto2 World Championship

AGR Team (2017)

2017

In 2017 Roberts returned to Europe[13] to compete in the FIM CEV Moto2 class with the AGRteam. Mid-year due to his strong performance on the Kalex machine, he was invited by AGR to join the World Championship Moto2[14] team and made a sensational debut in Brno coming from 29th on the grid to finish 10th[15] in his first race at the world level.

NTS RW Racing GP (2018)

2018

In 2018, he competed in Moto2 riding for NTS Racing GP.

American Racing (2019–2020)

2019

From 2019 season, Roberts riding for the American Racing.

2020

In 2020 Roberts qualified on pole position at the opening round of the season, becoming the first American rider to do so since Ben Spies at the 2010 Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix and the first one in Moto2 since Kenny Noyes at the 2010 French motorcycle Grand Prix. He finished the race in fourth, after never having finished better than 13th over the previous two seasons. He would qualify for pole again in the fourth round and finished the race in third, becoming the first American driver on the podium since Spies at the 2011 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix and the first in mid class since John Kocinski at the 1993 Dutch TT. A documentary was made by Dorna following Roberts and American Racing titled Behind The Stars And Stripes.

After the 2020 season Roberts was seen as a hot commodity in the Grand Prix World Championship. Roberts was offered not only deals with multiple front running teams on the Moto2 grid but was even offered a MotoGP ride with Aprilia to partner Aleix Espargaro in 2021, a move that was endorsed not only by Roberts manager and American Racing team principal Eitan Butbul but also his mentor John Hopkins and was even endorsed by Espargaro himself.[16][17]

Italtrans Racing Team (2021–2023)

2021

Roberts ultimately declined the offer to move up to MotoGP for Aprilia upon consulting with Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso and instead chose to race for Italtrans Racing Team, whom Moto2 series champion Enea Bastianini raced for before moving up to MotoGP himself.[18][19]

Italtrans Racing announced on September 27, 2021, that they had resigned Roberts for another season.[20] Roberts suffered a broken collarbone at Misano on October 22, 2021, and underwent surgery the following Tuesday, forcing him to miss the last two rounds of the 2021 season.[21]

Return to American Racing (2024)

American Racing Team announced a deal with Joe Roberts for the 2024 Moto2 season. The Malibu rider returns to the team that led him to make his debut in the world championship.[22]

Career statistics

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pos Pts
2011 SPA1
12		 SPA2
9		 POR1
11		 POR2
5		 GBR1
16		 GBR2
14		 NED1
13		 NED2
15		 ITA
16		 GER1
17		 GER2
Ret		 CZE1
1		 CZE2
12		 RSM
13		 12th 65
2012 SPA1
7		 SPA2
Ret		 POR1
9		 POR2
5		 GBR1
11		 GBR2
12		 NED1
4		 NED2
12		 GER1
13		 GER2
11		 CZE1
11		 CZE2
2		 RSM
12		 ARA1
8		 ARA2
13		 9th 101
2013 AME1
NC		 AME2
Ret		 JER1
7		 JER2
10		 ASS1
5		 ASS2
9		 SAC1
Ret		 SAC2
11		 BRN
4		 SIL1
Ret		 SIL2
Ret		 MIS
7		 ARA1
Ret		 ARA2
Ret		 14th 60

FIM CEV Moto2 European Championship

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pos Pts
2017 Kalex ALB
8		 CAT1
6		 CAT2
2		 VAL1
Ret		 VAL2
4		 EST1
11		 EST2
3		 JER
6		 ARA1
4		 ARA2
Ret		 VAL
3		 5th 111

MotoAmerica Superbike Championship

By season

Season Class Motorcycle Race Win Podium Pts Plcd
2015 Stock600 Yamaha 11 9 11 N/A 1st
2016 SSP Yamaha N/A N/A N/A 142 6th

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

Season Class Motorcycle Team Race Win Podium Pole FLap Pts Plcd
2017 Moto2 Kalex AGR Team 5 0 0 0 0 6 30th
2018 Moto2 NTS NTS RW Racing GP 18 0 0 0 0 5 27th
2019 Moto2 KTM American Racing 18 0 0 0 0 4 28th
2020 Moto2 Kalex American Racing 15 0 1 3 0 94 7th
2021 Moto2 Kalex Italtrans Racing Team 16 0 0 0 0 59 13th
2022 Moto2 Kalex Italtrans Racing Team 20 1 2 0 1 131 9th
2023 Moto2 Kalex Italtrans Racing Team 19 0 1 1 0 85.5* 13th*
Total 111 1 4 4 1 384.5

By class

Class Seasons 1st GP 1st Pod 1st Win Race Win Podiums Pole FLap Pts WChmp
Moto2 2017–present 2017 Czech Republic 2020 Czech Republic 2022 Portugal 111 1 4 4 1 384.5 0
Total 2017–present 111 1 4 4 1 384.5 0

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pos Pts
2017 Moto2 Kalex QAT ARG AME SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER CZE
10		 AUT
19		 GBR
21		 RSM
Ret		 ARA
26		 JPN AUS MAL VAL 30th 6
2018 Moto2 NTS QAT
25		 ARG
25		 AME
23		 SPA
Ret		 FRA
19		 ITA
14		 CAT
22		 NED
21		 GER
22		 CZE
18		 AUT
19		 GBR
C		 RSM
16		 ARA
24		 THA
13		 JPN
18		 AUS
18		 MAL
18		 VAL
Ret		 27th 5
2019 Moto2 KTM QAT
22		 ARG
22		 AME
Ret		 SPA
20		 FRA
14		 ITA
Ret		 CAT
20		 NED
14		 GER
25		 CZE
DNS		 AUT
21		 GBR
22		 RSM
16		 ARA
30		 THA
Ret		 JPN
18		 AUS
16		 MAL
19		 VAL
18		 28th 4
2020 Moto2 Kalex QAT
4		 SPA
17		 ANC
17		 CZE
3		 AUT
10		 STY
12		 RSM
10		 EMI
Ret		 CAT
5		 FRA
6		 ARA
8		 TER
10		 EUR
Ret		 VAL
11		 POR
7		 7th 94
2021 Moto2 Kalex QAT
6		 DOH
Ret		 POR
4		 SPA
8		 FRA
Ret		 ITA
4		 CAT
10		 GER
Ret		 NED
Ret		 STY
Ret		 AUT
16		 GBR
10		 ARA
13		 RSM
23		 AME
18		 EMI
DNS		 ALR
24		 VAL
DNS		 13th 59
2022 Moto2 Kalex QAT
8		 INA
11		 ARG
13		 AME
8		 POR
1		 SPA
8		 FRA
7		 ITA
2		 CAT
Ret		 GER
13		 NED
8		 GBR
7		 AUT
14		 RSM
9		 ARA
9		 JPN
12		 THA
8‡		 AUS
Ret		 MAL
Ret		 VAL
15		 9th 131
2023 Moto2 Kalex POR
14		 ARG
14		 AME
16		 SPA
14		 FRA
12		 ITA
12		 GER
Ret		 NED
18		 GBR
4		 AUT
Ret		 CAT
11		 RSM
8		 IND
3		 JPN
12		 INA
9		 AUS
5‡		 THA
Ret		 MAL
8		 QAT
11		 VAL
8		 13th 93.5

‡ Half points awarded as less than two thirds (2022 Thai GP)/less than half (2023 Australian GP) of the race distance (but at least three full laps) was completed.

References

  1. 1 2 "Profile: MotoAmerica Supersport Racer Joe Roberts". Sport Rider. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  2. ↑ Sports, Dorna. "Introducing Joe Roberts: the new American on the block". www.motogp.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Moto2: American Joe Roberts Will Race Full-Time In 2018 World Championship (Updated)". www.roadracingworld.com. September 25, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  4. ↑ Cup, Red Bull MotoGP Rookies. "Joe Roberts | Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup". Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Aitken-Cade, Stewart (March 15, 2018). "USGPRU > Rider Profile: Joe Roberts". usgpru.net. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  6. ↑ "16-Year-Old Roberts Sweeps Barber AMA SuperSport Round". Ultimate Motorcycling. June 24, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  7. ↑ "MotoAmerica Sunday Race Report From Miller Motorsports Park". Motorcyclist. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Joe Roberts Signs With Team Hammer for 2014 - Cycle News". Cycle News. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Joe Roberts Crowned Champion At Laguna Seca - Cycle News". Cycle News. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Meen Yamaha Rider Joe Roberts Conquers Supersport Class – MotoAmerica". motoamerica.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  11. ↑ "MotoAmerica 2016 Season Finale Race Results and New Champions". Motorcyclist. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Injuries Will Keep Joe Roberts Out Of MotoAmerica Action This Weekend At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca". www.roadracingworld.com. July 8, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  13. ↑ "American Joe Roberts Interview: "Moto2 Is The Hardest Championship In The World" | MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks". motomatters.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  14. ↑ "American Joe Roberts Promoted To AGR Moto2 World Championship Team". www.roadracingworld.com. July 26, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  15. ↑ "American Joe Roberts Scores Top-10 Finish In Moto2 Debut At Brno". Cycle World. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  16. ↑ McLaren, Peter (November 20, 2020). "Portimao MotoGP: Joe Roberts 'good option for future' as Aprilia rumours grow". Crash.com. Crash Media Group.
  17. ↑ "Joe Roberts "on the list" for Aprilia in 2021". MotoGP.com. Dorna.
  18. ↑ Racing, American (October 15, 2020). "Moto2: Joe Roberts Signs With ItalTrans Racing For 2021". Road Racing.com. Road Racing. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  19. ↑ Patterson, Simon. "MANAGER DISAPPOINTED IN ROBERTS FOR REJECTING APRILIA OFFER". The Race. The Race Media.
  20. ↑ Carruthers, Paul (September 27, 2021). "JOE ROBERTS RENEWS MOTO2 DEAL WITH ITALTRANS RACING". MotoAmerica.com. MotoAmerica. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  21. ↑ Swarts, David (October 25, 2021). "Moto2 Roberts Undergoes Successful Surgery on Broken Collarbone". Road Racing World & Motorcycle Technology. Road Racing World Publishing. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Joe Roberts returns to American Racing for 2024 Moto2™ season". Dorna Sports. August 31, 2023.
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