MotoGp – The KR-KTM with only one bike for now

They are not in Sepang for the first winter tests and, for now, it is not known when and where Kenny Roberts' KR-KTM will take to the track. Probably mid-February in Jerez, or we will have to wait for the IRTA tests in Barcelona in March with a "shakedown" in the week before the first collective tests of the season. Kenny Roberts Sr's team doesn't seem to be starting off very well in 2005, even if the double 500cc world champion assures that the project is proceeding quickly for a season that is certainly happier than the one just ended.

The V4 engine made in Mattighofen is already a guarantee: the first tests in Estoril were more than satisfactory (it didn't take much, considering the comparison with the V5 also designed by John Barnard), and there is the certainty of continuous development of KTM.

KTM which should bring Red Bull as a sponsor, albeit in a limited form (a small space on the fairing and in the riders' suits). We will therefore have to look for another great partner, because Proton is no longer willing to continue the adventure with KR (indeed, it has already left).

For a Proton that goes away, there's a Jeremy McWilliams (pictured) that returns. After leaving Aprilia, the Irishman found himself free from any contractual constraints, and so it didn't take him a second to return to "Casa Roberts". With the KR he raced both with the three-cylinder two-stroke (the pole position at Phillip Island in 2002 was memorable, as was the second fastest time in qualifying at the Sachsenring the following season) and with the five-cylinder four-stroke, already found last November in Valencia .

McWilliams is the only rider currently under contract with Kenny Roberts: Nobuatsu Aoki has returned to Suzuki as a test driver (and will contest at least two races in MotoGP as a wild card), while Kurtis Roberts has signed with the Erion Honda team for the AMA Superbikes. Another KR target, Shane Byrne, is very close to the Monstermob team for the British Superbike... and so for now the KR-KTM only has one rider for one bike available...

Alessio Piana