MotoGP – Roberts alarmed: "There's no budget, we might not be there"

News that strikes like a bolt from the blue, even though a distinct alarm bell has been ringing in the background for some time. In the economic crisis that is raging in several private MotoGP teams, with the absence of new sponsors and difficulties in finding a sufficient budget, Kenny Roberts Sr and the entire KR Team risk not being at the start of the 2007 season. At least in some races, waiting for better times and financiers willing to dress the fairings of the KR212V. This was revealed by "The King" himself in an interview given to the American portal Superbikeplanet.com, where all of a sudden he states that the budget for the 2007 season has not been completed and there is 20% still to be covered. This sounds strange considering the initial premises and the reassurances offered by Roberts himself in the recent tests at Losail, where he said he was convinced with the new 800cc powered by Honda that he could "aim for something more than just podiums". Now budget problems arise and even the uncertainty of showing up at the start of the first scheduled test in Qatar. We report here some significant passages, waiting for further news on the matter…

“At the moment we are missing about 20% of the budget to be able to cover the season. We wanted to make a leap in quality this year, and I'm not interested in taking part in the MotoGP by cutting various expenses. We will do the IRTA tests in Jerez, and if there is no news on the matter we might not show up for the first race of the championship. We are in contact with several potential sponsors but no negotiations have been finalized at the moment. We are still paying for KTM's poor choice in 2005, a disaster in every respect. The agreement with Honda was advantageous in terms of performance, less so in terms of economics: their engines are expensive, and for this we need a sponsor. I believe that one cause of this increase in costs comes from the introduction of the 800cc regulation: it forced everyone to study new bikes and this inevitably increased costs. Dorna helped us, they did it for all the smaller teams, but they too have limits. In Jerez we will make a decision, hoping that in the meantime there will be some positive news..."

Alessio Piana