Now that it is official that Kenny Roberts will not return to the Suzuki MotoGP team next year, what will he do? We don’t know, but we have an opinion as to what he should do. He should be back in MotoGP in 2006 — perhaps on a satelite team’s Honda (Honda currently has seven bikes in MotoGP).
I am reminded not only of Roberts 2000 500 GP championship, but his race at Motegi that year. He not only won the race, he was in that zone where he was inch perfect from start to finish. I remember Mick Doohan (then an observer rather than a competitor) telling Roberts after the race that it was a “perfect race” or words to that effect. One perfectionist praising another.
We all know that Roberts struggled with Suzuki thereafter, but he always seemed to retain his incredible skills — displayed more than once this year (particularly, in the wet). At 32 years old, Roberts is still physically capable of being competitive in MotoGP. I say give him one of those seven Hondas next year, and let’s see what he can do!
