Banbury, Oxfordshire – June 18, 2007: Kurtis Roberts will be the sole entry for Team Roberts at this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Donington Park. The team has taken the decision to replace Kenny Roberts JR until the next new chassis is completed, currently being designed and manufactured at the team’s base in Banbury, England.
HM Plant Honda rider Jonathan Rea, originally scheduled to run alongside Kurtis, has become unavailable for this weekend’s event due to a change of strategy by Honda. Jonathan’s recent string of success following his win in the 300km Suzuka event as well as taking his first BSB victory at Mondello Park last Sunday has led to a re-evaluation of Jonathan’s GP debut.
Chuck Aksland: Team Manager
“It’s been a difficult start to the season for all of us. We have found some areas that we hope can improve the chassis side of things, but unfortunately it takes time to design and manufacture the components.
“From Kenny JR’s side, it has been very frustrating, as the fundamentals of the machine seemed fine since we started testing. However, competitive lap times have not been there. He is the same rider who put our bike on the podium twice last year and we thought heading into this season we could do better. For whatever reason we have not. There have been a lot of changes, engine, tire rules, etc. It took some time for us to get the 990 right and we are confident we can bring the 800 around as well. We just need some more time. All we can focus on is what we can control and that is to make the chassis better. Kenny JR has ridden the current spec enough and we decided the best time for him to come back would be when there are new parts available to get the KR212V closer to the front. This next step is targeted for the USGP at Laguna Seca.
“Kurtis has done a good job for us during the last two races and he is improving each time he gets on the bike. Unlike the previous races, he now will have two machines available which will help him gain additional track time.
“It’s unfortunate Jonathan won’t be able to compete with us at Donington. The whole team was looking forward to working with him. He’s had a good run lately and Honda have decided that it is best for him to stick with his current priorities which obviously lie with the British Superbike Championship and Suzuka 8 hour event. Hopefully we can find another opportunity to get him aboard our MotoGP bike in the near future.”