RIVALRIES

BARRY SHEENE KENNY ROBERTS 1978-1982

When Kenny Roberts arrived from the USA in 1978, he was Barry Sheene’s bitter rival on the track. The two had previously crossed swords at the Daytona 200 and the Transatlantic Trophy races, and after Steve Baker had fallen short in 1977, Yamaha replaced him with Roberts to try and topple Britain’s Sheene and Suzuki.

The Brit had previously had two untroubled seasons in 1976 and 1977, dominating both championships, but Roberts represented a whole new proposition, even if he did have to learn all the circuits.

Pat Hennen made the early running before suffering career-ending injuries at the Isle of Man TT, and four wins to Sheene’s two saw Roberts eventually come out on top by 10 points. A year later, the gap was 26 points, and Sheene was back in third, despite Roberts missing the