Rennie Scaysbrook | April 26, 2020
It’s been a decade since an American was on pole in Moto2, then Joe Roberts blew everyone away at the season opening Grand Prix at Qatar. We spoke to him to see how life is going, quarantine style.
Definitely the coolest helmet on the grid! Joe Roberts put the Stars and Stripes back at the front of Grand Prix racing in Qatar.
Photography by Gold & Goose
Imagine putting in the performance of your career and then having all the fun suddenly stop. That’s what happened to Californian Joe Roberts, who surprised everyone with an exceptional performance in the opening round of the 2020 Moto2 World Championship by claiming a maiden pole position and racing to an ultra-close fourth-place finish, by far his best result at world level.
With the Covid-19 virus halting the MotoGP circus, Roberts finds himself at home in Los Angeles, a caged animal hungry for more racing and especially, more time at the front of a Grand Prix.
We caught up with him during the first Cycle News Live broadcast to see how he’s getting on.
For the full-length interview, check out the video below, which was streamed live on Apr 14, 2020:
VIDEO | Cycle News Interviews American Moto2 Star Joe Roberts
It must be a pretty strange time for you because you have set the grand prix paddock alight with an incredible turnaround performance, really, and then you’ve had to put the brakes on.
Yeah. It’s a really weird time, for sure. I was expecting to be doing back-to-back races and getting on with it and having a really good start to the year. We already had a great one, but it’s a funny time for sure. It’s the same thing for everybody, right? In the end, I think we’ll be fine. The speed will still be there.
Last year you scored four points. This year you scored 13 already.
It doesn’t make sense, does it?
Roberts flanked by the American Racing Team after taking pole in Qatar.
That’s a huge turnaround. What was it that lit the fuse under you?
It is a lot of things, honestly. A lot has changed this year. I have a good, solid team around me now. I’ve got a great new bike as well (switching from KTM to Kalex), which has won the championship many times.
I think that is something I was always struggling with, that feeling that I didn’t have the bike exactly where I wanted it. So now when I’m on the bike I actually feel like I can ride like myself again and do the things that I want to on a bike.
Even in Jerez [preseason test] we had a really good start, but it wasn’t like I lit up the whole test. It was just kind of getting things started. Once we got to Qatar I kind of knew we could do something really great. The feeling I had on the bike, turning in the corners and stuff, it was pretty sick. It was turning how I wanted it to, how I’ve always wanted a bike to turn.
I think once you have that aspect, but then you also have a whole team around you that’s just giving you the great feeling. I have a new crew chief this year. I just feel really lucky to have all those guys, honestly. It’s just really such a cool bunch of people and I think the positivity that’s going around in the team is being complemented by the results, too.
And I have John Hopkins [rider coach] around, too. That’s been nice to have him there, even if it’s just we’re working together we’re still also really good friends. It’s nice to have him around and a familiar American face, an American voice.
Roberts’ allegiance with former MotoGP podium finisher John Hopkins has been instrumental in his progress.
How did John’s input change your approach to racing?
I think the fact was that I didn’t know if I could do it anymore. I think I reached a point after two hard seasons that I was struggling with my confidence and especially after last year because I expected to be doing what I’m doing this year.
When we didn’t achieve that, I think it created some doubts for me. I even said to John before the start of this year, I was like, “if I have another year like last year…”
I think the real highlight of what John has done for me is just what he said, “there’s no way in hell that’s going to happen. No.” It was always a definite no, that it’s going to be a great year.
So, when there’s no slippage in the words of, “Well, maybe it could be if you don’t do this right.” It’s just always, “Yes, it’s going to be great.” There’s no bullshit in your head. You’re always there. Even when we got to the test, I had worked with John in the off-season doing supermoto and flat track and some training, but we hadn’t got to the real deal which was the first test of the season in Jerez.
I remember me and him met up in Barcelona. I was already there and he flew in from L.A. We flew together to Seville. It was nice, just me and him hanging out.
We had a really funny night in Jerez. We’re both from California and we’re both obsessed with Mexican food, and the one thing about living in Europe is there’s no good Mexican food anywhere. I’m always on the search for good tacos or a burrito or something.
As soon as we got to Jerez, John said to me, “There was this one place here that had this amazing Mexican food. Like, the best. They made this homemade guac and everything.”
So, he thought he had found the place. We get there and it was disgusting. The chicken was gray. The tortillas tasted moldy. John threw up walking outside. We took a bite and we were out of there. We were just dying laughing. I think that set the tone for our relationship. It was fun from there on out. I honestly need that.
I think if I look back on all my years of racing, I’ve done my best when I’ve kept it the most fun and the most relaxed. I’m here to race a bike and here to win and kick ass but have fun doing it. I think when you go to the world level, especially being the American, it starts to get really serious quite quickly. You’re always looking to the next step, which is MotoGP, or what’s expected of me to get there.
The 2015 MotoAmerica Superstock 600 Championship win was capped off by winning the Supersport race as a wildcard in New Jersey that same year.
I think you start to lose sight of what’s the really important thing, which is just I’m living the dream, traveling around the world. I’m with people that all love this too, which is something that I think people don’t always pay attention to—the fact that every single person in the paddock is there because they love the sport and have loved it since they were a kid. We all have this common reality. Once you start to understand that and embrace that fact, you start to lose the expectation in all of that and just have fun with it.
I think that’s something that with John it helped me to realize, and my crew chief, Lucio Nicastro, as well. I don’t want to leave him out because he also did a really good job with that, keeping it really fun and not letting my head get too big after the pole lap or things like that. It was always on a mutual level. That’s the nice thing about it for sure. Talking about this, I want to be racing right now. I wish I was racing.
Roberts ran with Dutch team RW Racing on the Japanese NTS chassis in 2018.
Why did you change crew chiefs?
Inside the team, it’s changed a lot. We have a new chief data analyst, Nicholas Reyniar, who’s a super cool guy and very knowledgeable. He Worked for Tech 3 for a long time. He kind of overlooks both riders [teammate Marcos Ramirez] as far as on the data.
That’s been quite nice because takes it pressure off both teams because they can kind of go to somebody to help. I think that’s one thing that’s been really nice. Then I changed my crew chief from last year to this year. One thing I really liked about Lucio and one of the reasons I really wanted him on board was because statistically he had given every rider he had worked with their best season. I thought, there’s obviously something he’s doing right if every rider who has come to him, and all riders have all sorts of different mentalities and ways of working, but they all had their best seasons with him. So, I thought, wow, that’s pretty awesome. I should have him on board. I need my best season. Another thing was he had given Chaz Davies and Sam Lowes a World Championship in Supersport. So, I thought that was pretty sweet. Also, he had worked with English-speaking riders which is something to consider as well. You got to have a good understanding with language because I don’t speak Italian.
How’s your Spanish?
It’s getting better. Don’t ask me to say anything.
You’ve been in Europe now for a few years. This is your second time there as well. You were there as a kid. And when I say kid, you really were a kid. What were you? 12, 11 or something when you first went over?
I was 13 when I first got accepted to the Red Bull Rookies Cup to do racing.
A baby-faced Roberts takes the win in the Red Bull Rookies Cup race at Brno in 2011.
How has it been different the second time around? How has it been in terms of living in Europe, dealing with that kind of pressure?
This year I haven’t had the chance to live in Europe really because obviously of everything that’s been going on with the coronavirus. I would say there’s ups and downs to it. I think when the racing is down, the living situation can be quite down.
I had this house right near the Barcelona track and it was pretty secluded. I moved there because there was a guy I was working with that had a bunch of bikes you could rent from them. It was more cost-efficient than buying all my own bikes and stuff. There was a lot of tracks around there. A lot of riders live in Barcelona.
But I found it quite difficult being there because I was living alone. You start to feel a little isolated sometimes, especially when things aren’t going great. You start to feel a bit lonely and you’re always FaceTiming home. It was like I was living on the moon or something.
I was never really embracing the culture or anything. But towards the end of last year I really started making a lot of friends. I started doing trips around. I did this trip in the summer break last year. I did this trip from Barcelona. I drove all the way to San Sebastian, Bilbao. Then I drove down to Galicia to where Edgar Pons lives. It was a van trip, so I slept in the van. I love surfing too, so I brought my surfboard. We just surfed in Galicia and then drove down to Portugal and surfed there. Honestly that’s probably my fondest memory about being out in Europe. You travel around on airplanes and hotels, you get in a whole routine, and then something just doing it in a van and drive around and sleeping in little campsites and stuff, I loved it. I really did. That aspect is so cool. Portugal is a really nice place.
Chilling with good friend Edgar Pons on the Portuguese coast. Embracing the European culture has greatly improved Roberts’ love for the job of racing.
Is there any area with you or the bike you still feel needs improving? Are you able to still train on a bike at least with everything that’s just going on now?
I haven’t been able to train on a bike actually. I heard maybe there was a track open, but it’s hard to know what is acceptable right now. As far as what I could improve, I didn’t win the race, right? I finished fourth. So, there’s obviously stuff to improve on. I think if I look back on the race, I think the last five laps I could have taken more out of. I could have taken a little bit more advantage out of it. I didn’t expect the guys to take that next step again. I think that’s all part of learning. I hadn’t run up in the front of a Moto2 race ever. So, I think for me, once we get racing again, I’ll put more attention on those last five laps for sure.
They really did kick it up a notch. But you hung in there. It wasn’t like they dropped you or anything. It just seems like they had this tiny last little tenth or so.
Yeah. I had my attention on the front tire basically because we were one of three riders that went with the harder front. Basically, on the left side it was getting cold and I was starting to lose the front. I was a little nervous about what the condition was. On the last lap I made a big push to get the podium and basically figured out that I had to change the line in the left-hand corners a bit. The right-hand corners I could just do exactly the same because it had plenty of heat. I think I set my personal best time on the last lap or something. It was actually quite frustrating. It’s frustrating to see that as a rider. You’re like, damn it. I could have done that the whole race.
Valencia, 2019, and Roberts wrings everything out of the recalcitrant KTM chassis for the last time.
How do you find the new three-cylinder format compared to the old four-cylinder format of the CBR models?
I like it a lot, actually. I think at first it was something to get used to. We have auto-blip now, whereas I think the Moto2 bikes were a lot more simple. They didn’t have really any electronics. It was just when you go into the corner you would use the clutch to backshift. It would have this clutch where you didn’t have to lift the throttle, so you’d get these crazy slides. It was definitely a rider’s bike. It eliminated all the extra electronic aids and things that maybe if you’re not so savvy with that stuff you maybe can’t take full advantage of. But now I quite like it.
I think the styles have changed for sure. I don’t think people are backing it in as much as they used to. The auto-blip is quite nice. Also, you have some different things with the torque management. I think it’s probably just better preparation for MotoGP, to move up there. The engine is quite a lot more powerful too, so I like that aspect, too. It’s kind of nice. Sometimes the CBR engine felt a bit sluggish.
Roberts leads the world’s best Moto2 riders during the 2020 Qatar Moto2 race.
You’ve done a lot of travel now. What are your favorite racetracks and what are your favorite countries?
I really love Portugal. I really love that whole coastline and surfing there. It’s really, really fun. As for favorite racetracks, I’ve always said Brno in the Czech Republic. It’s a really fun track.
I really like going to Australia. I actually have a lot of family from Australia. My dad is half Australian so every time we go there I catch up with my cousins. It’s always a nice time to go there, and Phillip Island is such a cool place. The track is insane. There’s nothing like going into turn one when it’s windy and raining and you’re dropping it on your knee.
Roberts dazzles with 10th place on debut for the AGR Team.
Now that we’ve got no racing, what are you doing? How are you managing to stay sane?
It’s been tough, for sure. I’ve been playing a lot of video games. I’m thinking about buying one of those steering wheel stimulator things. Trying to keep the mind sharp. You’re allowed here in L.A. to do a ride or a run or a bicycle ride, so I’ve been able to do that at least. That’s nice to just get out in the fresh air. I have this private gym, the W, they just let me go down there, and it’s just me in there. Other than that, the hardest part is the fridge, man. You got to stay away from the fridge. When I got back, I think I put on six pounds or something. You just start eating because there’s nothing else to do.
You were on that KTM last year. Everyone struggled on that bike last year, from the factory guys down to the custom team guys.
Yeah. I don’t want to talk about last year. It was a difficult deal for everyone, for anybody who was on the KTM. It was not easy, for sure. I think everybody who rode one struggled, is one way to put it. I hated it.
In your eyes, what was the issue with the chassis? Was it not steering, chattering?
You just said it. That’s it. The problem. I’m a rider that relies on a lot of feel on the front, so I didn’t have any at all. I just couldn’t figure out how to get the thing to go into the corner. That to me was the main problem.
Moto2 is so competitive. Who, for you, are the real danger men within that class? Or is it that they’re all danger men?
Oh, man. They’re pretty much all danger men, I think. You couldn’t really pick. I guess there’s riders like Luca Marini, Enea Bastianini, the guys who were running up front in Qatar, for sure, I think will be there the whole year. Baldassarri is always quite strong. I think if he can continue on his pace throughout the whole year. Last year he started really strong but then dropped off quite a lot.
I think Augusto Fernandez will figure it out, too. I think he’ll be someone who will be there. I think maybe getting used to the new team has been the struggle for him, but I feel he’ll be there. Like you said, it’s just such a competitive class and there’s so many riders that could be there. I think it’s one of the mental things you have to deal with. It’s almost like when you race this class you can’t really think about anybody else. You’re almost racing against yourself in a way because there’s so many riders.
Has there been any thoughts or conversations revolving around getting into MotoGP?
It’s the goal. I’ve always wanted to be there ever since I was a kid. I want to be in MotoGP. I think once the right opportunity comes, we’ll be able to take it. As far as this year, obviously, I’ve thought about it but I want to do really well in Moto2 before I go. I really want to prove it to myself. I’ve done this class for a long time, so I want to win races here. I think that would be nice before I went to MotoGP. CN
