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I know many Common Tread readers are also fans of those four-wheeled contraptions, but if you have a single-track (meaning two wheels only) mind like me, you probably don't pay much attention to the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. But this year is a little different.
Motorcycle racing fans have a reason to consider going to an event that's all about historic racing and sports cars because for the first time in nearly two decades, all six living U.S. riders who won the Grand Prix World Championship in the premier class will be together. Kenny Roberts, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, and Kenny Roberts Jr. will be signing autographs, turning some demonstration laps on the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca course, and participating in a panel discussion.
From the time Kenny Roberts burst onto the World Championship scene in the late 1970s until his son won the title in 2000, these six solidified the place of U.S. riders at the top of the highest level of world motorcycle roadracing. In a 23-year span, riders from the United States won 14 titles in the 500 cc class. Kenny Roberts not only won three consecutive championships but also continued to play a role as a team owner. Spencer was the only rider ever to win the 500 cc and 250 cc championships in the same year, racing both classes. Lawson won four titles and Rainey won three in a row. Schwantz's battles with Rainey defined the sport for a time, and when Kenny Roberts Jr. won the title in 2000, he completed the first and only father-son duo to win the premier-class championship.
It was an era of U.S. dominance that's hard to imagine today. The only premier-class championship since by a U.S. rider was the late Nicky Hayden's victory in 2006.
Activities involving the champs include exhibition laps both Friday and Saturday, an autograph session Saturday morning, and a panel discussion Saturday afternoon.
Apparently they'll also have a bunch of reputedly cool old race cars on site and turning laps, too. You know, if you're into that sort of thing.
