For Five years Yonny Hernandez competed in the MotoGP World Championship. He raced for the Aspar Ducati squad, but after a tough 2012, he parted ways with the satellite team. He went back to the Moto2 Championship with the Argiñano & Ginés Racing Team (AGR) but has only managed to score 16 points by the midpoint of the season. Now, as the second half of the Moto2 season starts, AGR has decided to place their bets on an American rider instead.
An American Is Back in World Championship Racing!
Joe Roberts wasn’t expecting the call up to the middle class of the MotoGP Championship. He was riding in the European CEV Moto2 Championship, and doing a good job of it too. Right now, the American has two podium finishes in four rounds, and is fifth place in the CEV Championship. So, when his CEV team—AGR—asked him if he would like to ride Moto2 in MotoGP, he was a little shocked.
In a statement to the press, Joe says: “I was surprised to get this opportunity so soon. It’s been my dream, ever since I was a little kid…” And that dream is starting out fantastically.
At the mid-season opener at Automotodrom Brno, Joe got to ride in his first race as a world championship contender. The race started out like any other, and Joe managed to advance seven places. Then, at lap seven of the race, rain began to fall. The race was immediately red flagged, and crews worked tirelessly to reset the bikes for wet weather racing. When the race restarted, there were only six laps remaining, and Joe was starting from 28th position. But that’s when Roberts shined!
In the first lap of the restart, he claimed ten positions. By the next lap, he had advanced another two. When the checkered flag fell, Joe Roberts had finished in 10th place!
Do you think Roberts will continue to advance in Moto2? The attorneys who ride can’t wait to see!