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Danny Kent

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Danny Kent
Kent in 2015
NationalityBritish
Born (1993-11-25) 25 November 1993 (age 30)
Chippenham, Wiltshire, England
Current teamBuildbase Suzuki
Bike number52
Websitedannykent52.com
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Moto2 World Championship
Active years2013, 2016–2018
ManufacturersTech 3, Kalex, Suter, Speed Up
Championships0
2018 championship position25th (8 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
48 0 0 0 0 62
Moto3 World Championship
Active years2012, 2014–2015, 2017
ManufacturersKTM, Husqvarna, Honda
Championships1 (2015)
2017 championship position32nd (6 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
55 8 14 7 4 549
125cc World Championship
Active years2010–2011
ManufacturersAprilia, Honda, Lambretta
Championships0
2011 championship position11th (82 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
23 0 0 0 0 82

Danny Ray Kent (born 25 November 1993) is an English motorcycle racer, best known for winning the 2015 Moto3 World Championship. In doing so he became Great Britain's first Grand Prix solo motorcycle world champion since Barry Sheene in 1977,[1] as well as the first British lightweight class champion since Dave Simmonds in 1969.[2]

During 2020 he competed in the British National Superstock 1000 Championship, aboard a Kawasaki ZX-10R, and for 2021 aboard a Suzuki GSX-R1000R in the British Superbike Championship,[3] until a crash caused a dislocated and broken hip in August 2021.[4][5]

For 2022, Kent continues with Buildbase Suzuki.

Career

Early career

Born in Chippenham, Wiltshire, Kent like many others started out in Minimoto, before moving into the FAB-Racing MiniGP50 and MiniGP70 British Championships. Kent progressed through the Aprilia Superteens Championship earning success before being selected for the Red Bull MotoGP Academy and racing in Spain in the Spanish 125GP Championship. When the Academy closed Kent was switched to the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, where he finished runner-up in 2010. Kent also contested a wild card ride at Silverstone in 2010 aboard a 125cc Honda, earning him a late ride with Lambretta in the 125cc Grand Prix world championship that year.

125cc/Moto3 World Championship

Kent at the 2010 British Grand Prix

Kent entered the 125cc world championship with Lambretta in 2010 at the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, qualifying in 16th place, a big improvement on 29th in which he qualified for the British round earlier that year – however he retired from the race. He took a best qualifying position of 10th at the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril and a best and only race finish of 21st at Phillip island during the Australian Grand Prix.

For 2011, Kent switched to the Red Bull Ajo Aprilia team to compete in his first full season in the 125cc world championship. Kent enjoyed a successful first season scoring 82 points with a best finish of fourth place, on the way to 11th in the championship standings.

2012 was the start of the Moto3 class. The new formula would use four-stroke 250cc engines apposed to the two-stroke 125cc engines of the class it was replacing. Kent remained with the Red Bull Ajo team however the team switched to running KTM motorcycles spearheading the factory's assault on the title. The team had a fantastic year with Kent's teammate Sandro Cortese taking the world championship along with Kent himself taking fourth in the championship. Kent earned his first podium at Assen in the Dutch TT, and he took his first win at the Japanese Grand Prix at Twin Ring Motegi with a great last lap a result he followed up in similar fashion just four rounds later at the final Grand Prix of the season in Valencia with a brave last corner overtake on Cortese earning him his second Grand Prix victory.

Moto2 World Championship

For 2013, Kent raced with Tech 3 in the Moto2 category alongside fellow Moto3 graduate Louis Rossi. Kent's season started with a run to 18th place in Qatar, he scored his first points at round six with a 13th-place finish in Catalunya. Kent scored points on four more occasions with a best of 12th at both the Czech and Malaysian races, and had a strong end to season with three consecutive point-scoring finishes before breaking his collarbone in the warm-up for the Japanese Grand Prix, ruling him out for the rest of the season.

Return to Moto3

Having been originally announced to remain in Moto2 with Tech 3, Kent returned to Moto3 for 2014; he competed with the Ajo Motorsport team, riding a Husqvarna-branded KTM.

For 2015, Kent moved to the Leopard sponsored Kiefer Racing squad, running Hondas.[6] Kent's season started off well, reaching the podium at the first race in Qatar and taking his first win for Leopard in the following race at the Circuit of the Americas.[7] Kent won the next two races – the first British rider to win successive races in the lightweight class since Barry Sheene in 1971[8] – in Argentina and at Jerez to open up a championship lead. He added further victories in Catalunya, the Sachsenring and his home event at Silverstone.

He led the championship by twenty-four points ahead of Miguel Oliveira, with one race remaining. Despite Oliveira winning the final race in Valencia, a ninth-place finish was enough for Kent to claim the championship and become Great Britain's first Grand Prix motorcycle world champion since Barry Sheene in 1977.[9]

Return to Moto2

On 27 September 2015, it was announced that Kent would be moving up to the Moto2 class for the 2016 season, with his Leopard Racing team.[10] He was joined in the team by his Moto3 championship rival Miguel Oliveira.[11]

Kent walked out on his team after just three races into the season,[12] and was without a ride for much of the remainder, with a wildcard ride in Moto3 and acting as an occasional replacement for injured riders in Moto2, before signing with a new team Speed Up Racing in Moto2 for the 2018 season.[13]

Kent was sacked by Speed Up in late September 2018, with five races remaining, due to poor performances and refusing to follow team orders. In a statement to motogp.com, team boss Luca Boscaruro was highly critical of Kent, stating “that behaviour doesn’t work. I’m sorry, but not with me”.[14][15]

British Superbike Championship

Kent secured an entry riding Halsall Racing's Suzuki GSX-R1000 for the Brands Hatch final round of the 2018 British Superbike Championship in October after a successful test.[16] He failed to finish in two races,[17][18] but finished in position 12 from 15 finishers in race three.[19] The team subsequently folded after principal Martin Halsall withdrew funding.[20]

In late May 2019, it was announced that Kent would ride in British Superbikes on an ex-Leon Camier 2016 MV Agusta F4, starting from the July event at Snetterton.[21][22] Kent failed to finish a race at Snetterton,[23] but achieved 18th place in BSB race 2 at Thruxton in August.[24] His employment was terminated by his team in mid-August due to a court conviction.[25]

Kent joined Buildbase Suzuki, continuing intor 2022. A practice crash at the Donington Park third-round in May 2022 caused hospitalisation with no participation in the races.[26][27]

Personal life

Kent also became part of the Phil Burgan Race Academy (PBRA) – a programme for developing British talent in motorcycle sport, under the guidance of James Toseland. The aim of the programme is to provide support, both financial and consultative, to promising British motorcycle racers and teams of the future.

In August 2019 Kent received a four-month suspended prison sentence for carrying a knife in a public place during an altercation in March, 2019.[28] This resulted in his superbike team terminating his contract, with Gino Rea named as interim replacement.[25]

Career statistics

Career highlights

  • 2001 – Welsh Minimoto – Debut and first win.
  • 2004 – FAB-Racing MiniGP50 British Championship (2nd Overall)
  • 2005 – FAB-Racing MiniGP70 British Championship (1st Overall)
  • 2007 – British Aprilia Superteens Championship.
  • 2008 – Invited into Red Bull MotoGP Academy and contested Spanish CEV 125GP (9th overall)
  • 2009 – Academy closed – transferred to the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup (4th overall, 1 win)
  • 2010 – Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup (2nd overall, 2 wins)
  • 2015 – Moto3 World Champion (6 wins)

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos Pts
2009 SPA1
3 		SPA2
1 		ITA
7 		NED
Ret 		GER
6 		GBR
8 		CZE1
2 		CZE2
8 		4th 96
2010 SPA1
1 		SPA2
2 		ITA
4 		NED1
11 		NED2
2 		GER1
3 		GER2
12 		CZE1
3 		CZE2
2 		RSM
1 		2nd 164

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

Season Class Motorcycle Team Race Win Podium Pole FLap Pts Plcd WCh
2010 125cc Honda Aztec Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC –
Lambretta Lambretta Reparto Corse 5 0 0 0 0 0
2011 125cc Aprilia Red Bull Ajo Motorsport 17 0 0 0 0 82 11th –
2012 Moto3 KTM Red Bull KTM Ajo 17 2 3 1 1 154 4th –
2013 Moto2 Tech 3 Tech 3 15 0 0 0 0 16 22nd –
2014 Moto3 Husqvarna Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo 18 0 2 1 0 129 8th –
2015 Moto3 Honda Leopard Racing 18 6 9 5 3 260 1st 1
2016 Moto2 Kalex Leopard Racing 17 0 0 0 0 35 22nd –
2017 Moto2 Suter Kiefer Racing 3 0 0 0 0 3 33rd –
Dynavolt Intact GP 0 0 0 0 0
Kalex CarXpert Interwetten 1 0 0 0 0
Moto3 KTM Red Bull KTM Ajo 2 0 0 0 0 6 32nd –
2018 Moto2 Speed Up Speed Up Racing 13 0 0 0 0 8 25th –
Total 126 8 14 7 4 693 1

By class

Class Seasons 1st GP 1st Pod 1st Win Race Win Podiums Pole FLap Pts WChmp
125cc 2010–2011 2010 Great Britain 23 0 0 0 0 82 0
Moto3 2012, 2014–2015, 2017 2012 Qatar 2012 Netherlands 2012 Japan 55 8 14 7 4 549 1
Moto2 2013, 2016–2018 2013 Qatar 48 0 0 0 0 62 0
Total 2010–2018 126 8 14 7 4 693 1

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Pos Pts
2010 125cc Honda QAT SPA FRA ITA GBR
Ret 		NED CAT GER CZE IND RSM ARA NC 0
Lambretta JPN
Ret 		MAL
Ret 		AUS
21 		POR
NC 		VAL
Ret
2011 125cc Aprilia QAT
13 		SPA
4 		POR
15 		FRA
17 		CAT
11 		GBR
10 		NED
6 		ITA
15 		GER
9 		CZE
Ret 		IND
13 		RSM
6 		ARA
6 		JPN
9 		AUS
22 		MAL
10 		VAL
17 		11th 82
2012 Moto3 KTM QAT
8 		SPA
Ret 		POR
8 		FRA
Ret 		CAT
20 		GBR
6 		NED
3 		GER
Ret 		ITA
5 		IND
12 		CZE
7 		RSM
12 		ARA
4 		JPN
1 		MAL
6 		AUS
5 		VAL
1 		4th 154
2013 Moto2 Tech 3 QAT
18 		AME
17 		SPA
26 		FRA
15 		ITA
21 		CAT
13 		NED
19 		GER
Ret 		IND
22 		CZE
12 		GBR
18 		RSM
18 		ARA
15 		MAL
12 		AUS
13 		JPN
DNS 		VAL 22nd 16
2014 Moto3 Husqvarna QAT
13 		AME
8 		ARG
9 		SPA
11 		FRA
13 		ITA
15 		CAT
17 		NED
8 		GER
5 		IND
12 		CZE
3 		GBR
9 		RSM
12 		ARA
3 		JPN
6 		AUS
20 		MAL
4 		VAL
4 		8th 129
2015 Moto3 Honda QAT
3 		AME
1 		ARG
1 		SPA
1 		FRA
4 		ITA
2 		CAT
1 		NED
3 		GER
1 		IND
21 		CZE
7 		GBR
1 		RSM
6 		ARA
Ret 		JPN
6 		AUS
Ret 		MAL
7 		VAL
9 		1st 260
2016 Moto2 Kalex QAT
6 		ARG
16 		AME
Ret 		SPA
Ret 		FRA
19 		ITA
14 		CAT
Ret 		NED
14 		GER
DNS 		AUT
12 		CZE
7 		GBR
15 		RSM
Ret 		ARA
29 		JPN
Ret 		AUS
Ret 		MAL
18 		VAL
9 		22nd 35
2017 Moto2 Suter QAT
13 		ARG
Ret 		AME
DNS 		SPA AUT
DNS 		GBR RSM ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL 33rd 3
Kalex ITA
Ret 		CAT NED
Moto3 KTM FRA
10 		GER
Ret 		CZE 32nd 6
2018 Moto2 Speed Up QAT
17 		ARG
12 		AME
Ret 		SPA
Ret 		FRA
21 		ITA
Ret 		CAT
21 		NED
Ret 		GER
Ret 		CZE
Ret 		AUT
12 		GBR
C 		RSM
Ret 		ARA
Ret 		THA
 JPN
 AUS
 MAL
 VAL
 25th 8

British Superbike Championship

By year

Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pos Pts
R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3
2022 Suzuki SIL
17 		SIL
18 		SIL
15 		OUL
21 		OUL
19 		OUL
Ret 		DON
DNS 		DON
DNS 		DON
DNS 		KNO
19 		KNO
14 		KNO
Ret 		BRH
12 		BRH
9 		BRH
Ret 		THR
Ret 		THR
22 		THR
15 		CAD
15 		CAD
16 		CAD
14 		SNE
10 		SNE
Ret 		SNE
12 		OUL
12 		OUL
12 		OUL
10 		DON
17 		DON
14 		DON
9 		BRH
8 		BRH
6 		BRH
8 		16th 77

References

  1. ^ "Oliveira wins race but Kent takes Moto3 title". MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  2. ^ Lewis, Lisa (8 November 2015). "Oliveira wins the race, Kent takes the title". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  3. ^ BSB: Danny Kent joins Gino Rea at Buildbase Suzuki for 2021 Motorcycle News, 3 February 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021
  4. ^ Tim Neave lands BSB debut as Danny Kent faces injury timeout visordown, 19 August 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021
  5. ^ BSB Donington: Danny Kent to undergo surgery on fractured hip Motorcycle News, 16 August 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021
  6. ^ Birt, Matthew (19 September 2014). "Danny Kent confident Honda will suit style in Moto3 season". Motor Cycle News. Bauer Media Group. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  7. ^ Lewis, Lisa (12 April 2015). "Flawless Kent rules supreme in Austin". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  8. ^ "British riders break records in Argentina". MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 12 April 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015. Danny Kent is the first British rider to win back-to-back races in the lightweight-class (Moto3/125cc) since 1971 when Barry Sheene won at the Swedish 125cc GP at Anderstorp and then a week later won the Finnish GP at Imatra.
  9. ^ "Danny Kent becomes first British motorcycle GP world champion since Sheene". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Reuters. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  10. ^ "Kent moves to Moto2 with Leopard Racing". MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 27 September 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  11. ^ "Miguel Oliveira to Moto2 with Leopard Racing". MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 13 September 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  12. ^ Moto2: Kent parts ways with Kiefer Racing Motorcycle News, 24 April 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2018
  13. ^ Danny Kent signs with Speed Up from 2018 MotoGP.com Retrieved 28 February 2018
  14. ^ Danny Kent confirms Speed Up departure Motorsport Week, 30 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018
  15. ^ "Danny Kent fired for not following team orders". www.motorcyclesports.net. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  16. ^ Brands BSB finale: Kent confirmed with Halsall Suzuki Bikesport News, 11 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018
  17. ^ Race one, British Superbikes – 12th–14th October – Brands Hatch – 2018 TSL timing. Retrieved 15 October 2018
  18. ^ Race two, British Superbikes – 12th–14th October – Brands Hatch – 2018 TSL timing. Retrieved 15 October 2018
  19. ^ Race three British Superbikes – 12th–14th October – Brands Hatch – 2018 TSL timing. Retrieved 15 October 2018
  20. ^ Halsall Racing withdraws from British superbikes Retrieved 28 July 2019
  21. ^ Danny Kent back in BSB with MV Agusta Paramatta crash.net, 28 May 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019
  22. ^ Kent's comeback: MV Agusta return to Bennetts BSB from Snetterton britishsuperbikes.com Retrieved 28 July 2019
  23. ^ Redding in control after Bridewell tumbles from lead crash.net, 21 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019
  24. ^ Thruxton BSB – Race Results (2) crash.net 4 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019
  25. ^ a b Gino Rea to ride the Bike Devil MV Agusta at Cadwell bikedevil.net Retrieved 17 August 2019
  26. ^ BSB Donington: Danny Kent ruled out with concussion following FP3 crash Motorcycle News, 21 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022
  27. ^ Iddon "happy-ish" after Donington BSB top 10s, eyeing further improvements visordown.com, 24 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022
  28. ^ Danny Kent: World champion admits carrying knife during scuffle BBC News, 15 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019
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