Tom Kipp and Mike Smith are the two riders who most often are mentioned as the best racers to never win an AMA Superbike race. Let me add another rider to the discussion – Roberto Pietri. The Venezuelan never managed to win an AMA Superbike race, this in spite of finishing on the podium an amazing nine times, including finishing runner up twice. By comparison Kipp scored 12 podiums and Smith nine. So it’s clear, strictly by the numbers, that Pietri should at least be in the conversation with Kipp and Smith when considering the greatest rider in history of the series never to win a race.

Roberto Pietri (No. 11) leads a group of riders that includes Glenn Barry (No. 233), Dale Quarterley (No. 32) and Ricky Orlando (No. 12) in the 1984 Bell Superbike 100 at Daytona International Speedway. Pietri, with nine-career AMA Superbike podiums, has to be considered one of the top riders never to win an AMA Superbike race. (Courtesy DIS)