I remember the first time I saw John Kocinski race. It was a WERA National Endurance race at Gateway International raceway near St. Louis. The 16-year-old kid had so much raw talent and speed. He just looked effortless on the bike while going seconds a lap faster than anyone else. I knew then and there that Kocinski was a special talent and would make some noise in the future. Sure enough he became Superbike and 250GP world champion and multi-time GP race winner.

I saw the future of road racing this past weekend at Barber and his name his Joe Roberts. (Larry Lawrence photo)

That feeling when you watch a young racer doesn’t come around all that often. Over the years I have to admit I’ve gotten sort of jaded about this or that rider being the next big thing. I won’t name names, but I’ve seen plenty of riders come in, make a big splash and then seem to hit a glass ceiling somewhere along the way.

That’s why I was surprised at myself for getting a little bit giddy when I got to watch Joe Roberts race for the first time this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. Wow, I haven’t had that feeling in a long time, but something tells me this kid is the real deal.

Roberts is the smoothest 16-year-old road racer I’ve ever seen period. He doesn’t look like he’s going that fast and then you look at the stopwatch and your jaw drops.

I talked to Roberts a bit at Barber and his plans are to go the traditional European GP route, Moto3, Moto2 and then hopefully MotoGP. It’s going to be a tough road as an American, especially when after his performance at Barber, every team manager in the AMA paddock wants to sign the kid to race here.

I hate to say it, because I’d love to see him race in person more often, but I hope Roberts can ignore the offers he’s bound to get here and stick with his original plan of going through the ranks on the GP circuit. I’d love to see an American company, or one of the American branches of Japanese motorcycle manufacturers sponsor Roberts through the Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP path.

Roberts isn’t your cookie cutter road-racing clone either. He’s got an engaging personality, you can tell he’s a super-smart and quick witted kid, he’s got the looks to bring in female fans, plus he’s a bass player in an Indie rock band. What more could a sponsor want?

Roberts has all the ingredients to be a world champion. I hope he’s given the opportunity to chase the dream. – Larry Lawrence