KRJr in 2001that season was during a spell when i was away from following top-
level GP racing. but i'd read in the last year or so on this NG
several guys slagging KRJr about how shatty a rider he is, along with
nicky hayden.
i got to thinking "KRJr's got a world title, cant be THAT bad".
so i watched his 2001 title defense season...and the dude can flat
ride. given is 2nd-rate RGV that season, he qualified front row ALOT,
and when he was deeper in the grid his amazing starting skills often
saw him leapfrog tons of guys and take the holeshot. like watching
ricky gadsden or something!
granted he seemed to go backwards ~10 laps into the race, seems to me
that was the tires giving up the ghost.
even in the '06 season when the KR211 was fairly well sorted with a
good honda 990 motor, kenny was dicing at the front in more than a
couple of races.
bottom line: the guy's got a world title and mad skillz. maybe just
needs a deeper voice! ;-)