THIS WEEK, DAVE NEAL CHATS TO FORMER MOTO3 WORLD CHAMPION, DANNY KENT WHO TALKS CANDIDLY ABOUT THE UPS, DOWNS AND UPS AGAIN OF HIS RACING CAREER TO DATE
Danny Kent had the world at his feet, as 2015 Moto3 World Champion he had an opportunity to move straight to MotoGP. Self-managed and under intense pressure to make the right move, Kent chose a path that set him on a difficult journey into the Moto2 Grand Prix class to ride a motorcycle he just could not get along with.
Showing his talent in Red Bull Rookies, before a brief step into Moto2 on the uncompetitive Tech3 Mistral 610, Danny Kent came to the fore in 2014 aboard the Red Bull Husqvana, a re-badged factory KTM before switching to Honda in 2015 with the Leopard squad. The rest is history there as the young Brit secured the first Grand Prix World Championship since Barry Sheene in 1977.
An offer from a satellite MotoGP was on the table but under the pressure of self-management and battling for a World Championship, Kent made the decision to try Moto2 one again. This proved to be a difficult move for the Gloucestershire man as he just didn't gel with the machinery and a season of woes followed. A move back to Moto3 didn't yield the expected results and Danny found himself in the GP wilderness and with some difficult decisions to make.
A one-off ride in the final British Superbikes round in 2018 gave him a taste of big bike action and the Pirelli tyres the series runs, a move that was too much too soon after just one test day at the circuit but points were scored and a deal struck for 2019. Soon after, things changed and Kent was once again left out of a ride before Buildbase Suzuki offered him a ride on their STK1000 Suzuki for 2020. Ctrl-Alt-Delete was the way forward, a fresh start in an unknown championship on a bike he'd never raced before - it was sink or swim in one of the most competitive support classes at BSB.
For 2021, Danny Kent has been retained by BUildbase Suzuki and promoted to the BSB team alongside another former Moto2 GP rider, Gino Rea. In pre-seson testing Kent has shown promise and is eager to get the season started.
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