English
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English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
motorcycle racer, best known for winning the
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
Moto3 World Championship. In doing so he became Great Britain's first Grand Prix solo motorcycle
world champion
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
since
Barry Sheene
Barry Steven Frank Sheene (11 September 1950 – 10 March 2003) was a British professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing even ...
in , as well as the first British lightweight class champion since
Dave Simmonds
Dave Simmonds (25 October 1939 – 23 October 1972) was a British professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competed in the Grand Prix world championships from 1963 to 1972. Simmonds is notable for winning the 1969 125 cc FIM road r ...
Kawasaki ZX-10R
The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R is a motorcycle in the Ninja sport bike series from the Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki, the successor to the Ninja ZX-9R. It was originally released in 2004 and has been updated and revised throughout the years. It co ...
British Superbike Championship
The British Superbike Championship (BSB), currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, is the leading road racing superbike championship in the United Kingdom, and was once widely acknowledged as the p ...
, until a crash caused a dislocated and broken hip in August 2021.
For 2022, Kent continues with Buildbase Suzuki.
Career
Early career
Born in
Chippenham
Chippenham is a market town
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...
,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, 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
The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup is a motorcycle racing series contested by young, up-and-coming motorcycle riders, who have not had experience in a motorcycle grand prix previously. The class was founded in 2007, and since then a number of the ro ...
, 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 entered the 125cc world championship with Lambretta in
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
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
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
, 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
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
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
Alessandro "Sandro" Cortese (born 6 January 1990) is a former German motorcycle racer, who last competed in 2020 World Superbike Championship for Team Pedercini. Cortese won his first world title in the Moto3 class, in ., and his second in the Su ...
taking the world championship along with Kent himself taking fourth in the championship. Kent earned his first podium at
Assen
Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...
in the
Dutch TT
The Dutch Tourist Trophy, also known as the ''TT Assen'', is an annual Dutch motorsport event established in 1925 for road racing motorcycles held on the TT Circuit Assen, also known as the ‘Cathedral of Speed'. The event attained world champ ...
, and he took his first win at the Japanese Grand Prix at
Twin Ring Motegi
Mobility Resort Motegi (モビリティリゾートもてぎ) is a motorsport race track located at Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Originally named Twin Ring Motegi (ツインリンクもてぎ), the circuit's name came from the facility hav ...
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
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
with a brave last corner overtake on Cortese earning him his second Grand Prix victory.
Moto2 World Championship
For
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
, Kent raced with
Tech 3
Tech3 is a motorcycle racing team competing in the MotoGP class World Championship under the name Tech3 GasGas Factory Racing. They also compete in the Moto3 World Championship under the name Red Bull KTM Tech3 and the MotoE World Cup under the ...
in the Moto2 category alongside fellow Moto3 graduate
Louis Rossi
Louis Rossi (born 23 June 1989 in Le Mans) is a French Grand Prix motorcycle racer, best known for winning the 2012 French Grand Prix in the Moto3 class. He currently competes in the World Endurance Championships aboard the #Ducati 6, he has als ...
. Kent's season started with a run to 18th place in
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
, he scored his first points at round six with a 13th-place finish in
Catalunya
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the northe ...
. Kent scored points on four more occasions with a best of 12th at both the
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
and
Malaysian
Malaysian may refer to:
* Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia
* Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia
* Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...
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
The Japanese Grand Prix ( ja, 日本グランプリ, Nihon-guranpuri) is a motor racing event in the calendar of the Formula One, Formula One World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the ...
, 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
Ajo Motorsport is a Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle racing team, currently competing in the Moto2 and Moto3 classes under the name Red Bull KTM Ajo and in the MotoE class under the name Avant Ajo MotoE. The team's founder and principal is former r ...
KTM
KTM AG (Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, formerly KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and sports car manufacturer owned by Pierer Mobility AG and the Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces ...
.
For 2015, Kent moved to the Leopard sponsored Kiefer Racing squad, running Hondas. Kent's season started off well, reaching the podium at the first race in
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
and taking his first win for Leopard in the following race at the
Circuit of the Americas
Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 FIA-specification motor racing track and facilities located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas, in the United States. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand ...
. Kent won the next two races – the first British rider to win successive races in the lightweight class since
Barry Sheene
Barry Steven Frank Sheene (11 September 1950 – 10 March 2003) was a British professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing even ...
in – in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and at
Jerez
Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the c ...
to open up a championship lead. He added further victories in
Catalunya
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the northe ...
, the
Sachsenring
The Sachsenring () is a motorsport racing circuit located in Hohenstein-Ernstthal near Chemnitz in Saxony, Germany. Among other events, it features the annual German motorcycle Grand Prix of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship ...
and his home event at
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
.
He led the championship by twenty-four points ahead of
Miguel Oliveira
Miguel Ângelo Falcão de Oliveira (; born 4 January 1995) is a Portuguese professional motorcycle racer who competes in the MotoGP World Championship for RNF MotoGP Team, getting the step up from KTM Tech3,
, with one race remaining. Despite Oliveira winning the final race in
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, 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
Barry Steven Frank Sheene (11 September 1950 – 10 March 2003) was a British professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing even ...
in .
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. He was joined in the team by his Moto3 championship rival
Miguel Oliveira
Miguel Ângelo Falcão de Oliveira (; born 4 January 1995) is a Portuguese professional motorcycle racer who competes in the MotoGP World Championship for RNF MotoGP Team, getting the step up from KTM Tech3,
.
Kent walked out on his team after just three races into the season, 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.
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”.
British Superbike Championship
Kent secured an entry riding Halsall Racing's
Suzuki GSX-R1000
The Suzuki GSX-R1000 is a supersport motorcycle made by Suzuki. It was introduced in 2001 to replace the GSX-R1100 and is powered by a liquid-cooled inline four-cylinder, four-stroke engine although originally from 2001 to 2004.
History
2 ...
for the
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...
final round of the 2018 British Superbike Championship in October after a successful test. He failed to finish in two races, but finished in position 12 from 15 finishers in race three. The team subsequently folded after principal Martin Halsall withdrew funding.
In late May 2019, it was announced that Kent would ride in British Superbikes on an ex-
Leon Camier
Leon Stuart Camier (born 4 August 1986) is an English former solo motorcycle racer. For the 2021 season, Camier was announced as team manager for Honda World Superbike team, run under Honda Racing Corporation. After a long career in solo mot ...
2016 MV Agusta F4, starting from the July event at
Snetterton
Snetterton is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England. The village is about east-northeast of Thetford and southwest of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of . The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded a parish population o ...
. Kent failed to finish a race at Snetterton, but achieved 18th place in BSB race 2 at Thruxton in August. His employment was terminated by his team in mid-August due to a court conviction.Gino Rea to ride the Bike Devil MV Agusta at Cadwell bikedevil.net Retrieved 17 August 2019
Kent joined Buildbase Suzuki, continuing intor 2022. A practice crash at the
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned b ...
third-round in May 2022 caused hospitalisation with no participation in the races.
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
James Michael Toseland (born 5 October 1980) is an English former motorcycle racer and vocalist of his own rock band named Toseland. For 2020, he is team-manager of Wepol Racing with riders in World Supersport and Supersport 300.Danny Kent: World champion admits carrying knife during scuffle ''
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
'', 15 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019 This resulted in his superbike team terminating his contract, with
Gino Rea
Gino Daniel Rea (born 18 September 1989) is an English motorcycle racer.
In 2020 he competed in the FIM Endurance World Championship with Wojcik Racing Yamaha, finishing 4th in the World Championship Standings and joined the British Superbike ...
named as interim replacement.Gino Rea to ride the Bike Devil MV Agusta at Cadwell bikedevil.net Retrieved 17 August 2019
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
The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup is a motorcycle racing series contested by young, up-and-coming motorcycle riders, who have not had experience in a motorcycle grand prix previously. The class was founded in 2007, and since then a number of the ro ...
(4th overall, 1 win)
* 2010 –
Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup
The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup is a motorcycle racing series contested by young, up-and-coming motorcycle riders, who have not had experience in a motorcycle grand prix previously. The class was founded in 2007, and since then a number of the ro ...
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
By season
By class
Races by year
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)