Roberto 'Roby' Rolfo (born 23 March 1980) is an Italian former professional
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
road racer. He had his best season in 2003, when he finished in second place in the 250cc World Championship. Rolfo competed in the MotoGP class for one year before he switched to the
Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing.
The championship was founded i ...
, where he remained up to the start of .
Career
Rolfo was born in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
.
250cc World Championship
Rolfo began competing in the Grand Prix series with a few wildcard entries in 1996. After finishing in third place in the European championship in 1997, Rolfo competed in his first full World Championship season in
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
. In his first season his best result was fifth place 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 in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
it was again a fifth, at
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 north ...
. In
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
he finished no higher than sixth.
2001 proved to be a breakthrough year. Riding for the Safilo Aprilia team, he finished fourth in the championship, ahead of the factory Aprilias Riccardo Chiarello and
Jeremy McWilliams
Jeremy McWilliams (born 4 April 1964 in Belfast) is a former motorcycle road racer from Northern Ireland. McWilliams became ineligible for mainstream racing after the 2014 season due to his age exceeding the 50-year-old cutoff point, but has c ...
. After scoring points in the first four races, he scored three podiums in the next four (second at
Mugello
The Mugello is a historic region and valley in northern Tuscany, in Italy, corresponding to the course of the River Sieve. It is located to the north of the city of Florence and includes the northernmost portion of the Metropolitan City of Fl ...
and Donington Park and 3rd at Catalunya). He only failed to score points twice all season.
In 2002 he raced for the Fortuna-
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
Gresini team. He scored five second places, three of them behind countryman and champion
Marco Melandri
Marco Melandri (born 7 August 1982) is an Italian retired motorcycle road racer who is a five-time premier class race winner. He is the 2002 250 cc World Champion and runner-up in 125 cc, MotoGP and Superbike World Championship. He ...
. He only failed to score points once, earning him third place overall in the world championship.
Following Fausto Gresini's decision to concentrate in MotoGP class in 2003, Rolfo switched to a team run by Daniel Amatrian, albeit main sponsor Fortuna remains. He went better both in terms of race results and championship finish. He was victorious at
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 champ ...
and
Phillip Island
Phillip Island ( Boonwurrung: ''Corriong'', ''Worne'' or ''Millowl'') is an Australian island about south-southeast of Melbourne, Victoria. The island is named after Governor Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, by explore ...
en route to finishing the season in second overall. He went into the final race knowing that victory would give him the title unless
Manuel Poggiali
Manuel Poggiali (; born 14 February 1983) is a Sammarinese Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion. He was the 2001 125cc World Champion, and the 2003 250cc World Champion. He scored 12 race wins, 11 pole positions, and 35 podium fini ...
finished second, but he was down in seventh. He did beat the series' winningest rider that year,
Toni Elías
Antonio "Toni" Elías Justícia (born 26 March 1983) is a Spanish professional motorcycle racer and inaugural champion of the Moto2 World Championship. He is the third member of the Elías family to compete in motorcycle racing. He currently ride ...
, into third overall however.
2004 was not a success by these standards. Rolfo won in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, but was not on the podium again, finishing only eighth overall.
MotoGP
After making no advance in 2004, Rolfo moved up to MotoGP for 2005, with the D'AntinDucati team. Running year-old machinery, on Dunlop tyres which were perceived to be inferior and which the bike was not designed around, and with no teammate, decent results were always going to be hard to come by. He scored points in nine races, with a best of tenth, to finish 18th overall in the championship.
Superbike World Championship
With no ride available in MotoGP, Roberto switched to the
Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing.
The championship was founded i ...
for . He raced for Caracchi Ducati team on a privateer bike. He started strongly, with a fifth place and two seventh places in the first four races, but only managed two top ten finishes (both at Monza) in the following five rounds, and ultimately finished 16th overall.
For he joined the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team, alongside champion
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.Silverstone and finished 8th overall, but was overshadowed by his teammate's championship win.
He was not retained by Ten Kate Honda for and signed for Althea Honda, taking Hannspree sponsorship with him. He missed the Monza round due to injury. Axed for 2009, he scored a second-row grid position at contract time at
Magny-Cours
Magny-Cours () is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France.
It is the home of the ''Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours'', a famous motor racing circuit (whose name is often abbreviated to 'Magny-Cours'). It formerly hosted the Formula ...
. He was also quick in the rain at Donington before a rash attempt at overtaking
Leon Haslam
Leon Lloyd Haslam (born 31 May 1983, in the London Borough of Ealing) is a motorcycle road racer based in Derbyshire, England.
In February 2022, Haslam confirmed he would be racing in British Superbikes for Lee Hardy Racing on a Kawasaki Z ...
eliminated him and took Haslam out of contention.
For 2009, he joined the new-to-WSBK Stiggy Racing Honda team, alongside Haslam, but lost the seat following the Qatar round of the season to John Hopkins.
Career statistics
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
By season
By class
Races by year
( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Superbike World Championship
Races by year
( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Supersport World Championship
Races by year
( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
* Season still in progress.