Danny Kent

Danny Kent
Nationality	British
Born	(1993-11-25) 25 November 1993 Chippenham, Wiltshire, England
Current team	Leopard Racing
Bike number	52
Website	DannyKentRacing.com
Motorcycle racing career statistics Moto2 World Championship Active years 2013, 2016 Manufacturers Tech 3, Kalex Championships 0 2013 Championship position 22nd (16 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 16 0 0 0 0 26 Moto3 World Championship Active years 2012, 2014–2015 Manufacturers KTM, Husqvarna, Honda Championships 1 (2015) 2015 Championship position 1st (260 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 53 8 14 7 4 543 125cc World Championship Active years 2010–2011 Manufacturers Aprilia, Honda, Lambretta Championships 0 2011 Championship position 11th (82 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 23 0 0 0 0 82

Danny Kent (born 25 November 1993) is a British motorcycle racer, best known for winning the 2015 Moto3 World Championship. In doing so, Kent became Great Britain's first Grand Prix motorcycle world champion since Barry Sheene in 1977, as well as the first British lightweight class champion since Dave Simmonds in 1969. He currently competes in Moto2, with Leopard Racing.

Career

Early career

Born in Chippenham, Wiltshire, 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, 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

File:Danny Kent 2010 Silverstone.jpg

Kent at the 2010 British Grand Prix

Kent entered the 125cc world championship with Lambretta in 2010 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, 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 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 tiitle. The team had a fantastic year with Kent's team mate Sandro Cortese taking the world championship along with Kent himself taking fourth in the championship. Kent earned his first podium at Assen in the Dutch TT, and he took his first win at the Japanese Grand Prix at Twin Ring Motegi 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 with a brave last corner overtake on Cortese earning him his second Grand Prix victory.

Moto2

For 2013, Kent raced with Tech 3 in the Moto2 category alongside fellow Moto3 graduate Louis Rossi. Kent's season started with a run to 18th place in Qatar, he scored his first points at round six with a 13th place finish in Catalunya. Kent scored points on four more occasions with a best of 12th at both the Czech and Malaysian 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, ruling him out for the rest of the season.

Return to Moto3

File:Danny Kent Moto2-2015.JPG

Kent celebrating victory in the Moto3 race at the 2015 Catalan Grand Prix

Having been originally announced to remain in Moto2 with Tech 3, Kent returned to Moto3 for 2014; he competed with the Ajo Motorsport team, riding a Husqvarna-branded KTM.

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 and taking his first win for Leopard in the following race at the Circuit of the Americas. Kent won the next two races – the first British rider to win successive races in the lightweight class since Barry Sheene in 1971 – in Argentina and at Jerez to open up a championship lead. He added further victories in Catalunya, the Sachsenring and his home event at Silverstone.

He led the championship by twenty-four points ahead of Miguel Oliveira, with one race remaining. Despite Oliveira winning the final race in Valencia, 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 in 1977.

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.

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. The aim of the programme is to provide support, both financial and consultative, to promising British motorcycle racers and teams of the future.

Career statistics

• 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 (4th overall, 1 win)
• 2010 – Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup (2nd overall, 2 wins)

By season

Season	Class	Moto	Race	Win	Pod	Pole	FLap	Pts	Plcd
2010	125 cc	Honda	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
		Lambretta	5	0	0	0	0	0
2011	125 cc	Aprilia	17	0	0	0	0	82	11th
2012	Moto3	KTM	17	2	3	1	1	154	4th
2013	Moto2	Tech 3	15	0	0	0	0	16	22nd
2014	Moto3	Husqvarna	18	0	2	1	0	129	8th
2015	Moto3	Honda	18	6	9	5	3	260	1st
2016	Moto2	Kalex	1	0	0	0	0	10*	6th*
Total			92	8	14	7	4	651

* Season still in progress.

By class

Class	Seas	1st GP	1st Pod	1st Win	Race	Win	Podiums	Pole	FLap	Pts
125 cc	2010–2011	2010 Great Britain			23	0	0	0	0	82
Moto3	2012, 2014–2015	2012 Qatar	2012 Netherlands	2012 Japan	53	8	14	7	4	543
Moto2	2013, 2016	2013 Qatar			16	0	0	0	0	26
Total	2010–present				92	8	14	7	4	651

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Yr	Class	Bike	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Pos	Pts
2010	125 cc	Honda	QAT	SPA	FRA	ITA	GBR Ret	NED	CAT	GER	CZE	IND	RSM	ARA							NC	0
		Lambretta													JPN Ret	MAL Ret	AUS 21	POR NC	VAL Ret
2011	125 cc	Aprilia	QAT 13	SPA 4	POR 15	FRA 17	CAT 11	GBR 10	NED 6	ITA 15	GER 9	CZE Ret	IND 13	RSM 6	ARA 6	JPN 9	AUS 22	MAL 10	VAL 17		11th	82
2012	Moto3	KTM	QAT 8	SPA Ret	POR 8	FRA Ret	CAT 20	GBR 6	NED 3	GER Ret	ITA 5	IND 12	CZE 7	RSM 12	ARA 4	JPN 1	MAL 6	AUS 5	VAL 1		4th	154
2013	Moto2	Tech 3	QAT 18	AME 17	SPA 26	FRA 15	ITA 21	CAT 13	NED 19	GER Ret	IND 22	CZE 12	GBR 18	RSM 18	ARA 15	MAL 12	AUS 13	JPN DNS	VAL		22nd	16
2014	Moto3	Husqvarna	QAT 13	AME 8	ARG 9	SPA 11	FRA 13	ITA 15	CAT 17	NED 8	GER 5	IND 12	CZE 3	GBR 9	RSM 12	ARA 3	JPN 6	AUS 20	MAL 4	VAL 4	8th	129
2015	Moto3	Honda	QAT 3	AME 1	ARG 1	SPA 1	FRA 4	ITA 2	CAT 1	NED 3	GER 1	IND 21	CZE 7	GBR 1	RSM 6	ARA Ret	JPN 6	AUS Ret	MAL 7	VAL 9	1st	260
2016	Moto2	Kalex	QAT 6	ARG 16	AME Ret	SPA Ret	FRA 19	ITA 14	CAT	NED	GER	AUT	CZE	GBR	RSM	ARA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL	17th*	12*

* Season still in progress.

External links

• Official website

Sporting positions
Preceded by Álex Márquez	Moto3 World Champion 2015	Succeeded by Incumbent