From the Gardners to the Roberts: fathers and sons on top of the world

At the end of a long season and after many intense battles with team-mate Raul Fernandez, Remy Gardner was crowned Moto2 world champion at Valencia, finishing just a few points ahead of his rival. The Australian rider had a standout year with the Ajo team, winning five races and reaching the podium on seven further occasions, thus earning the trust of KTM, with whom he will move to MotoGP next year.

Remy’s feat is a significant one, particularly if we consider his surname, as he has managed to win the title just as his father Wayne did in 1987 (the reason he uses race number 87). Back then, Gardner scored the 500 title with seven race wins, but the two Australians are not the first to reach this shared father-son milestone.

Roberts and Everts, in their fathers’ footsteps

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Remaining with the world championship, the first family to do the ‘double’ were the Roberts, with father Kenny winning three consecutive 500 world titles between 1978 and 1980 before Kenny Roberts Junior reached the top of the world in the same category twenty years later. In 2000, he lifted the trophy with Suzuki and remained the last rider to win with Suzuki until last year, when Joan Mir was able to earn the MotoGP title with the GSX-RR.

Then, in the off-road world, we have the Everts family, father Harry a four-time world champion in the 70s and early 80, and son Stefan, a true motorcycling legend, with ten world titles scored between the 90s and 2007, the year in which he retired from racing. The Belgian rider was also the first rider to win with all four Japanese manufacturers, before taking up the role of MX sports manager for KTM. The Everts family may well be the first to become champions across three different generations, as young Liam (Stefan’s son) will debut in MX2 next year.

Translated by Heather Watson

Official: Jack Miller to race in ASBK