Barry Sheene vs. Kenny Roberts: the 1979 British Grand Prix

The original plan was to do a profile on motorcycle racing champion Barry Sheene, as a stand alone article.  But, this will be something more.  Sheene was a two-time consecutive World Grand Prix motorcycle racing champion in 1976 and '77.  He actively raced motorcycles between 1970 and 1984.  Sheene won titles on the smallest (50cc) and largest (500cc) bikes of that particular era of Grand Prix racing.

Not only was Sheene a great motorcycle racing champion, but he was also a vocal critic of race track safety during his career, and later on, became a television commentator for car and motorcycle races.  He died in 2003.

Kenny Roberts became the first ever American world champion in FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing, winning the title in 1978, after the two successive championships won by Barry Sheene.  Like Sheene, he was an advocate for motorcycle racing safety, and he also built his own motorcycle, and ran his own racing team.  Roberts went on to win three consecutive 500cc world championships between 1978 and 1980.  His career spanned for nine years between 1974 and 1983.  He won his last ever Grand Prix that he started, the 1983 San Marino Grand Prix.

Roberts had great success, and also battled another successful American champion of Grand Prix racing, Freddie Spencer.  Here is the info on Roberts via Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Roberts 

Rest In Peace, Barry Sheene.  As for Roberts, he successfully fielded a team in the world championship and in MotoGP from 1984 to 2007, before MotoGP regulations were changed, forcing Roberts' team out of the sport.  Both of these riders left an indelible mark on the world of motorcycle racing.