NEW CHALLENGE
Kel’s racing may have been over, but there was still a lot of work to do. High on the list was assisting a young Kenny Roberts in his road racing career. “Kenny was doing good straight away. He was winning sometimes, though there was a young kid, Rusty Bradley, on a three-cylinder Kawasaki he beat him from time to time,” said Kel. “You don’t really teach guys to race. You can guide them and they learn riding with people. I think you can either do it or you can’t, more or less. Some people are good and they get better, but the real good ones can do it pretty naturally. I knew when I was a kid I could tell a difference between what I did and what other guys did. It’s kind of instinct. But it’s a judgment thing,” explains Kel. “We eventually went to Europe, that’s me, Kenny and Yamaha America. How it came about I’m not really too sure, I’m not sure if Kenny wanted to go to Europe or that it was Yamaha who just wanted to go,” says Kel. “The Yamaha dirt track thing had turned pretty bad, so in the end Yamaha America wanted to go and they would supply Kenny with a factory 500. I said I’d go to look after him.” Kel had said he would go to Europe for just one year, but stayed for 17! The team employed two mechanics and the whole project financed by Yamaha America. They paid Kel and Kenny and provided the budget to run the team. Roberts won the championship that year and won it again the following year. Then the factory more or less decided that they’d give up running the team and let Kel take over. Kel had a contract with Yamaha in Japan, with Kenny as the rider. The team had mechanics, one engineer from Japan and a transporter. That was how it ran until Giacomo Agostini came along with the Marlboro money. The team ran out of Italy and Kel became the engineer in charge and did not have to worry about the money and all the other problems he had to contend with. Roberts won the 500cc world championship for three years in a row, 1978, 79 and 80. Kenny was third in 1981, fourth in 1982 after missing the second half of the season through injury and then second by two points in 1983. Eddie Lawson was next under Kel’s wing and he was 500cc title holder for the next three seasons. Kel has also worked for Raymond Roche, Virginio Ferrari, Rob Mcelnea, Niall Mackenzie, Freddie Spencer, Martin Wimmer, Luca Cadalora, Carlos Cardus, Alberto Puig, Doriano Romboni, Gene Romero, Cal Rayborn, Gary Fisher, Skip Aksland and Jarno Saarinen.