Roberto 'Roby' Rolfo (born 23 March 1980) is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer. He had his best season in 2003, when he finished in second place in the 250cc World Championship.[1] Rolfo competed in the MotoGP class for one year before he switched to the Superbike World Championship, where he remained up to the start of 2009.

Roberto Rolfo
Rolfo in 2005.
NationalityItalian
Born (1980-03-23) 23 March 1980 (age 44)
Turin, Italy
Current teamGrillini Racing Team
Bike number44
Websiterobyrolfo.eu
Motorcycle racing career statistics
MotoGP World Championship
Active years2005, 2012
ManufacturersDucati, ART
Championships0
2012 championship positionNC (0 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
21 0 0 0 0 25
Moto2 World Championship
Active years2010, 2012, 2014
ManufacturersSuter
Championships0
2014 championship position29th (2 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
30 1 2 0 0 78
250cc World Championship
Active years1996, 19982004
ManufacturersAprilia, TSR-Honda, Honda
Championships0
2004 championship position8th (116 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
102 3 18 0 3 896
Superbike World Championship
Active years20062009, 2011, 2017
ManufacturersDucati, Honda, Kawasaki
Championships0
2017 championship position33rd (4 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
105 0 0 0 0 369
Supersport World Championship
Active years20132017
ManufacturersMV Agusta, Kawasaki, Honda
2017 championship position12th (43 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
55 1 4 0 0 321

Career

edit

Rolfo was born in Turin, Italy.

250cc World Championship

edit

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. In his first season his best result was fifth place in Argentina, and in 1999 it was again a fifth, at Catalunya. In 2000 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. After scoring points in the first four races, he scored three podiums in the next four (second at Mugello and Donington Park and 3rd at Catalunya). He only failed to score points twice all season.

In 2002 he raced for the Fortuna-Honda Gresini team. He scored five second places, three of them behind countryman and champion Marco Melandri. 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.[2] He went better both in terms of race results and championship finish. He was victorious at Sachsenring and Phillip Island 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 finished second, but he was down in seventh. He did beat the series' winningest rider that year, Toni Elías, into third overall however.

2004 was not a success by these standards. Rolfo won in Spain, but was not on the podium again, finishing only eighth overall.

MotoGP

edit

After making no advance in 2004, Rolfo moved up to MotoGP for 2005, with the D'Antin Ducati 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

edit

With no ride available in MotoGP, Roberto switched to the Superbike World Championship for 2006. 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 2007 he joined the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team, alongside 2004 champion James Toseland. Rolfo managed a career-best fourth place at Monza and Silverstone and finished 8th overall, but was overshadowed by his teammate's championship win.

He was not retained by Ten Kate Honda for 2008 and signed for Althea Honda, taking Hannspree sponsorship with him. He missed the Monza round due to injury.[3] Axed for 2009, he scored a second-row grid position at contract time at Magny-Cours. He was also quick in the rain at Donington before a rash attempt at overtaking Leon Haslam 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.[4]

Career statistics

edit

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

edit

By season

edit
Season Class Motorcycle Team Race Win Pod Pole FLap Pts Plcd
1996 250cc Aprilia Team Italia 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1998 250cc TSR-Honda Scuderia Carrizosa 14 0 0 0 0 61 12th
1999 250cc Aprilia Vasco Rossi Racing 13 0 0 0 0 62 14th
2000 250cc TSR-Honda Tino Villa Racing 4 0 0 0 0 26 16th
Aprilia Racing Factory 6 0 0 0 0
2001 250cc Aprilia Safilo Oxydo Race 16 0 4 0 0 177 4th
2002 250cc Honda Fortuna Honda Gresini 16 0 7 0 2 219 3rd
2003 250cc Honda Fortuna Honda 16 2 6 0 0 235 2nd
2004 250cc Honda Fortuna Honda 15 1 1 0 1 116 8th
2005 MotoGP Ducati Team d’Antin Pramac 17 0 0 0 0 25 18th
2010 Moto2 Suter Italtrans S.T.R. 17 1 2 0 0 75 14th
2012 Moto2 Suter Technomag-CIP 11 0 0 0 0 1 30th
MotoGP ART Speed Master 4 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2014 Moto2 Suter Tasca Racing Moto2 2 0 0 0 0 2 29th
Total 153 4 20 0 3 999

By class

edit
Class Season 1st GP 1st Pod 1st Win Race Win Podiums Pole FLap Pts WChmp
250cc 1996, 1998–2004 1996 Italy 2001 Italy 2003 Germany 102 3 18 0 3 896 0
Moto2 2010, 2012, 2014 2010 Qatar 2010 Germany 2010 Malaysia 30 1 2 0 0 78 0
MotoGP 2005, 2012 2005 Qatar 21 0 0 0 0 25 0
Total 1996, 1998–2005, 2010, 2012, 2014 153 4 20 0 3 999 0

Races by year

edit

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos. Pts
1996 250cc Aprilia MAL INA JPN SPA ITA
27
FRA NED GER GBR AUT CZE IMO
22
CAT BRA AUS NC 0
1998 250cc TSR-Honda JPN
Ret
MAL
12
SPA
13
ITA
Ret
FRA
14
MAD
10
NED
10
GBR
12
GER
11
CZE
15
IMO
8
CAT
8
AUS
13
ARG
5
12th 61
1999 250cc Aprilia MAL
10
JPN
12
SPA
9
FRA
Ret
ITA
Ret
CAT
5
NED
Ret
GBR GER
12
CZE
11
IMO
10
VAL
13
AUS
DNS
RSA BRA
9
ARG
7
14th 62
2000 250cc TSR-Honda RSA
15
MAL
14
JPN
Ret
SPA
19
FRA ITA 16th 26
Aprilia CAT
Ret
NED
9
GBR
Ret
GER
6
CZE POR VAL BRA PAC
Ret
AUS
10
2001 250cc Aprilia JPN
5
RSA
8
SPA
7
FRA
9
ITA
2
CAT
3
NED
Ret
GBR
2
GER
4
CZE
5
POR
4
VAL
8
PAC
5
AUS
3
MAL
10
BRA
8
4th 177
2002 250cc Honda JPN
8
RSA
4
SPA
2
FRA
5
ITA
8
CAT
2
NED
3
GBR
5
GER
2
CZE
Ret
POR
4
BRA
2
PAC
6
MAL
3
AUS
4
VAL
2
3rd 219
2003 250cc Honda JPN
7
RSA
5
SPA
2
FRA
3
ITA
4
CAT
9
NED
6
GBR
5
GER
1
CZE
4
POR
4
BRA
2
PAC
2
MAL
4
AUS
1
VAL
7
2nd 235
2004 250cc Honda RSA
9
SPA
1
FRA
Ret
ITA
7
CAT
Ret
NED
9
BRA
7
GER
6
GBR
DNS
CZE
6
POR
10
JPN
7
QAT
7
MAL
Ret
AUS
10
VAL
7
8th 116
2005 MotoGP Ducati SPA
15
POR
13
CHN
16
FRA
15
ITA
17
CAT
14
NED
18
USA
Ret
GBR
10
GER
14
CZE
17
JPN
Ret
MAL
13
QAT
12
AUS
13
TUR
16
VAL
Ret
18th 25
2010 Moto2 Suter QAT
5
SPA
12
FRA
10
ITA
18
GBR
24
NED
Ret
CAT
Ret
GER
3
CZE
Ret
INP
25
RSM
10
ARA
19
JPN
9
MAL
1
AUS
26
POR
Ret
VAL
25
14th 75
2012 Moto2 Suter QAT
Ret
SPA
25
POR
21
FRA
15
CAT
Ret
GBR
16
NED
19
GER
20
ITA
Ret
INP
Ret
CZE
19
RSM ARA 30th 1
MotoGP ART USA JPN
16
MAL
DSQ
AUS
Ret
VAL
Ret
NC 0
2014 Moto2 Suter QAT AME ARG SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GER INP CZE GBR RSM ARA JPN AUS MAL
14
VAL
20
29th 2

Superbike World Championship

edit

Races by year

edit

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos. Pts
R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2
2006 Ducati QAT
7
QAT
13
AUS
5
AUS
7
SPA
Ret
SPA
16
ITA
8
ITA
10
EUR
17
EUR
19
SMR
15
SMR
15
CZE
12
CZE
17
GBR
18
GBR
18
NED
8
NED
12
GER
Ret
GER
17
ITA
14
ITA
15
FRA
14
FRA
17
16th 69
2007 Honda QAT
7
QAT
Ret
AUS
11
AUS
10
EUR
9
EUR
7
SPA
10
SPA
12
NED
9
NED
5
ITA
Ret
ITA
4
GBR
4
GBR
C
SMR
5
SMR
8
CZE
5
CZE
5
GBR
6
GBR
11
GER
5
GER
7
ITA
Ret
ITA
5
FRA
10
FRA
7
8th 192
2008 Honda QAT
11
QAT
15
AUS
10
AUS
16
SPA
10
SPA
17
NED
22
NED
14
ITA ITA USA
20
USA
16
GER
16
GER
17
SMR
17
SMR
18
CZE
Ret
CZE
12
GBR
10
GBR
14
EUR
Ret
EUR
13
ITA
8
ITA
10
FRA
Ret
FRA
10
POR
12
POR
18
17th 59
2009 Honda AUS
13
AUS
16
QAT
Ret
QAT
Ret
SPA SPA NED NED ITA ITA RSA RSA USA USA SMR SMR GBR GBR CZE CZE GER GER ITA ITA FRA FRA POR POR 39th 3
2011 Kawasaki AUS
11
AUS
12
EUR
14
EUR
15
NED
Ret
NED
16
ITA
Ret
ITA
13
USA
17
USA
16
SMR
Ret
SMR
12
SPA
14
SPA
13
CZE
14
CZE
11
GBR
13
GBR
Ret
GER
14
GER
13
ITA
18
ITA
Ret
FRA
13
FRA
Ret
POR POR 18th 42
2017 Kawasaki AUS AUS THA THA SPA SPA NED NED ITA ITA GBR GBR ITA ITA USA USA GER GER POR POR FRA FRA SPA SPA QAT
13
QAT
15
33rd 4

Supersport World Championship

edit

Races by year

edit

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos. Pts
2013 MV Agusta AUS
Ret
SPA
9
NED
6
ITA
11
GBR
3
POR
Ret
ITA
14
RUS
C
GBR
6
GER
15
TUR
5
FRA
Ret
SPA
3
6th 78
2014 Kawasaki AUS
11
SPA
12
NED
6
ITA
5
GBR
10
MAL
4
ITA
10
POR
9
SPA
7
FRA
3
QAT
6
7th 97
2015 Honda AUS
8
THA
6
SPA
10
NED
5
ITA
10
GBR
11
POR
8
ITA
12
MAL
6
SPA
10
FRA
11
QAT
7
7th 88
2016 MV Agusta AUS
9
THA
18
SPA
Ret
NED
22
ITA
14
MAL
12
GBR
14
ITA
Ret
GER
18
FRA
16
SPA
Ret
QAT
Ret
24th 15
2017 MV Agusta AUS
1
THA
11
SPA
6
NED
15
ITA
Ret
GBR
14
ITA
18
GER POR 12th 43
Honda FRA
Ret
SPA QAT
2019 Kawasaki AUS
THA
SPA
NED
ITA
SPA
ITA
23
GBR
POR
FRA
ARG
QAT
NC* 0*

 * Season still in progress.

References

edit
  1. ^ Roberto Rolfo career statistics at MotoGP.com
  2. ^ "Fortuna continues to smile on Rolfo". Crash. 2002-11-26. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  3. ^ "Former AMA Superbike Regular Bussei Will Now Replace Rolfo At Monza". Roadracing World. Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. 8 May 2008. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Roby Rolfo". Archived from the original on 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
edit