“Out of sight.”
Depending on how that three-word phrase is used, it can have two diametrically opposed meanings. As a colloquialism, “out of sight” or, more accurately, “outta sight” conjures up Boston’s seminal hit song “Rock & Roll Band” when lead singer Bradley Delp belted out Tom Scholz’s memorable lyrics:
Playin’ for a week in Rhode Island,
A man came to the stage one night.
He smoked a big cigar, drove a Cadillac car,
And said, “Boys, I think this band’s outta sight.”
But, taken in a completely different context, “out of sight” describes something that is concealed, hidden, or kept from the public eye. Consider the iconic closing scene of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” which reveals a massive warehouse where the government seals away the Ark of Covenant inside Hangar 51 in the Nevada desert. The suggestion is that there are countless artifacts locked away in Hangar 51.
Kenny Roberts Jr. wants to avoid all that with not only his own racing artifacts, but those of his father “King” Kenny Roberts himself.
For Kenny Jr., it took a trip to the Goodwood Festival of Speed to start him down the path that ultimately led him to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. His dad’s and his own bikes and leathers, helmets and other paraphernalia were out of sight, and even to himself, also “out of mind.” He knows the stuff his dad and he have, but what good is having it if no one gets to see it? Seeing the vintage cars in action at Goodwood, and riding his own GP bike at Goodwood along with his dad, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Mick Doohan, and others drove home the “out of sight, out of mind” point even more.
This is, after all, The Roberts Collection. The Roberts Legacy.
During the recent Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas, I was invited to one of the trackside VIP suites at Circuit of The Americas where Kenny Roberts and Kenny Roberts Jr.–the only father-and-son duo in the 75-year history of the FIM to win premier-class Grand Prix World Championships–were introduced by Robert Pandya, Communications Director of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum.
Both KR and KRJR shared some words about the legacy that Kenny started and Kenny Jr. continued. Then, in short fashion, they shifted their focus to two “out of sight” objects in the room and, after removing the covers, revealed two truly “outta sight” motorcycles. Kenny’s 1980 500cc Grand Prix World Championship-winning Yamaha YZR500 and Kenny Jr.’s 2000 500cc Grand Prix World Championship-winning Suzuki RGV500.
The two motorcycles are now part of the Barber Museum’s permanent collection and will be featured in a special display inside the breathtaking facility.
Not only that, but Kenny’s pioneering achievements as a racer, a team owner, an event organizer, a constructor, and a powerful advocate for advancing rider safety will be celebrated on October 11 through 13, when KR serves as the Grand Marshal of the 19th annual Barber Vintage Festival at Barber Motorsports Park. Kenny Jr., an eight-time Grand Prix race winner who was named a “MotoGP Legend” in 2017, will join his father at the Barber Vintage Festival.
Kenny Jr. alluded to the fact that this is just the very beginning of a relationship between the Roberts and the Barber Museum. “I want people to be able to see what my dad did during his career, and what I did as a racer, too,” Kenny Jr. said.
And, so do we, Kenny. So do we.
