Danny Kent

Danny Kent
Kent in 2015
Nationality	British
Born	(1993-11-25)25 November 1993 Chippenham,Wiltshire,England
Current team	McAMS Mar-Train
Bike number	52
Website	dannykent52.com
Motorcycle racing career statistics Moto2 World Championship Active years 2013,2016–2018 Manufacturers Tech 3,Kalex,Suter,Speed Up Championships 0 2018 championshipposition 25th (8 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 48 0 0 0 0 62 Moto3 World Championship Active years 2012,2014–2015,2017 Manufacturers KTM,Husqvarna,Honda Championships 1 (2015) 2017 championshipposition 32nd (6 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 55 8 14 7 4 549 125cc World Championship Active years 2010–2011 Manufacturers Aprilia,Honda,Lambretta Championships 0 2011 championshipposition 11th (82 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 23 0 0 0 0 82

Danny Ray Kent(born 25 November 1993) is anEnglishmotorcycle racer, best known for winning the2015Moto3 World Championship. In doing so he became Great Britain's first Grand Prix solo motorcycleworld championsinceBarry Sheenein1977,as well as the first British lightweight class champion sinceDave Simmondsin1969.

During 2020 he competed in theBritish National Superstock 1000 Championship,aboard aKawasaki ZX-10R,and for 2021 aboard aSuzuki GSX-R1000Rin theBritish Superbike Championship,until a crash caused a dislocated and broken hip in August 2021.

For 2022, Kent continued with Buildbase Suzuki but for 2023 he joined, as sole rider, a new BSB team established by his personal sponsor using a Honda.

For 2024, Kent moved to the Mar-Train team with McAMS their title sponsor, and has resigned for the 2025 season. He won his first British superbike race at the final round of the 2024 season.

Career

Early career

Born inChippenham,Wiltshire,Kent like many others started out in Minimoto, before moving into the FAB-Racing MiniGP50 and MiniGP70 British Championships. Kent progressed through the Aprilia Superteens Championship earning success before being selected for the Red Bull MotoGP Academy and racing in Spain in the Spanish 125GP Championship. When the Academy closed Kent was switched to theRed Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup,where he finished runner-up in 2010. Kent also contested a wild card ride at Silverstone in 2010 aboard a 125cc Honda, earning him a late ride with Lambretta in the 125cc Grand Prix world championship that year.

125cc/Moto3 World Championship

Kent at the2010 British Grand Prix

Kent entered the 125cc world championship with Lambretta in2010at the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, qualifying in 16th place, a big improvement on 29th in which he qualified for the British round earlier that year – however he retired from the race. He took a best qualifying position of 10th at the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril and a best and only race finish of 21st at Phillip island during the Australian Grand Prix.

For2011,Kent switched to the Red Bull Ajo Aprilia team to compete in his first full season in the 125cc world championship. Kent enjoyed a successful first season scoring 82 points with a best finish of fourth place, on the way to 11th in the championship standings.

2012was the start of the Moto3 class. The new formula would use four-stroke 250cc engines apposed to the two-stroke 125cc engines of the class it was replacing. Kent remained with the Red Bull Ajo team however the team switched to running KTM motorcycles spearheading the factory's assault on the title. The team had a fantastic year with Kent's teammateSandro Cortesetaking the world championship along with Kent himself taking fourth in the championship. Kent earned his first podium atAssenin theDutch TT,and he took his first win at the Japanese Grand Prix atTwin Ring Motegiwith a great last lap result. He followed up in similar fashion just four rounds later at the final Grand Prix of the season inValenciawith a brave last corner overtake on Cortese earning him his second Grand Prix victory.

Moto2 World Championship

For2013,Kent raced withTech 3in the Moto2 category alongside fellow Moto3 graduateLouis Rossi.Kent's season started with a run to 18th place inQatar,he scored his first points at round six with a 13th-place finish inCatalunya.Kent scored points on four more occasions with a best of 12th at both theCzechandMalaysianraces, and had a strong end to season with three consecutive point-scoring finishes before breaking his collarbone in the warm-up for theJapanese Grand Prix,ruling him out for the rest of the season.

Return to Moto3

Having been originally announced to remain in Moto2 with Tech 3, Kent returned to Moto3 for 2014; he competed with theAjo Motorsportteam, riding aHusqvarna-brandedKTM.

For 2015, Kent moved to the Leopard sponsored Kiefer Racing squad, running Hondas.Kent's season started off well, reaching the podium at the first race inQatarand taking his first win for Leopard in the following race at theCircuit of the Americas.Kent won the next two races – the first British rider to win successive races in the lightweight class sinceBarry Sheenein1971– inArgentinaand atJerezto open up a championship lead. He added further victories inCatalunya,theSachsenringand his home event atSilverstone.

He led the championship by twenty-four points ahead ofMiguel Oliveira,with one race remaining. Despite Oliveira winning the final race inValencia,a ninth-place finish was enough for Kent to claim the championship and become Great Britain's first Grand Prixmotorcycle world championsinceBarry Sheenein1977.

Return to Moto2

On 27 September 2015, it was announced that Kent would be moving up to the Moto2 class for the2016 season,with his Leopard Racing team.He was joined in the team by his Moto3 championship rivalMiguel Oliveira.

Kent walked out on his team after just three races into the season,and was without a ride for much of the remainder, with a wildcard ride in Moto3 and acting as an occasional replacement for injured riders in Moto2, before signing with a new teamSpeed Up Racingin Moto2 for the 2018 season.

Kent was sacked by Speed Up in late September 2018, with five races remaining, due to poor performances and refusing to follow team orders. In a statement to motogp.com, team boss Luca Boscaruro was highly critical of Kent, stating “that behaviour doesn’t work. I’m sorry, but not with me”.

British Superbike Championship

Kent secured an entry riding Halsall Racing'sSuzuki GSX-R1000for theBrands Hatchfinal round of the2018 British Superbike Championshipin October after a successful test.He failed to finish in two races,but finished in position 12 from 15 finishers in race three.The team subsequently folded after principal Martin Halsall withdrew funding.

In late May 2019, it was announced that Kent would ride in British Superbikes on an ex-Leon Camier2016MV Agusta F4,starting from the July event atSnetterton.Kent failed to finish a race at Snetterton,but achieved 18th place in BSB race 2 atThruxtonin August.His employment was terminated by his team in mid-August due to a court conviction.

Kent joined Buildbase Suzuki, continuing into 2022. A practice crash at theDonington Parkthird-round in May 2022 caused hospitalisation with no participation in the races.

Personal life

Kent also became part of the Phil Burgan Race Academy (PBRA) – a programme for developing British talent in motorcycle sport, under the guidance ofJames Toseland.The aim of the programme is to provide support, both financial and consultative, to promising British motorcycle racers and teams of the future.

In August 2019 Kent received a four-month suspended prison sentence for carrying a knife in a public place during an altercation in March, 2019.This resulted in his superbike team terminating his contract, withGino Reanamed as interim replacement.

Career statistics

Career highlights

• 2001– Welsh Minimoto – Debut and first win.
• 2004– FAB-Racing MiniGP50 British Championship (2nd overall)
• 2005– FAB-Racing MiniGP70 British Championship (1st overall)
• 2007– British Aprilia Superteens Championship.
• 2008– Invited into Red Bull MotoGP Academy and contested Spanish CEV 125GP (9th overall)
• 2009– Academy closed – transferred to theRed Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup(4th overall, 1 win)
• 2010–Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup(2nd overall, 2 wins)
• 2015– Moto3 World Champion (6 wins)

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Races by year

(key) (Races inboldindicate pole position, races initalicsindicate fastest lap)

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Pos	Pts
2009	SPA1 3	SPA2 1	ITA 7	NED Ret	GER 6	GBR 8	CZE1 2	CZE2 8			4th	96
2010	SPA1 1	SPA2 2	ITA 4	NED1 11	NED2 2	GER1 3	GER2 12	CZE1 3	CZE2 2	RSM 1	2nd	164

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

Season	Class	Motorcycle	Team	Race	Win	Podium	Pole	FLap	Pts	Plcd	WCh
2010	125cc	Honda	Aztec Grand Prix	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC	–
		Lambretta	Lambretta Reparto Corse	5	0	0	0	0	0
2011	125cc	Aprilia	Red Bull Ajo Motorsport	17	0	0	0	0	82	11th	–
2012	Moto3	KTM	Red Bull KTM Ajo	17	2	3	1	1	154	4th	–
2013	Moto2	Tech 3	Tech 3	15	0	0	0	0	16	22nd	–
2014	Moto3	Husqvarna	Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo	18	0	2	1	0	129	8th	–
2015	Moto3	Honda	Leopard Racing	18	6	9	5	3	260	1st	1
2016	Moto2	Kalex	Leopard Racing	17	0	0	0	0	35	22nd	–
2017	Moto2	Suter	Kiefer Racing	3	0	0	0	0	3	33rd	–
			Dynavolt Intact GP	0	0	0	0	0
		Kalex	CarXpert Interwetten	1	0	0	0	0
	Moto3	KTM	Red Bull KTM Ajo	2	0	0	0	0	6	32nd	–
2018	Moto2	Speed Up	Speed Up Racing	13	0	0	0	0	8	25th	–
Total				126	8	14	7	4	693		1

By class

Class	Seasons	1st GP	1st Pod	1st Win	Race	Win	Podiums	Pole	FLap	Pts	WChmp
125cc	2010–2011	2010 Great Britain			23	0	0	0	0	82	0
Moto3	2012, 2014–2015, 2017	2012 Qatar	2012 Netherlands	2012 Japan	55	8	14	7	4	549	1
Moto2	2013, 2016–2018	2013 Qatar			48	0	0	0	0	62	0
Total	2010–2018				126	8	14	7	4	693	1

Races by year

(key) (Races inboldindicate pole position; races initalicsindicate fastest lap)

Year	Class	Bike	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Pos	Pts
2010	125cc	Honda	QAT	SPA	FRA	ITA	GBR Ret	NED	CAT	GER	CZE	INP	RSM	ARA								NC	0
		Lambretta													JPN Ret	MAL Ret	AUS 21	POR NC	VAL Ret
2011	125cc	Aprilia	QAT 13	SPA 4	POR 15	FRA 17	CAT 11	GBR 10	NED 6	ITA 15	GER 9	CZE Ret	INP 13	RSM 6	ARA 6	JPN 9	AUS 22	MAL 10	VAL 17			11th	82
2012	Moto3	KTM	QAT 8	SPA Ret	POR 8	FRA Ret	CAT 20	GBR 6	NED 3	GER Ret	ITA 5	INP 12	CZE 7	RSM 12	ARA 4	JPN 1	MAL 6	AUS 5	VAL 1			4th	154
2013	Moto2	Tech 3	QAT 18	AME 17	SPA 26	FRA 15	ITA 21	CAT 13	NED 19	GER Ret	INP 22	CZE 12	GBR 18	RSM 18	ARA 15	MAL 12	AUS 13	JPN DNS	VAL			22nd	16
2014	Moto3	Husqvarna	QAT 13	AME 8	ARG 9	SPA 11	FRA 13	ITA 15	CAT 17	NED 8	GER 5	INP 12	CZE 3	GBR 9	RSM 12	ARA 3	JPN 6	AUS 20	MAL 4	VAL 4		8th	129
2015	Moto3	Honda	QAT 3	AME 1	ARG 1	SPA 1	FRA 4	ITA 2	CAT 1	NED 3	GER 1	INP 21	CZE 7	GBR 1	RSM 6	ARA Ret	JPN 6	AUS Ret	MAL 7	VAL 9		1st	260
2016	Moto2	Kalex	QAT 6	ARG 16	AME Ret	SPA Ret	FRA 19	ITA 14	CAT Ret	NED 14	GER DNS	AUT 12	CZE 7	GBR 15	RSM Ret	ARA 29	JPN Ret	AUS Ret	MAL 18	VAL 9		22nd	35
2017	Moto2	Suter	QAT 13	ARG Ret	AME DNS	SPA							AUT DNS	GBR	RSM	ARA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL		33rd	3
		Kalex						ITA Ret	CAT	NED
	Moto3	KTM					FRA 10				GER Ret	CZE										32nd	6
2018	Moto2	Speed Up	QAT 17	ARG 12	AME Ret	SPA Ret	FRA 21	ITA Ret	CAT 21	NED Ret	GER Ret	CZE Ret	AUT 12	GBR C	RSM Ret	ARA Ret	THA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL	25th	8

British Superbike Championship

By year

Year	Bike	1			2			3			4			5			6			7			8			9			10			11			Pos	Pts
		R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3
2022	Suzuki	SIL 17	SIL 18	SIL 15	OUL 21	OUL 19	OUL Ret	DON DNS	DON DNS	DON DNS	KNO 19	KNO 14	KNO Ret	BRH 12	BRH 9	BRH Ret	THR Ret	THR 22	THR 15	CAD 15	CAD 16	CAD 14	SNE 10	SNE Ret	SNE 12	OUL 12	OUL 12	OUL 10	DON 17	DON 14	DON 9	BRH 8	BRH 6	BRH 8	16th	77
2023	Honda	SIL	SIL	SIL	OUL	OUL	OUL	DON	DON	DON	KNO	KNO	KNO	SNE	SNE	SNE	BRH	BRH	BRH	THR	THR	THR	CAD	CAD	CAD	OUL	OUL	OUL	DON	DON	DON	BRH	BRH	BRH

External links

• Danny Kentat MotoGP.com
• Danny KentatAS.com(in Spanish)
•