Rob McElnea

Last updated

Rob McElnea
Nationality British
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Active years 1983 - 1989
First race 1983 500cc British Grand Prix
Last race 1989 500cc Brazilian Grand Prix
Team(s) Yamaha, Suzuki
Championships 0
StartsWinsPodiums Poles F. laps Points
710000275.5
Superbike World Championship
Active years 1989 - 1993
Manufacturers Yamaha
1993 championship position-
StartsWinsPodiums Poles F. laps Points
420401

Rob McElnea (born 12 December 1959) is a British former professional motorcycle road racer. At the peak of his career he raced six seasons in the MotoGP, then named 500cc Grand Prix Championship. He also competed for five years in the World Superbike Championship and became British Superbike Champion in 1990. McElnea went on to run the very successful Rob Mac Racing team in the British Superbike Championship for over a decade until 2011.

Contents

Motorcycle racing career

Having won the Senior Manx Grand Prix in 1980, his TT wins followed in 1983 and 1984, and he won a round of the TT Formula 1 World Championship in 1983, finishing second to Joey Dunlop in the season final standings. [1] [2] He competed for six seasons in 500cc Grand Prix - for Heron Suzuki, Marlboro Yamaha, Pepsi Suzuki and Cabin Honda. [3] Despite finishing fourth eight times, luck went against him and he never quite secured a podium result. He then finished 5th overall in the Superbike World Championship in 1990, [4] for Loctite Yamaha. Rob then moved back to domestic competition, winning the British 750cc/TT F1 championship in 1991 with the same team. [5] His career was ended by injury in 1993.

McElnea then ran the Virgin Mobile Yamaha team in the British Superbike Championship. With Cadbury's Boost sponsorship in the 1990s and rider Niall Mackenzie, the team won three successive championships, 1996-1998. They have been less successful in the 21st century, although Steve Plater, James Haydon and Tommy Hill have won British Superbike races for them. For 2008 they ran Karl Harris. [6] McElnea also ran the Virgin Mobile Cup series with the prize of a berth in his Superbike Team for upcoming riders [7] and, from 2007, a British Supersport Championship team. [8]

At the end of the 2011 season McElnea retired his team who were one of the longest standing Superbike teams in the British Superbike Championship.

Grand Prix career statistics

Points system from 1969 to 1987:

Position12345678910
Points1512108654321

Points system from 1988 to 1992:

Position123456789101112131415
Points201715131110987654321

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

YearClassTeamMachine123456789101112131415PointsRankWins
1983 500ccHeron-Suzuki RG500 RSA
-
FRA
-
NAT
-
GER
-
ESP
-
AUT
-
YUG
-
NED
-
BEL
-
GBR
NC
SWE
-
RSM
-
0-0
1984 500ccHeron-Suzuki RG500 RSA
-
NAT
11
ESP
-
AUT
5
GER
NC
FRA
NC
YUG
-
NED
-
BEL
-
GBR
7
SWE
5
RSM
6
2111th0
1985 500ccHeron-Suzuki RG500 RSA
NC
ESP
NC
GER
7
NAT
9
AUT
5
YUG
8
NED
7
BEL
NC
FRA
NC
GBR
NC
SWE
NC
RSM
10
209th0
1986 500ccMarlboro Yamaha YZR500 ESP
7
NAT
NC
GER
4
AUT
6
YUG
4
NED
4
BEL
5
FRA
6
GBR
4
SWE
4
RSM
10
605th0
1987 500ccMarlboro Yamaha YZR500 JPN
NC
ESP
NC
GER
5
NAT
4
AUT
5
YUG
NC
NED
4
FRA
NC
GBR
NC
SWE
4
CZE
8
RSM
NC
POR
NC
BRA
NC
ARG
-
3910th0
1988 500ccPepsi-Suzuki RGV500 JPN
NC
USA
9
ESP
12
EXP
8
NAT
12
GER
11
AUT
9
NED
10
BEL
6
YUG
8
FRA
11
GBR
NC
SWE
13
CZE
8
BRA
8
8310th0
1989 500ccCabin-Honda NSR500 JPN
-
AUS
-
USA
-
ESP
-
NAT
DNS
GER
10
AUT
11
YUG
11
NED
10
BEL
11
FRA
9
GBR
10
SWE
9
CZE
12
BRA
12
52.511th0

[9]

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