Kel Carruthers


Kelvin "Kel" Carruthers is an Australian former world champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and racing team manager. After his motorcycle riding career, he became race team manager for world championship winning riders Kenny Roberts and Eddie Lawson.

Motorcycle racing career

Carruthers, as the son of a motorcycle shop owner, learned how to work on bikes from a young age, started riding at 10, and entered his first race at 12. By the early 1960s he had won the Australian 125 cc, 250 cc, 350 cc and 500 cc National Championships.
In early 1966, he moved to Europe with his family to compete in British and International short-circuit races, including Grand Prix World Championship events riding a Drixton Aermacchi, and for early 1969 season riding bikes for the Aermacchi factory. Halfway through the 1969 season, he was offered a ride with the Benelli factory and won the Isle of Man 250 cc TT race. After the Isle of Man TT, Aermacchi released him from their contract to continue as a factory rider with Benelli and, he went on to win the 1969 FIM 250cc road racing world championship after a tight points battle with Santiago Herrero and Kent Andersson.
1970
After the 1970 Grand Prix season, he accepted an offer from Yamaha to race in America. Yamaha asked him to tutor a young American dirt track racer named Kenny Roberts. In 1973, Carruthers became the manager of Yamaha's American racing team. Under Carruther's guidance, Roberts would win the 1973 and 1974 Grand National Championship for Yamaha. When it became apparent that Yamaha didn't have a bike able to compete with the dominant Harley Davidson dirt track team, they decided to send Carruthers and Roberts to Europe to compete in the road racing world championships. With Carruthers tuning the bikes and offering guidance, Roberts went on to win three consecutive world championships in 1978, 1979, and 1980. Carruthers also managed Eddie Lawson to a 500cc World Championship in 1984.
Carruthers went on to work for several Grand Prix teams through to the 1995 season. In 1996, he took a job with the Sea-Doo watercraft factory racing team, helping them win several national and world titles. He returned to motorcycling in 1998 running a Yamaha satellite motocross team.
In 1985, Carruthers was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999.

Grand Prix motorcycle racing resultshttp://www.iomtt.com/TT-Database/Events/Races.aspx?meet_code=ALL&ride_id=2370 Kel Carruthers Isle of Man TT results. Iomtt.com. Retrieved on 14 July 2014.

Points system from 1950 to 1968:
Position123456
Points864321

Points system from 1969 onwards:
Position12345678910
Points1512108654321


YearClassTeam12345678910111213PointsRankWins
1966125ccHondaESP
-
GER
-
NED
-
DDR
-
CZE
-
FIN
8
ULS
8
IOM
12
NAT
7
JPN
-
00
1966350ccNortonGER
-
FRA
-
NED
-
DDR
-
CZE
-
FIN
4
ULS
-
IOM
NC
NAT
-
JPN
-
318th0
1966500ccNortonGER
-
NED
-
BEL
-
DDR
-
CZE
-
FIN
-
ULS
-
IOM
11
NAT
-
00
1967125ccHondaESP
-
GER
-
FRA
-
IOM
5
NED
-
DDR
-
CZE
-
FIN
5
ULS
4
NAT
7
CAN
-
JPN
-
78th0
1967250ccSuzukiESP
-
GER
-
FRA
-
IOM
12
NED
-
BEL
-
DDR
-
CZE
-
FIN
-
ULS
-
NAT
-
CAN
-
JPN
-
00
1967350ccAermacchiGER
5
IOM
10
NED
6
DDR
4
CZE
-
ULS
4
NAT
-
JPN
-
97th0
1967500ccNortonGER
-
IOM
NC
NED
-
DDR
-
CZE
-
ULS
-
NAT
-
JPN
-
00
1968125ccHondaGER
6
ESP
-
IOM
3
NED
-
DDR
-
CZE
-
FIN
-
ULS
6
NAT
-
610th0
1968250ccAermacchiGER
-
ESP
-
IOM
NC
NED
-
BEL
-
DDR
-
CZE
-
FIN
-
ULS
-
NAT
-
00
1968350ccAermacchiGER
3
IOM
NC
NED
-
DDR
3
CZE
4
ULS
2
NAT
-
173rd0
1968500ccNortonGER
-
ESP
-
IOM
6
NED
5
BEL
5
DDR
-
CZE
-
FIN
-
ULS
6
NAT
6
711th0
1969125ccAermacchiESP
6
GER
10
FRA
-
IOM
2
NED
-
BEL
-
DDR
-
CZE
9
FIN
-
NAT
-
YUG
-
2010th0
1969250ccBenelliESP
-
GER
-
FRA
-
IOM
1
NED
2
BEL
3
DDR
5
CZE
3
FIN
4
ULS
1
NAT
2
YUG
1
891st3
1969350ccAermacchiESP
2
GER
6
IOM
NC
NED
7
DDR
7
CZE
7
FIN
-
ULS
-
NAT
-
YUG
-
297th0
1969500ccAermacchiESP
-
GER
8
FRA
-
IOM
NC
NED
-
BEL
-
DDR
-
CZE
-
FIN
-
ULS
-
NAT
-
YUG
-
344th0
1970250ccYamahaGER
1
FRA
NC
YUG
-
IOM
1
NED
-
BEL
2
DDR
-
CZE
1
FIN
-
ULS
1
NAT
2
ESP
-
842nd4
1970350ccYamahaGER
2
YUG
2
IOM
NC
NED
4
DDR
3
CZE
4
FIN
4
ULS
-
NAT
-
ESP
-
282nd0