Roberts unveils British-made bike to tackle grand prix élite

The fastest racing motorcycle ever made in Britain was unveiled in London yesterday, when its creator Kenny Roberts pledged that it would challenge for grand prix victories in 2004. The 200mph Proton KR will make its debut in the MotoGP Series in May, ridden by the Ulsterman Jeremy MacWilliams and Japan's Nobuatsu Aoki. "I am confident that we will be competitive by the end of this season, and looking for race wins next year,'' said the team owner Roberts, who won three world titles as a rider.

"This bike is 97 per-cent made in Britain. It's the perfect country to do this because of your cottage industry in making racing components."

The 990cc KR, sponsored by the Malaysian car maker Proton, marks the first time for more than half a century that a fully British-made motorcycle has mounted a serious challenge in world championship competition. Roberts is manufacturing the complex V5-cylinder machine in his factory at Banbury, Oxfordshire, in the heart of Britain's Formula One belt. He has recruited a number of ex-Formula One personnel, including his technical director John Barnard, the former Ferrari designer.

The Proton KR team of about 50 people will go into battle against nine world champions on seven other makes of motorcycle in the flourishing MotoGP series, which starts in Japan on 6 April. "I'm proud to be a part of this small team taking on the might of the big factories," said MacWilliams, at 38 the oldest rider in grand prix racing.

Yesterday was the first time he had seen the bike. He will start the season on last year's Proton KR 500cc two-stroke until the four-stroke machine is ready, probably at the Spanish or French rounds of the 16-race series. "It will be frustrating to start on the old bike," MacWilliams said, "but the engineers are making sure that any faults are sorted out before we put it on the track."

* BBC television is to televise the MotoGP series for the first time this season.