Who is new British motorbike champ Danny Kent?

The last time the UK produced a motorbike world champion was in 1977, when Barry Sheene claimed his second consecutive title in the 500cc class, riding for Suzuki.

Since then, no Brit has won a world championship in any of biking’s major categories spanning 500cc to 50cc, nor in the MotoGP, Moto2 or Moto3 classes as they are known today.

The only exception from Sheene’s era – and where Britain actually exerts a level of dominance – is the utterly ridiculous Sidecar World Championship. What this says about British motorcycling pedigree, we’re not quite sure.

This weekend though, that all changed. After a strong start to the Moto3 season, 21-year-old Danny Kent from, um, Wiltshire, did just enough in the final race in Valencia to clinch his maiden world title.

Kent finished ninth in Spain to secure the points he needed to shut out his only remaining championship rival, Portugal’s Miguel Oliveira. The runner-up took the chequered flag for the fourth time in five races, but in the end it wasn’t enough to deny Kent and his Leopard Racing Honda.

So who is Danny Kent? And how did he become a world champion? Let’s begin with...

Born in Chippenham in 1993, Kent started racing at the age of six. Quickly displaying a talent for riding, his parents soon bought him a bike of his own to take to the local track.

Kent rose steadily through the ranks as a junior, until his folks informed him in his early teenage years that, because of financial reasons, he’d either have to be signed by a pro team or give up racing altogether.

Luckily for Danny, he was scouted in Spain and ended up in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, where he spent two seasons developing his skills as a racer.

In 2009, Kent amassed 96 points over the course of eight races to finish a creditable fourth in the standings. In 2010 he fared even better and fell just short of the title, narrowly missing out by six points to American rider Jacob Gagne.

Kent’s exploits in his second season of the Rookies Cup earned him a wildcard 125cc debut (which became the four-stroke 250cc class of Moto3 in 2012) at Silverstone that same year, although he retired from the race as one Marc Marquez took the win.

This in turn was followed by a late ride with Lambretta, though again Kent was unfortunate, finishing just once in five races. Still, as at every other stage of his fledgling career he’d done enough to prove himself, securing his first full 125cc seat at Aprilia for 2011.

Kent’s first two years in 125cc/Moto3 showed plenty of promise, with his first podiums and victories coming in 2012, having made the switch to KTM from Aprilia after one season.

This prompted another category jump up to Moto2 in 2013, though Kent’s season was interrupted by family troubles at home. Although he’d originally planned to stay in Moto2 with his Tech 3 team, Kent eventually dropped down to Moto3 again, joining Husqvarna for 2014.

Although this move only yielded two podiums, Kent’s most recent switch to the Honda-powered Leopard Racing proved inspired. The Brit was on the podium in eight of the first nine races – winning five in the process – giving him a commanding lead in the race for the championship.

The second half of the season was more difficult as Miguel Oliveira became the rider to beat, but ultimately Kent had already done enough to secure his first world crown.

So can Kent make it to the very pinnacle of MotoGP racing? It’s a rocky path, but there’s no question he has the potential to compete with biking’s biggest names.

Despite reportedly being offered three rides in the highest echelon of MotoGP, in 2016 Kent will make the step up to Moto2 again, with rival Miguel Oliveira joining him as teammate at Leopard Racing.

British racers are frequently hindered by the comparatively poor sponsorship outlook in the UK, with teams sometimes expecting riders to fund their own expenses and wages until they have built up experience at the top level.

For now though, Kent must focus on conquering the middle tier. Marc Marquez is the most notable recent 125cc champion, having also won Moto2 and MotoGP twice before his 22^nd birthday. Some past winners are making slower progress up the ladder. Others have moved on to superbikes.

Success at this stage is certainly no guarantee of future glory. But if things do fall into place for the 21-year-old, there is nothing he Kent do...