Rob McElnea

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 Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 71 0 0 0 0 275.5 Superbike World Championship Active years 1989 - 1993 Manufacturers Yamaha 1993 championship position - Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 42 0 4 0 1

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.

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. He competed for six seasons in 500cc Grand Prix - for Heron Suzuki, Marlboro Yamaha, Pepsi Suzuki and Cabin Honda. 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, for Loctite Yamaha. Rob then moved back to domestic competition, winning the British 750cc/TT F1 championship in 1991 with the same team. 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. McElnea also ran the Virgin Mobile Cup series with the prize of a berth in his Superbike Team for upcoming riders and, from 2007, a British Supersport Championship team.

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:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Points	15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

Points system from 1988 to 1992:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Points	20	17	15	13	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

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

Year	Class	Team	Machine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Points	Rank	Wins
1983	500cc	Heron-Suzuki	RG500	RSA -	FRA -	NAT -	GER -	ESP -	AUT -	YUG -	NED -	BEL -	GBR NC	SWE -	RSM -				0	-	0
1984	500cc	Heron-Suzuki	RG500	RSA -	NAT 11	ESP -	AUT 5	GER NC	FRA NC	YUG -	NED -	BEL -	GBR 7	SWE 5	RSM 6				21	11th	0
1985	500cc	Heron-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				20	9th	0
1986	500cc	Marlboro Yamaha	YZR500	ESP 7	NAT NC	GER 4	AUT 6	YUG 4	NED 4	BEL 5	FRA 6	GBR 4	SWE 4	RSM 10					60	5th	0
1987	500cc	Marlboro 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 -	39	10th	0
1988	500cc	Pepsi-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	83	10th	0
1989	500cc	Cabin-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	52.5	11th	0