As requested, many readers sent us their opinions on Anthony Gobert after the report from Australia stated he is using heroin. Here they are ...

... the latest news re Gobie has shocked and disappointed me beyond description. He was/still is one my favorite all-time riders and to see this latest bit of news has, after all the hope I've had, left me inconsolable.

Just thought I'd drop a line and let you know how I feel.

Take care and keep up the great work on the 'soup.

Fergus Jack

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I could care less about Gobert's addictions. He needs, and should receive, a factory ride in spite of his issues. Let the team make him go to rehab, or not, I don't care. Factory motorcycle racers used to get away with a lot worse back in the day, going on benders the night before the race, etc.....The only sad thing about Anthony Gobert is that he's not competing against the best. Unless he commits a crime against someone else, let him alone and get him back on the track for crying out loud.

in 1999 myself and my recently departed friend, pat johnson, had the privilege to watch Anthony Gobert kick matt mladin's ass at the phoenix Superbike race. he was so fast on the Duc on the straightaway and so quick thru the bus stop it was amazing. a truly dangerous, difficult track was not an issue for him. the rest of 1999 he was strong but fell apart at the end and didn't even show up for pikes peak I believe. I saw him again at sears point when he rode for Yamaha and thought his beating Nicky was unbelievable too. but as you've stated, the demons seem to be in him. I wish he could find some peace, he doesn't deserve this.

Keith karn

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The one comment I recall during the time the Go-Show was competitive was I want to see how fat I can get and still win.

I knew then that the brilliance I was seeing would be short-lived. Competitors don't ever sit still, and my premonition was correct. Within a couple of years he was struggling, a talent squandered.

As much as I like Gobert Id rather see opportunities given to new riders who just need that one break. There are too precious few competitive bikes out there to waste one on someone who's not serious.

Jeff

ps: Keep up the great work - I'm a loyal reader for years now!

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As I read "Tragedy Unfolding" I couldn't help but wish Ricky Graham could have done an intervention from the grave. A coworker and I were recounting some of Anthony's on track antics like missing Friday practice to set pole on Saturday. Showing up noticeably fat and still kicking ass. Winning on a Bimota. Rain or not, it was still a feat. Even Kocinski gave him props for riding the wheels off of that ZX-7. Wasted talent... Like any true fan, I hoped he would pull it together as it was also our loss. It's like reading an obit. Anthony Gobert's career r.i.p.

Nick Novice

He knows that there are people who would reach out to him immediately if he wanted help. He just has to decide that he wants it and right now; it appears he doesn't.

Best wishes Anthony... not to race again, but to recover your life.

Craig Brooks

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Raphael McRae

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Fontana 2004, Were in the stands out in the back section behind the pits, Gobert has on his Honda shirt, He and the dudes he was hanging with couldn't sit long enough to watch anything without running up and down the stands to make beer runs ,Of course with one cigarette after another in his hand, More than a few people said 'Is he still racing today ? Sad but true.

Don Wann

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Anthony Gobert stories are getting like John Koscinki stories - everybody has one, and nobody wants to admit how they learned it. John Carter

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He could get on any bike any time and always be the man to beat, very extraordinary.

We were both close to him and his family as we traveled Europe in SBK and it is a damn shame to see his steady regression over the years. I would think that this has sealed his fate as far as a future back in the industry and I just hope that he can sort out his problems and get on with his life, clean. Good luck Anthony.

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read a story a couple of years ago, basically a letter from Anthony Gobert, apologizing to the world (fans, and teams alike) with regard to his addiction and attitude. He was just dropped from the Erion team that picked him up earlier, and didn't make it in for Daytona. I always wished that he would come back, though it never seems that comebacks are what we hope they would be. It makes me sad that there appears to again be very little chance that we will see him take it to the track and competition. At least we have his brothers.

Kevin McDow

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It's a shame that such a talented racer has to suffer through these issue's. All of us have demons we have to deal with and picking some one out of a crowd and focusing on His/Hers only takes our minds off of our own for a short period. Our thoughts are with Anthony and his Family.

Todd Trumble

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This is very sad and disturbing. Anthony has a great talent and was a joy to watch on the track—but even more is at stake here. Drugs are a wicked tool of Satan. I'm sure if Anthony had it to do all over again he would have never given in to that first offer of "just a puff - what can that hurt?"

Larry Indiana

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I have met and talked with Anthony on several occasions during the past decade. At the time he was very polite and articulate. He was willing to share a number of ideas concerning his riding style and his competition philosophies.

It is obvious that he has a disease and it's a shame that he hasn't taken steps to keep it at bay—maybe the courts in Australia can help with mandatory treatment programs.

The other part of the equation would be to get a job racing motorcycles—this, because of his past history, would be tough since no one wants to tolerate this type of behavior. But, in order for him to work his way out of this mess he needs structured treatment, a job (preferably racing), and the support of his family and fans.

If he appreciated the joy and thrill he gives all of the motorcycle racing community, and the desire to get well it would be a win-win for all of us.

Good Luck Anthony.

Chip Bogosian

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Oh man ... the go-show looking for some SMACK. A couple years ago, I felt sorry for the guy, too bad pot and booze wrecked his last chance in AMA Superbike. I was elated when he won a round of WSB on a non-competitive Bimota .. I saw that as his way of sticking it to 'the man'.

Now...he is a train wreck. And we can't stop rubbernecking.

If I was a team owner..I'd be tempted to give the guy a shot, thinking he had overcome his 'demons' , but the HITS just keep on coming. I hope we can understand that the guy is dealing with a sickness, an addiction. Let's try to avoid thinking that he is just a 'weak person' who can't just 'say no'.

Kirk Deason

I think your piece on Go-Show today was written in good taste; I had no idea it had gotten that bad for Anthony and I hope "as I'm sure all Soup readers do" that he gets it all ironed out and back to racing and/or something productive in life. I suppose the hardest part for his fans and I'm sure his family is watching someone so talented and so full of potential as Anthony toss it all down the road for a fix.

Get well soon Go Show you have been sorely missed!

Pat Baker

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Anthony Gobert is the Darryl Strawberry of Motorcycling, what a waste and a shame that this talented rider can't get his life together and fulfill his God-given talents. Really, what else can he do? Investment Banking! Unless they are investing in street corner Pharmaceuticals, don't see that in his future. Sad to think that he and Mladin could have raged some serious battles here stateside.

Greg Duran

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I thank God that drug addiction hasn't touched my immediate family, but very few people don't know a family were it is an issue. I have no idea what his family dynamic is at home but I do wonder either, what more they can do to help or what steps Anthony has taken to get clean. Regardless of what greatness he's displayed in the past, this isn't funny anymore. I wish him the best and this shows it is definitely time for him to move on to other things and focus on his health and life.

It's definitely a shame, he had so much talent. He was the only one that could give Mladin a challenge. I find it very hard to read this and wonder why this man has no good friends or family to keep his life on track and away from all the problems. When he was in his prime, he could ride any brand and be competitive, he had the burning desire to win.... Carlos Hageleit

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But, however great he was on a bike, you can only be given so many second chances. The thing that sealed it for me was the no-salary Erion Superstock ride a few years back. He says he's reformed, he's riding for basically nothing, just so he can take a step back toward the factory trailers, and what happens? After completing exactly ONE race, he gets a DUI, is dropped from Erion, and falls off the face of the earth. If he had been 19, I could have chalked it up to youthful stupidity. But he was in his late 20s, and had already been through this before. To me, that was the sign that said "He's not coming back". Really sad to see so much talent wasted.

Jeff Follis

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Too many people to through life without the ability to ride at the top level and be successful. To see someone who has the ability just piss it away on something as stupid as drugs is sickening. Its hard to feel sorry for him anymore, he's done it to himself.

Matt Manspeaker

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It's always a travesty when one of the finest motorcycle racing talents we've ever seen decides to self-destruct rather than taking his god given talent to their limits, ultimately, taking global success away from himself, and his legion of fans.

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What a waste of life. I know several people that have struggled with substance abuse. I myself had problems when I was a teen. You fall down, make some mistakes, then pick yourself back up a stronger person. However Anthony has had more chances than most at a second chance. I know if I had even a fraction of his talent I could be winning races. This isn't the first time, nor the last, that a talented athlete never got to see their full potential.

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I still hang onto my Gobert posters from his Ducati days when the partying lifestyle was beginning to show itself. He was always quite the entertaining rider and I never stopped hoping he'd be able to get back in the game. After things ended with Erion hope was nearly gone, reading about his ride in Australia seems like such a long fall for someone who could have done so much. All one can hope is that the current crop of young talent takes not of what can become of greatness when life isn't kept in check.

Pat Udenberg

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What a shame. My sons and I would love to watch Anthony slide the Muzzy K-bike into the chicane on the back section of Daytona. There wasn't a race that the phrase, "Wow! Did you see that move?" Again, what a shame. You gotta feel for his family that's still tight in the racing circle and have to deal with this type of embarrassment. Now I guess we can use him as an example of, this is your potential (past racing history) and this is your potential on drugs, a loser without a real chance of showing his potential.

Again. What a shame and waste of natural talent.

Devoted "motorcycle" racing fan.

ps.......great website, view it daily to see what's going on in the motorcycle world.

Mike Polstra

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Anthony Gobert's story is a very sad and all too common one. It seems to be an unfortunate fact of life that individuals who possess THE GIFT are also unstable, unpredictable and self-destructive. I work in the classical music field, which is obviously miles away from motorcycle roadracing, and I witness exactly the same behavior. Great musicians are split in two groups: those who are very talented and hard working, and there then are those who have THE GIFT. The former are most of the time down to earth, balanced and pleasant people. The latter are most of the time temperamental (not to say perfect assholes...), very unstable and more often than not bent on self destruction in one form or another. As if geniuses were actually gods who are doing a very poor job of trying to pass for human beings.

Jean Landry

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Sad news indeed. In my own experience Anthony has always been a very polite and friendly human being in person.

As someone who attended the 1995 Daytona 200 one of my favorite memories is of a kid who just turned 18 leading the race on his Muzzy Kawasaki. Yeah, that was Anthony Gobert alright, at the front in his first visit to The Speedway. In July, he's likewise new to Laguna Seca and is carrying the Muzzy team after Scott Ru$$ell's defection; in heat one under enormous pressure he defeats Troy Corser and his Ducati in a race-long straight-up fight. The last lap was electrifying- who can ever forget the crowd noise when Gobie retook the lead with a few turns to go? It still sends chills up my spine.

Didn't Rob Muzzy say Ant was the most naturally talented rider he'd ever seen? And The Mustachioed One would know, he's seen quite a few!

Addiction is a stubborn thing that's cursedly resistant to self-knowledge, logic, and best intentions. I pray that somewhere in Anthony's path are some good Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous people who can effectively carry the message of sobriety when he's willing to hear it. When the student is ready may the teacher appear!

God bless you, Anthony G!

Richard P. Janes Jr.
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This news of Anthony Gobert having a heroin addiction is truly some of the saddest news I've ever read on Soup. He was one of my favorite riders in AMA Superbike, when he was here, and it really makes me sick to my stomach to think that a rider with that much talent is throwing his life away like this.

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That's a pretty sad story. I was always a big Go Show fan, and to see a talent like his wasted in this way is sickening. If he had been serious about his riding he would be the premier Aussie riding racing motorcycles in the world. His natural talent was that good, no doubt about it. I hope he ultimately gets healthy and gets his life together.

Mark Crosby

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I really think that the two races that I'll remember for the rest of my life are Gobert vs. DuHamel at Elkhart and the same pair at Atlanta. It was like watching Gods battle ...

No matter what happens to the Go-show now, I'll always treasure those memories and remember him as one of the greatest who ever raced a bike.

Seth Greenburg

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Et tu, Anthony ? Hard to see someone with talent self-destruct. I too have watched the eldest Gobert bend Kawasaki's into turns whether they wanted to or not - in particular a certain sideways slide off the banking at Daytona. Freakin' awesome. I just wanted to say I hope things turn around for the original 'sultan of slide' whether it includes racing or not. Sometimes we cling to things long after we should have let them go because they remind us of what used to be. Unfortunately I have known many people close to me with addictions and recovery problems and it is often hard to understand why they can't 'get it together', but often it's like a bike with a slightly bent frame - functional at a walking pace but a handful when you try to stay with traffic. If you're out there reading this Anthony I hope you are OK. The future is unwritten.

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I think that when I'm old and can't remember things very well, there is one racer's name that I will never forget, no matter what happens to him today or ever--Anthony Gobert.

Jeff Holmes

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I have a photo of Gobert and Bostrom lined up at Loudon in their Vance and Hines livery that I hold dear. My favorite tapes are of Anthony's Superbike races (and the Bostrom 883 series). From his magnificent victories to near death at Daytona and on the Bimota Death Trap, he will always be my favorite racer. Save yourself Anthony!

John Symonds

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This just goes to show how easy it is to squander talent. I feel really bad for him.

Bill Taborn, Jr.

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I voiced my thoughts to Dean about a week ago and was asking Dean about what he had heard about Tony lately. Well, I guess I know now.

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Watching Anthony Gobert go from the Go-Show to the No-Show has been hard. At one time I was sure he would be a champion, and at the very least, the one who kept the AMA and World series in check. Man he was fun to watch, now he just has to watch his fun.

Tom Turner

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I was sorry to read about the latest difficulties that have plagued Anthony Gobert. He was always one of my favorite riders in AMA. I especially recall him in some exciting races on the R6 in 600 S/S. It was too bad that he got injured on the R7, and that whole Yamaha effort did not amount to much. It seems like this is the guys unfortunate legacy. I only hope that he can get the help he needs, and turn his life around in a positive way finally.

Jim Horst

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What a waste......

I remember watching Gobert in 2001 when he was riding a Yamaha Superbike at Road America. In terribly wet and rainy conditions ... he flat put on a wet-weather clinic with the very best the AMA had to offer.... .ran off and left them cold.

We watched from the carousel and he was visibly faster than anyone.

It's a shame he allowed apathy and addiction to steal his future.

Tom Tracey

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The only time I ever met him was at Laguna when he was wandering the paddock just signing autographs and saying hi to people. There was no PR guy with a gun in his ribs—he looked like he was doing it because he really enjoyed it. Seemed like the nicest most un-affected guy in the world. Unlike Mr K.

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I used to watch Anthony rip it up on the Yamaha, during weekday tire testing days @ Laguna Seca.

At that time, he held the Laguna Seca lap record...the way the guy rode, he was larger than life.

Watching him and the other pro's ignited a passion for motorcycle riding/racing, that I will not be able to shake until I'm dead.

If I could go back and do my life over again, I would do everything in my power to become a professional roadracer. I feel like I missed my calling.

To think that Anthony has perhaps thrown his career and talent away through drug abuse and consistent bad decisions; hurts everyone with a passion for the sport.

I would give anything to go back and have the opportunity you did, and I can only hope that you find the strength to turn your life around and redeem yourself.

Do it Anthony...for yourself first, for your fans second...and then do it for the triumph of this amazing sport and talent you've been blessed with.

Don't give up Anthony; it's just another get off.

Josh Brooks

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What can you say about Anthony Gobert that hasn't been said already? I too, am one of the die-hard Gobert fans that now can only hope he doesn't kill himself or someone else driving illegally while high on drugs. I'm still a die-hard Anthony Gobert fan, I now cheer for him to beat his most formidable opponent, addiction. This isn't about racing motorcycles anymore, this is about living. God bless you Anthony, I'm pulling for you.

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I freekin love Anthony Gobert. So do all my riding buds. Super-talented, laid-back Aussie goof-ball, extremely likeable. An old school bad-boy bike racer. I met him several times at Daytona (always approachable and easy to talk to), watched him race many times and cheered him even in his darkest days. Remember his Bimota WSB win in the rain? One of the greatest riders I ever watched .. and I've been following road racing since 1985. I remember him sliding the Muzzy Kawasaki 750 like a dirt tracker into the back chicane at Daytona ...backing it in at over 120mph on the pavement ... lap after lap... before the days when such antics were common. It was glorious! It was insane! People went wild ...

His fall from the top has been hard no doubt. He could have been a GP star ... and he blew it. He loved to smoke weed and drink .. perhaps more than riding a motorcycle. Yes, he blew it big time. I feel bad for him ... but not anger. I still have hope for a come back (but not much)

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I was just starting to follow the AMA Superbike series. A friend of mine talked me into driving the 3 hours to Brainerd to watch the next round in person. At the time, I didn't know many of the racers or their numbers. I was just there for the experience. I forget what the results of the SBK race were that day but Gobert finished on the podium (3rd in 2002, I think). We watched the celebration then went to grab the free posters/stickers from the factory tents. We were strolling away from the podium taking everything in when this man with a recognizable accent began talking to us. We turned around and there was Anthony Gobert just shooting the breeze with us as we walked. We walked with him all the way back to the Yamaha garage and parted ways. But at that point I was hooked. Both on the sport and him.

I'm sure he's still that same nice guy that talked to the NOOB that day. I only wish that I'd have gotten to watch him race longer. Closed circuit to Anthony: Get the help that you need so that you can get back to doing what you love to do and so that the many fans of yours will have something to cheer about!

Sheldon Lutterman

Decisions. Every decision we make has consequences. As a roadracer Gobert has the talent, skill, and balls. Unfortunately, he does not have the integrity to back him professionally. We all make mistakes. His destroyed his career.

Hopefully he can find the desire to make wise health decisions and find a program and peer support to bring him back for a season or two.

Kyle Moore

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Such a sublime talent, wasted to the demons over which the poor bloke has little control. His addictions must be so deeply embedded by now, it would seem impossible he'll ever overcome them. It's a real shame. One of the most exciting riders ever to thrash a motorbike, racing has been the poorer for his retreat. I hope he gets well, or at least gets to the point where he's happy with life. Doesn't look like he is right now.

Barry Glading

Why does it always seem that some of the brightest stars in many sports are the ones to crash and burn? In his early days I had Anthony pegged as a some day World Champion. He had unbelievable riding skills. With his good looks and piercing he had just enough of an edge to be a marketing mans dream. As he blew the first couple of chances, I dared to hope he would rise again to the glory he could attain. I have never taken my autographed photo I got with him at Road America, off my wall. I kept up the hope, even as he started over in Australia that he would at least return to AMA so I could watch him again.

Now I no longer hope for a revived career. Now I hope Anthony can seek help and save his life, even if it's away from racing.

Anthony, please don't go from a bright star to a shooting star that is only bright as it burns up. PLEASE!

Steve Deery

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Stories about Gobert illicit a strong reaction because anyone who has ever ridden on a track dreams of having natural talent like that. Seeing the one thing we consistently pray for thrown away by some else makes us angry. When we pray, we always promise God that if he answers our prayer, we will never smoke pot. Or do heroin. Or dye our hair green. Matthew Camillieri

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Jim George

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This is so sad. I used to root for him when he was riding the V&H Ducati and for awhile, it seemed like his troubles were behind him. This is one of strongest examples of where having supreme talent alone will not carry you to the top. I feel sad for him, for his brothers, his mom and dad. The people who saw him at his best will never forget him and those who never did, well, it's a shame they couldn't witness his blazing talent. He was extraordinary.

Mario Baroz

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