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As for the OQ: I think if he gets a holeshot then probably, and if not then maybe not. We'll see who's on his game.
Which reminds me: how's that holeshot/win stat shaping up? A few rounds ago it was "No one who has gotten a holeshot has won," and at this point I don't think anything has changed. No, I guess that was only one round ago, after A3. Whatevs.
if you think a guy like RV is content with second place, I think your way off.
being "smart" is just what guys say when they come in second and everyone thinks they should have been first. being fast always trumps being smart.
Arlington 2013 looks pretty hard and slick.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3zFE7c4jNY
RV's already in a lot better spot at this point in the season than he was last year, where he was 27 points out of the lead, and third in the standings. Right now, he has a nine point edge over Roczen, and a 15 point gap over a wounded Chad Reed.
Want to make this really interesting? James is 21 points back of RV...in other words, a smaller gap than Villopoto had to deal with at the same point last year. Ryan can afford to take fewer risks this time around.
Pit Row
I don't think we've seen RV at full speed yet, but James is getting healthy/faster.
I don't know how Chad's going to ride/race next weekend if his injuries are as bad as he first said. But one thing's for sure. He's a tough dude. I remember watching him climb aboard his bike the week following the Chadatapult at Millville when he could barely swing his leg over the bike.
Then there's Roczen, who's still solidly in this, but was unhappy with his ride last week.
This is going to get good over the next few weeks.
A1...he was pushing at the front...and went down. We know that stiff as he runs the front..that is a risk. He decided not to implode like last year...and get what he could.
Phoenix...he wins
A2 and A3. At these races. the dirt hardened up, and RV runs that spikey tire. All the guys with that set up saw the tires go off at lap 12-14. You can look at the plots...A3 for instance...RV starts losing about .20 a lap all the way till the end. Him and 3/4 of the field. This was a tire issue. He got what he could. The winner of those races rode great, but he also nailed the set up. Chads lap times did not fall off. Go look at the plots. It is plain as day. Do you all really think RV got tired on lap 12? If so...why didn't he get tired at lap 12 at Oak and SD and PHX?
Oak. He wins. Stew might have been his match, but he was too far back.
SD...this time Stew gets a start. RV was giving it everything he had. EVERYTHING. That moment on the flat turn...that is because he was charging to get inside James in a spot RV is usually great. Towards the end...James got through traffic better...and he also put the hammer down on lap 16..and pulled a gap that pretty much broke RV. If the roles had been reversed, we might be talking about how James does not quite have it for RV. SD was not a good track to pass on...or even make a run at a guy. Look at how hard RD tried to get by CR22. Look at what CR22 did to himself trying to get by KR. JS, when he is on, is harder to pass than any of those guys. So...RV was probably not even cosidering making a move on JS...but he damn sure wanted to stay close close close so he could take advantage of a mistake. Think about it...RV knows that long term..JS has been prone to mistakes. So even if you are not planning on sticking it inside and taking a risk...you want to stay close. He could not really even get close. We saw both RV and JS at 100%. JS was better that night. He will be better again more than once this year...but probably not enough to win it.
James needs to be at the level of A1/Oak/SD at every race...and will he keep riding like "new James".
RV is not as weak as some think he is.
Post a reply to: RV hasn`t gone with out a win...