Is Team USA Making a Mistake? Eli racing the new 2023 Yamaha at MXoN (UPDATE: He’s not)

Press516
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Press516 9/15/2022 9:03pm
9/15/2022 9:03pm
I prefer he ride the 22…. But his relationship with the blue pig is quite different than it was with the KX. And if it’s his choice to ride it, who am I to say no.

The concern, is if the bike is really different, how can we be sure that Star has the motor right? They don’t have much time with it. Don’t need another DNF, not of Eli’s doing.
Stewyeww
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Stewyeww 9/15/2022 9:09pm
9/15/2022 9:09pm
As an Australian I say he should run the 23, whats the worst that can happen?
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Dirt.Squirt
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Dirt.Squirt 9/15/2022 9:11pm
9/15/2022 9:11pm
Welp we’re fucked if he races the 23.
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bvm111
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bvm111 9/15/2022 9:20pm
9/15/2022 9:20pm
ahhhh he was on a completely new brand of motorcycle this year and wrecked the competition… pretty sure he will be fine if HE chooses an updated version of that motorcycle.
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jorgechavez 9/15/2022 10:31pm
9/15/2022 10:31pm
Just my guess but I imagine he has the choice here which didn’t seem like the case when he raced the new bike in 2018.
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aees
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aees 9/16/2022 12:54am
9/16/2022 12:54am
bvm111 wrote:
ahhhh he was on a completely new brand of motorcycle this year and wrecked the competition… pretty sure he will be fine if HE chooses an...
ahhhh he was on a completely new brand of motorcycle this year and wrecked the competition… pretty sure he will be fine if HE chooses an updated version of that motorcycle.
Well, just check round 1 and 2 results before they had the bike dialed. Not good.

MXoN is one race, if you are off on Saturday it is not likely he fixes it until Sunday.
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CPR
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CPR 9/16/2022 3:59am
9/16/2022 3:59am
If true, I think this is just another example of the factories ruling the roost and the MXoN ‘team’ and manager just being a façade.

If the manager really had the final say, do you think they’d take the risk of running a new 2023 bike, when Tomac has just proven to be a machine (yet again) on his 2022 with a full season’s worth of settings in the back pocket?
Same as Honda choosing to put Jett on the 450 for Australia, when a better choice for the actual MXoN team would be him on a 250 due to his better starting and run through the pack ability than Hunter.

A team manager’s job is to go with the choice that offers the best chance of success and lowest risk of something going wrong.
Sure it may turn out fine, but this is just the manufacturer using MXoN’s as an advertising opportunity.
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AH387
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AH387 9/16/2022 5:17am
9/16/2022 5:17am
bvm111 wrote:
ahhhh he was on a completely new brand of motorcycle this year and wrecked the competition… pretty sure he will be fine if HE chooses an...
ahhhh he was on a completely new brand of motorcycle this year and wrecked the competition… pretty sure he will be fine if HE chooses an updated version of that motorcycle.
The difference is that ('22) was a motorcycle with a proven track record. Years of data and getting the kinks worked out vs a bike ('23) that even the team is unfamiliar with.
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mxmasta
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mxmasta 9/16/2022 6:02am
9/16/2022 6:02am
Team USA should win by a mile on home turf this year with these 3 riders. But if they do not, here is your official excuse to use for the next couple of years: BUT ELI HAD THE NEW '23 BIKE.
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Gungadin
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Gungadin 9/16/2022 6:10am
9/16/2022 6:10am
Eli's in holiday mode until he starts getting ready for Cardiff WSX then 2023 SX.
Don't expect too much from rider or bike.
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soggy
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soggy 9/16/2022 6:13am
9/16/2022 6:13am
Gungadin wrote:
Eli's in holiday mode until he starts getting ready for Cardiff WSX then 2023 SX.
Don't expect too much from rider or bike.
Lol, Cardiff is like a week after mxon.
bents
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bents 9/16/2022 6:42am
9/16/2022 6:42am
I'd like to assume he knows what is at stake here, and if he digs the 23 model and is excited to race it then the conversation is pretty much over. For anyone on this forum to imply its a bad idea suggests Star Racing, Yamaha, and Eli don't know what they are doing. Come on. The way Eli is riding he could probably take the new Triumph in its embryonic state of development and win. The clip of him riding the 2023 Yammie was ridic. No one beats Eli at Red Bud, except perhaps Chase. And it won't be because of the bike.
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soggy
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soggy 9/16/2022 7:07am
9/16/2022 7:07am
bents wrote:
I'd like to assume he knows what is at stake here, and if he digs the 23 model and is excited to race it then the...
I'd like to assume he knows what is at stake here, and if he digs the 23 model and is excited to race it then the conversation is pretty much over. For anyone on this forum to imply its a bad idea suggests Star Racing, Yamaha, and Eli don't know what they are doing. Come on. The way Eli is riding he could probably take the new Triumph in its embryonic state of development and win. The clip of him riding the 2023 Yammie was ridic. No one beats Eli at Red Bud, except perhaps Chase. And it won't be because of the bike.
He has said himself multiple times he usually misses the set up at the first race, esp on a new bike. Just look at A1 and pala 1. The chances of him nailing the set up first time is probably 1 in 5.
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davistld01
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davistld01 9/16/2022 7:09am
9/16/2022 7:09am
Eli will be fine. Relax!
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JazzyJJ
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JazzyJJ 9/16/2022 7:20am
9/16/2022 7:20am
Gungadin wrote:
Eli's in holiday mode until he starts getting ready for Cardiff WSX then 2023 SX.
Don't expect too much from rider or bike.
soggy wrote:
Lol, Cardiff is like a week after mxon.
And who gives a shit about that race. He's getting paid to show up and Im sure they're paying for a nice trip, so basically a paid all inclusive vacation.
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mxb2 9/16/2022 7:26am
9/16/2022 7:26am
mxmasta wrote:
Team USA should win by a mile on home turf this year with these 3 riders. But if they do not, here is your official excuse...
Team USA should win by a mile on home turf this year with these 3 riders. But if they do not, here is your official excuse to use for the next couple of years: BUT ELI HAD THE NEW '23 BIKE.
Yep no excuses,. Keep that in mind. On jetts 450 results also.
motonation24 9/16/2022 7:41am
9/16/2022 7:41am
KirkChandler wrote:
I really hope he rides the 22, the 23 could be a better bike, but the 22 is comfortable, he’s admitted himself that he misses the...
I really hope he rides the 22, the 23 could be a better bike, but the 22 is comfortable, he’s admitted himself that he misses the setup almost every year with a new bike and struggles to get comfortable at race pace.

In 2018, he rode the 2019 bike and DNFd the qualifying race, and then didn’t ride up to expectations the rest of the weekend.
He went 7-4 ffs with bad starts in a mudder !
Plessinger went 18-16, Barcia went 9-13.. those results were the main issue for USA
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Bacon_n_Egg'r 9/16/2022 9:29am
9/16/2022 9:29am
jorgechavez wrote:
Just my guess but I imagine he has the choice here which didn’t seem like the case when he raced the new bike in 2018.
Way too much logic in this post.
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Johnny Ringo
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Johnny Ringo 9/16/2022 3:29pm
9/16/2022 3:29pm
Losing this race so many times in a row has us (me included) alllll freaked out over every detail. If this was 2010 I’d say “fuck it let er eat bro!”
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Johnny Ringo
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Johnny Ringo 9/16/2022 3:30pm
9/16/2022 3:30pm
RC didn’t go race the all new 2008 Suzuki at Budds…food for thought
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WCRider
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WCRider 9/17/2022 3:09am
9/17/2022 3:09am
Very bad Idea imo. Team USA should playing safe.
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ShipLap
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ShipLap 9/17/2022 5:56am
9/17/2022 5:56am
AH387 wrote:
I thought ML already asked him and he confirmed that he was not racing the '23 at MXON?
This ^^
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beamer
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beamer 9/17/2022 8:08am
9/17/2022 8:08am
AH387 wrote:
I thought ML already asked him and he confirmed that he was not racing the '23 at MXON?
ShipLap wrote:
This ^^
That ☝️
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Timo
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Timo 9/17/2022 9:14am
9/17/2022 9:14am
AH387 wrote:
I thought ML already asked him and he confirmed that he was not racing the '23 at MXON?
ShipLap wrote:
This ^^
beamer wrote:
That ☝️
Yamaha probably hadn't given the green light on the 23 yet.
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SX_336 9/17/2022 9:24am
9/17/2022 9:24am
aeffertz wrote:
At the 34:00 mark of this video, they say that apparently Eli loves the new bike and Star has one built up for him to race...
At the 34:00 mark of this video, they say that apparently Eli loves the new bike and Star has one built up for him to race at the MXoN. Why would they do that? Didn’t they learn their lesson in 2018? Hopefully it’s not true and he races the bike he just won two titles on this year…

https://youtu.be/mpRv-y0ffVc
PLEASE tell me how you know which bike Eli feels better on than Eli. If you really have the ability to do this, you’re in the wrong line of work.

I guarantee you Eli AND the team have compared lap times wherever he is training on his 22 and 23 bike. If he’s faster and more comfortable on the 23, then that’s what he should race. Your opinion does not outweigh Eli’s thoughts, ability, comfort and more importantly, the data. 😉
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sbarrington314 9/17/2022 9:33am
9/17/2022 9:33am
Of course he's going to say he likes the 23. That's what he's paid to do. But then come race time he will get 10th place they'll say they didn't get enough testing in. Yea no shit you didn't get enough testing in. Angry
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soggy
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soggy 9/17/2022 9:34am
9/17/2022 9:34am
aeffertz wrote:
At the 34:00 mark of this video, they say that apparently Eli loves the new bike and Star has one built up for him to race...
At the 34:00 mark of this video, they say that apparently Eli loves the new bike and Star has one built up for him to race at the MXoN. Why would they do that? Didn’t they learn their lesson in 2018? Hopefully it’s not true and he races the bike he just won two titles on this year…

https://youtu.be/mpRv-y0ffVc
SX_336 wrote:
PLEASE tell me how you know which bike Eli feels better on than Eli. If you really have the ability to do this, you’re in the...
PLEASE tell me how you know which bike Eli feels better on than Eli. If you really have the ability to do this, you’re in the wrong line of work.

I guarantee you Eli AND the team have compared lap times wherever he is training on his 22 and 23 bike. If he’s faster and more comfortable on the 23, then that’s what he should race. Your opinion does not outweigh Eli’s thoughts, ability, comfort and more importantly, the data. 😉
Comparing lap times on a practice track doesn’t really matter.

If he does race the 23 and misses the set up(like he usually does on a new bike) pie to the face for all of you.
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TeamGreen
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TeamGreen 9/17/2022 10:11am
9/17/2022 10:11am
TeamGreen wrote:
2022 SX Champion
2022 MX Champion

Ya know, I’m thinking he’s doin’ jus’ fine.
Chris_Buehler wrote:
Not sure your point here.
He’s more than capable enough to make a decision like this… and that’s “if” he’s even made such a decision.

He didn’t win both of those championships by making uninformed or risky changes to his program. Also, he’s only got -1- year on this bike…during which he’s certainly tested and tried alllllll sorts of changes/different parts and settings between his Supercross and Motocross set-ups.

Just a week or so…ago…he rode the ‘23 at Perris…I think…during the A-Star demo days…& he looked pretty damn good.

I watched the videos of him on that bike…If I recall, correctly, the ‘23 he rode had Stock Suspension…?
If that’s the case…? Damn!

Also, everyone is talking like the New Yamaha has been COMPLETELY CHANGED. Hmmmmm. I’m thinking it’s more along the lines of “refined” and I can’t help but think some of those refinements are things that fall in-line with what Eli and others on Yamaha race bikes have been working on or have created -themselves- thru changes/modifications/development.

The bottom-line? Eli and Star seem to know what they’re doing.
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Taylor415
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Taylor415 9/17/2022 10:17am
9/17/2022 10:17am
If a PRO rider has been putting time on it, likes it better and feels it’s ready to race, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be okay.
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