Forkner: Would a change of scenery help him?

At this point anything would be better. Lining up backwards would have greatly benefited him last night. Try that.

Sometimes change is good.

He needs to walk under a ladder, or break a mirror to change his luck.

You got an idea there. Maybe he should try baseball.

He should go do construction like Craig did, than maybe he'd calm down a bit on a dirt bike.

he needs to retire before he really hurts himself. i dont think his brain can process pro motocross anymore without busting his ass. sounds harsh but i say it with love. 

A change of bike does not change being a rider who makes mistakes, and will not change the screnery he is used to which is a hospital room. He’s not a rider who struggles on a bike for speed or starts. He can ride the bike fine it’s him who causes the errors 

I don't think Forkner has the luxury to retire, and get a factory ride again if decides to comeback, remember, Craig father in law owned the team where he was hired.

Why do people think it's the bike when it comes to guys getting hurt ? Plenty in the 250 class that can't stay healthy. 

And the construction company he "retired" to.

I really have no idea and he has clearly had a lot of bad luck and upper body injuries, but to me his upper body looks weak.  I think that is what causes a lot of his squirrely riding in rhythm sections as well as a lot of his odd crashes.  I think his talent outruns his strength to control it.  I'm no trainer or fitness guru and definitely don't have any advice, just my personal observation. 

change is good. its been quite a few years and nothing has changed for him? no disrespect just one can only keep trying the same thing over and over..

He’s had upper body injuries, lower body injuries, external injuries and internal injuries. He lost that title to Sexton due to a knee injury if I remember right. He was physically the strongest he’s ever looked this year imo 

Clearly something needs to change, however only Austin really knows what, and that requires an internal honesty that some people never accept within themselves. Hope he gets there.

I'd say there is a good chance we're gonna find out.

A change from hospital scenery could be a good change….

Paging Star Yamaha. I like this idea!

Expecting different results without making changes is the definition of insanity. 

But if he did construction, he’d lose his monster girl(friend). 

For those of you thinking he has bad luck....This crash was totally avoidable. All he had to do was chop the throttle when he started getting off his line. But NO he just kept on the throttle. Kid has such a low awareness its amazing he's made it to the pros without getting himself seriously injured. I'm sorry but the kid is easily following AC9's footsteps. Never make anything of himself because he's always on the ground. Self inflicted. I'm not trying to come down on the kid. I wish he was doing as good as we know he can. But truth is that's not the type of kid he is.

Every time they pointed a camera at him he was losing control, he must be really good during the week. 
 

Nobody thinks its the bike per se, more the question about what a change of bike/team/scenery would do for his mindset and motivations. 

Maybe its boredom. Maybe its being too comfortable in life? None of us know.

There's an old saying "A change is as good as a rest"
Maybe Austin needs to be dropped in to a privateer position, to sharpen him up and realise what it takes to 'make it'.

We've seen riders lose a factory seat and go away and renew themselves and come back better for it later.

 You don't know shit about monster chicks

I gotta agree with that. About every time the camera was on him he was sketched out in Q.

Don't worry, some vitard will be along soon enough to tell you half of the factory guys where riding like that so it wasn't a problem. Something was pushing him to ride like that. Speed has never been the issue. His racecraft is. That's all I got.

Mitch obviously likes him, for whatever reason...and seeing that the Monster/PC/Kawasaki brand is severely lacking in the respect that it had in the past, he probably lets Forkner do what he wants when he wants, and doesn't pressure him at all. I think, if he went to another team, he'd be faced with much higher expectations...and be forced to step up his game considerably, and although he probably wouldn't like not being the top man on the totem pole anymore...it might be the key to him realizing his full potential, which he isn't (IMO) at PC.

It's crazy to see so many amatures get chewed up and spit out the pro ringer but Forker still ends up with a factory ride year after year. 

Yep Vitartd here, I was there BTW. Out of control was off the charts for everyone. Track was brutal. That’s all I got. 

New team, 2nd or 3rd on the team ladder with no big championship expectations. Focus on staying smooth & consistent and get through the season, maybe a top 3 or 4 in points, don't see how that wouldn't help his confidence. He was actually on track for that kind of season in '22... his speed probably wouldn't have won him a championship against Jett, but it was plenty good enough for a bunch of 2nds and 3rds and he was actually avoiding mistakes for the most part. Too bad he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and collided with Jett, but it clearly was an instance of bad luck and I don't see why the approach he took last season wasn't one that he wanted to repeat.

Yep, MOTOCROSS. When was the last time he crashed out of Nationals?

You know I could almost buy into that if he didn't carry it into the heat race and main.