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Especially with a bad knee.
It would be a pretty stupid if they did. He was often one of, if not the fastest rider on the track during qualifying, heats, and mains. He needed to iron some things out, but I think he was going to get a win eventually this season. With Craig's results this year and them keeping Wilson for 2-3 years of floundering around the top 10 because of some cheesy Instagram videos. It would be insane to let him walk. Not to mention his fanbase is pretty big. Such a bummer for him.
Malcolm has more upside then all of those guys, minus Ferrandis even at 31. Rj and Forkner are constantly on the ground, Cooper has never raced a 450, Nichols looks mediocre on a Factory Honda, and Savatgy seems like a better outdoor rider. I actually wish Kawasaki kept him on the team this year to see how he would do on that bike indoors. Ironically enough it sounds like he will be Malcolm's replacement at Husky.
Triumph is coming out with a 250 first though, so they probably won’t race a 450 till 2025 at the earliest.
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Ahh, true. Forgot about that.
Sucks to see Malcolm out, one of the my favorites and a huge ambassador for the sport, everyone I know loves him. Hope he gets back safe and soon.
As a side note and since there is so much speculation here, why don't we do a petition to the Husqvarna race team and get them to get Steve Matthes as the fill in rider on the Husky, sure he would rock it on the Rocky Star bike with him knowing all he knows!! If not him next rider for me would be Barney Perry off the couch.
WFO and beyond....
We will know that's his plan for 25 if he signs a 1 year deal though and that might be falling right into place with Forkner out again... Make him run yet another 250 year, sign JA for a 1yr extension, then in 25 when JA goes to Triumph, move Forkner up to the 450.
Hunter is signed through 2024. If he wins a championship, I'm sure the team will want him to defend it.
He'll then be free to sign with any team for 2025. If he wins a title and successfully defends it, he'll have great bargaining power for a 450 contract.
My guess is that he'll sign a 1 year contract extension with Kawasaki for 2024 and then move to Triumph for 2025 and finish off his career there.
"Cooper has never raced a 450"
You're correct, just like most guys moving up to the 450 class.
Cooper is 5 years younger than Malcolm.
Ignore Malcolm's 450 results for a moment and look at the following, then ask yourself who would you sign if they were both moving up to the 450 class at the same time.
I know which one I would sign and it's not the 27.
Yep, exactly. Results speak volumes as does racing for the championship and not just one race. SMH
Had to laugh at the comment about RJ and forkner constantly being on the ground.
I seem to see stewart picking himself up and dusting himself off on a regular basis.
And the reason he's out now is... ???
IMO, I think we've seen the last of him being considered a top tier rider, with a choice factory ride.
Now that you mention it, he does wreck often doesn't he.
I see what you're saying, but I'd have to see Cooper do a few 450 races before I could make that decision.
I've only been racing and following the sport since 1997 so I apologize to the posters above with my ignorance on the subject. You guys obviously know the sport better than me with your wisdom and hours upon hours of internet time studying the sport. Anyways Malcolm has a East 250 title, 3 250 wins, several 450 podiums, and has been the fastest guy on the track many a times. Every year he has been building. This year alone he has been the fastest qualifier, fastest heat race, and fastest lap in a main. Yes he tends to crash sometimes, but his speed is undeniable. It's a shame he got hurt, but look back to when he broke his femur a few years ago. He came back even stronger. For all the people who say at his age he is done being a top rider, you have to look at how much time he has spent off from racing throughout the years and also having to skip the Nationals because of medical aliments. So he probably isn't as burned out like most of the guys at his age, knee injuries suck but he'll be back for Supercross next year. Beside most teams don't really care about the Nationals and with his speed and fanbase he'll be back on a factory team. Look no further than Wilson and Craig. But I apologize for not knowing the sport as well as you guys do.
Oh ya here is a list of 450 riders and some older 250 riders and their ages. He's done being competitive and needs to be sent out to the pasture. 🙄
Mookie - 30
Eli - 30
Marvin - 33
Anderson - 29
Barcia -30
Cooper - 27
Kenye - 28
Nichols - 28
Craig - 31
Dylan - 28
Plessinger - 27
Dean - 31
Seely - 32
Josh Hill - 30
Justin Hill - 27
Savatgy - 28
AC - 26
Justin Cooper - 25
Sexton - 23
Friese - 31
Nicoletti - 33
Jmart - 29
Chisholm - 34
Blose - 34
McElrath - 28
Noren - 30
Anstie - 30
Don't forget Brayton and Reedy.
Practically everyone in a 450 main has at least 1 regional title.
Pit Row
It's undeniable the sport is getting older participants for a variety of reasons.
They didn’t “let” him walk, Roger gave him the golden goose and Honda couldn’t match. Honda was plenty angry about it.
Damn thats a hell of an injury for just washing out in a corner.. this sport is brutal some times.
Well Honda was trying to get Stewart and Carmichael for 2005 and beyond. And I think Honda lowballed both offers, so they didn't get either rider. Carmichael said it himself.
If Eli stays Dylan is out & Cooper in
True, but only a few them actually have the speed to win. No offense to him, but Craig for example is not mixing it up whereas Mookie just caught and passed Roczen and won a heat race after being fast qualifier.
30 is entirely too old to be still "building" in this sport. Yeah you put out a list of older riders, but none of those guys get talked about like they're some doe-eyed kid right out of 250s like Malcolm does.
At the end of the day, he's (arguably) one of the best in the world at what he does and has occasional flashes of speed that can match the top guys. The same could be said for a lot of the field. Even Bogle had some decent runs last year on an "outdated" bike. Nobody made excuses for Bogle they way they do Malcolm.
The latter has so many apologists because his brother was one of the greats. You'll never convince me otherwise.
Why is the injury still a secret? "hurt my knee going to miss some time", gee thanks for all the detail. Sport is so dumb about injuries.
Details are out somewhere. I saw this.
Plateau fracture of the tibia and I think ACL torn. plus other soft tissue damage.
Similar injury to Forkner's.
No one said he's done being a top rider because of his age. Plenty of guys nearing 30 or are over 30 that are still being competitive.
The upside comment I made about Justin Cooper is because he's 25 years old, therefore he still has a longer career ahead of him than Malcolm.
Based on his career resume, he's showing more potential than Malcolm did when he was set to move up. Now, it doesn't mean that Justin will go on to have a massive amount of success in the 450 class. No one can predict that. Riders get signed to a 450 deal based on what they did in the 250 class and when you compare both, Justin has a better resume.
Malcolm 250 SX Career
-2016 250 SX East Champion
-6 seasons, 53 races
-3 wins, 2nd 4x, 3rd 6x
-24x Top 5
-37x Top 10
Justin Cooper 250 SX Career
-2021 250 SX West Champion
-4 seasons, 28 races
-4 wins, 2nd 5x, 3rd 7x
-22x Top 5
-28x Top 10
Malcolm has been a full-time 450 rider since 2017 plus he did two 450 outdoor seasons back in 2013 and 2014.
Earlier in the thread you said that Colt Nichols looks mediocre on a factory HRC Honda. He's a rookie in the class and he got 6th at his first race. His results have been 6-12-12. Just because he's off to an average start it doesn't mean things will stay that way for his entire 450 career.
But since you think it's mediocre and this thread is about Malcolm, let's look at his results for his first three 450 SX races as a comparison.
2014 Daytona: 21st.
If you skip that and take the first three results from when he went 450 full-time in 2017 his results were:
18-14-17
Now, you'll probably say he wasn't on factory equipment like Nichols, and you would be correct, but that was all on him.
He's been in the class full time since 2017 and has 21 top 5 including 4 podiums (3rd x1 and 2nd 3x) in Supercross out of a possible 104 races including the 3 rounds in 2023. Now that he's out for the rest of the season that goes up to a possible 118 races.
Respectable stats considering he started his 450 career with mediocre results.
He also has 7 top 10 outdoors including a 4th back in 2013. That's out of a possible 93 races.
You say that most teams don't really care about the Nationals but that's not true.
Let's now compare their 250 outdoor careers.
Malcolm 250 MX Career
-Best season overall 11th in 2011 & 2012
-Raced the 450 class in 2013 & 2014
-Skipped 250 outdoors in 2015 & 2016
-24 races out of a possible 48 races
-No wins, 1 top 5, 6 top 10
Justin Cooper 250 MX Career
-Moved up from amateurs in 2017 and did the last 3 races going 5-11-11.
-Best season overall 2nd in 2021.
-60 races out of a possible 60 races.
-4 wins, 2nd 11x, 3rd 16x
-42x Top 5
-54x Top 10
You might say that Justin is going into his 6th year of racing outdoors on a 250 and Malcolm only raced two years. You would be correct except for the fact that he skipped the nationals for 2 years and rode for a team that gave him the option to race a 450 which he took. All-in, both were given 6 years to perform outdoors on a 250.
Now, if you can't see that comparing their 250 stats that Justin is showing more upside than Malcolm ever did, there's nothing more that I can say except maybe take off your rose colored glasses.
Besides, no one said he was being replaced, just that it's a possibility just like every other rider that is in a contract year. This is not a new concept. I honestly would not be surprised if he stayed put at Husqvarna.
Edit: Typo.
Someone refresh my memory, please…
How old was Braydon when he won his 1st SX…?
Is it safe to say he was “building” during the seasons leading up to that…?
Asking for a friend.
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