First of all, IMMENSE props to both he and Hunter Lawrence for a clean, hard race for the win. Both riders made contact in the final two turns but neither one looked to be takeout attempts; simply aggressive block maneuvers which seriously disrupted the other's line choice. Excellent.
Now, onto the "coulda, shoulda, wouldas:"
I think Nate could have won had he kept his head, went far inside, stopped and just sat down against the tuff block. He'd simply wait until Hunter bumped him one, two, three times, then popped the clutch and rolled over to the checkers for the win. (Or, he'd have a good shot at blocking Hunter's line if he went outside and tried to rail the berm.) Naturally, the instinct is to go as fast as you possibly can and stay ahead, and that's exactly what Hunter was banking on... he knew he'd have one shot to block pass the kid and that's exactly what he did when Nate went for the berm.
Hindsight is 20/20, and perhaps in the heat of the moment I wouldn't have thought to block either. I think the brake check would have been a fantastic end to the race on Saturday, however.
Nate gave that one away...that's one that will always burn him inside knowing it's one W he gave away.
Bummer for sure - but - he'll learn from it. I like the kids future.
On social scoop Thrasher's mechanic referenced that he was held up by Hymas. He didn't say if he thought it was intentional or not. I don't recall seeing anything on the broadcast, I wonder if there's any video out there?
I don't think Hunter made contact during his last-turn block pass. I watched it a few times from different different angles and it looked really clean.
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Not sure about the lost art part, but that was awesome racing by those two guys.
Yes, holding a tight inside line would have been better but hindsight. He was drag racing Hunter to the corner and didn't want him going on the outside preferred line either. How do you learn to make good decisions? Make some bad ones!
Kids have no racecraft these days, i know 30 60+ guys who would have never lost that in the last turn.
Still a great race though , Hunter knows he has the measure of everyone over 15+1 and it shows.
Another great ride by Max Anstie, his first lap rip through the whoops was great .
Still think he should be on a 450 though.
Someone put Nate's face on it.
Yeah cut inside & curve it to the outside to block him. Brake check him if needed, it’s for the WIN. I,m sure he pushed it to the limit of front end grip on the outside. But it looked slow like he was waiting for Hunter. Maybe the yzf doesn’t hv much for front end grip. Because that was pretty slow.
When you spend all your time growing up in a facility instead of actually racing, you don’t learn tricks like that.
Nate had the right idea, he was inches from the inside tuff block on entry, no way Hunter was getting up the inside entering the corner, sealing the inside off that hard caused him to drift outside on exit, but normally that wouldn't matter because the rider behind wouldn't be able to get underneath anyway. Thrasher expected Hunter to try to squeeze in between him and the inside block.
I think Hunter's move is being underrated here, starts outside and backs it in on flat ground while squaring up and cutting under Thrasher. Absolutely sick move
Anybody got a clip of the last turn pass?
Someone will post it. Hunter did one of those controlled skid slides like you used to do in the dirt with your BMX bike when you were a kid. Except he didn't slide out and lay it over. It was a very nice move but Thrasher shouldn't have left the door open for him.
Here's a link to the video: https://www.nbcsports.com/video/hunter-lawrences-late-pass-caps-wild-la…;
So what was the complaint about Hymas? He pulled over and got out of the way. lol
I bet Jett has pulled the brake check trick on Hunter hundreds of times in practice.
Yeah, that sounds like sour grapes from Thrasher's mechanic, Hymas did just fine.
Like I said in the Race Day thread, Hunter's slide was equal parts skill and luck.
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It's easy for us all to armchair quarterback it. But anyone who has raced or followed the sport knows you DON'T leave the f'n inside open...especially on the last turn! This will haunt him until he gets that next W and even then it will still sting when he thinks of it.
I have often recently wondered where the "art of the brake check" has been too. Great thread title!!
Nate should have closed the inside, it was far less risky than leaving the inside and middle wide open.
Was a bit gutted for him actually, Hunter is going to win many races and likely championships so no disrespect to him, just would have been nice to set Nate up with the confidence a win would have brought and I guess a bit of pressure on HUnter fro the series...people sometimes do odd things under pressure.
Hunter's feet up slide under Thrasher going into the last corner was poetry in motion.
Say what you want about being more aggressive defending. But of the 44 guys who lined up for the mains last night, there ain't many who wouldn't have fallen prey to the same move from Hunter.
Correct, and Thrashers mistake exiting the sand was just a mistake. It looked like the exit had a bump that would stand you up if you hit it wrong. It wasn't intentional and it could have been bad for both of them. I'm surprised Hunter saved it.
Watching that again is so painful. It stings me just watching it and my name isn't Thrasher. He had a huge huge lead and then it unraveled quickly as he threw it away. Looks like he hesitated or made slight mistake coming out of the corner before the sand, then rides defensive instead of pinning it around the inside sand rut, then leaves the door open on last turn for Hunter to slide under him. That one will haunt him forever knowing how few opportunities there are to get a win.
I recall James saying something on the broadcast along the lines of "I can't believe he left the inside open".
My first thought was going over the berm was intentional, but not the contact. Thrasher tried to chop Hunter's line but didn't realize just how close he was. Pure speculation, but that's my interpretation.
@ falcon Initially I had thought Thrasher could have braked harder and held the inside, even if he had to do the brake check/ slow racing thing to hold the inside. After watching it a few more times I could believe he might not have been able to, given they are racing into a wet corner and how long he held on the throttle to get position on Hunter. It looks like he overshot his braking point. I think it played out in the most exciting way possible though. Hunter's slide was rad, the contact, and also the seat bounce/ last ditch effort by Thrasher. Epic final few turns of racing.
Nate did everything right. Hunter just flat tracked that sucker in beautifully and stole it.
I was hollering up off the couch and my stepdaughter's boyfriend thought I was watching UFC.
Yep. Hunter passed him aggressively, but I don’t see any contact.
Hunter beat Nate by 0.134 of a second!
Has anyone considered he blew past the turn because it was wet? It looked like he was trying and maybe he could have slowed down on a dry track but he seemed to just skid past the turn.
edit: just read forensic’s post. Spot on.
I see it the same way...
He was wide open down the straight and may have overshot his braking point by a few feet...
That is an EXTREMLY fine line!
He cant just put put down the straight, he still needs to charge into the corner, a corner that is extremely slick!
Hunter had him lined up, either way he was finding a way around him.
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