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He absolutely could.
for what it’s worth, I think it’s BS they won’t let him drop down and race the 250 regional SX.
define “lots”
Because I doubt Joey would want to do that. He absolutely could though, as you mentioned it happens with 250 privateers on the opposite coasts from time to time. No rule against it.
While it has the potential to not appear to work out well, it would be excellent testing for the 250 team too...
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Right! And if he makes the main it would be great marketing.
so again how many 250s have qualified for 450 mains … lots?
A 450 can park a 250 in a corner and from a stand still clear the next obstacles… lots of 250s can’t… so why try, what’s the upside for joey?
He’s got a Factory bike that’s new so he’s got a built in excuse if they have issues.
Plus it beats the shit out of pounding laps at the test track.
I’ve known some privateers personally that put their 250f in the 450 Night show, but they never qualified for a main. Still got that contingency $ though…
The same guys that bitched about Craig riding 250sx want JS in the 250 class next year.
Love this idea and hope he considers it. Stay in race shape, develop the bike, marketing, etc. I think he would make mains, but cracking top 15 would be tough.
Did Kyle Peters (or maybe another Honda rider?) do it a couple of years back?
Upside would be how good it would look if his new 250 makes the main. Downside would be he doesn’t make the main but gets really good race situation testing? IMO he could make at least 1/2 the main events.
There have been quite a few that have rode their 250 instead of their 450. It's not like it was back in the 125 and 250 class.
We have privateers making the main on 250 two strokes. I'm sure a guy who came darn close to being a 2x sx champ and was a 250mx title favorite factory rider could easily make most mains. I'd argue he's faster then the hill brothers are right now.
It happens enough that I realized they always point it out during thier broadcast when they do. I belive pipes, ginofli(sp), and there's even a guy that posts here from time to time.
I don’t know if KP did, but I remember Shane McAlreth doing it when he was on TLD KTM.
Joey would be a 10-15 guy on a 250 in the 450 class. If Joey was on a 450 he’d be a 10-15 guy in the 450 class.
IMO which doesn’t mean shit really it’s all just negative press. If he does it and can’t put it into a main it looks bad for the mfg. I’d assume he’d be in all the night shows but then horrible starts and no mains. I’m sure he could slip into a couple mains in the lcq with luck. Then again, he could also just take a huge hit to his confidence not making mains when we all know how talented he is.
You might want to check his 450 results. Good bike he's 5-10
What are his 450 overall results?
Savatgy 450 SX Season Results:
2019= 8th
2020= zero
2021= 10th
2022= 28th
2023= 20th
I’d say 10-15 seems accurate, if not generous, considering today’s competition and the fact I doubt he’s getting better with age.
Pit Row
They could really play this smart and just have him at all rounds doing practice and qualifying in the 450 class. Would be some great real world testing, but then not hafting to worry about results racing a 250 against the 450s.
Savatgy on a big bore Triumph 250 in 450 SX sounds likea good time, from a fan perspective.
Aside from the examples above, a privateer rode his 250F in 450's last year as he "only had his 250F available", had black backgrounds on in practice I think from my horrendous memory?
I think it'd be cool and good development (less so engine wise if they sling a big bore in it, but perhaps chassis wise still useful), but would someone who is still at Joey's level or a team on Triumphs scale line up at a disadvantage engine size wise?
2021 is the last time Savatgy did a full SX season, he finished 10th. Since then he’s only done 9 races and finished top ten in 7 out of the 9. Including 6 top tens in the first 7 races of this year with a stacked field and not on a factory bike. Crashed out of the triple crown at the seventh race.
Context is everything.
The only thing I can think of is that you may need to have a 450 bike homologated to compete in the 450 class, even if you ride a 250. I don't know, though...and maybe it could still be allowed under a factory development exemption rule.
The upside would be testing, gate drops and actually racing. That would benefit Joey and Triumph.
Dude, stop already! Your math is worse than Jett's on the fly.
People that think he would “maybe” qualify are hilarious. Starling made 450 mains on a 250. Joey would be close to, or in the top 10.
“Crashed out.” You said it perfectly. Don’t forget to add buckle under pressure, like his 2nd place 250sx to Wacko Zacko.
Umm…school me please. I get an average season ending results of 16.5 place by averaging the 4 seasons he raced.
How many races did he race in 2023? You are averaging OA results and trying to equate that into what he ranks at and it's Apple & Orange comparison
He only did 7 races this year due to budget/team plans. Doesn’t seem fair to “average” that in.
Since your so serious about this, check all his race finishes and average those.
If I was a new manufacturer I’d want a consistent rider that has a history of consistent results. Joeys Individual race results are great, but his consistency is not great. Michael Lindsey even stated in Vitals announcement “you may not remember Joey riding for Bobby on the KTM Rockstar team BECAUSE HE WAS INJURED MOST OF THE SEASON.” Come on people! Haha.
Is Joey good for a couple top 5’s? Heck yea he is! Is he good for a top 10 overall season performance? Highly doubtful.
Back to my original post. Joey could ride his new 250 in 450SX and do better then nearly half the field on 450’s (in my opinion). If ya’ll could get off the Joey Savatgy nut swing you might see that’s actually pretty good.
Post a reply to: Can Joey Savatgy race his 250 in the 450 supercross next year?