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Shane McElrath Joins Madd Parts Kawasaki
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Best of luck to him there’s a good rider in there !
where was he before? why'd he leave?
It happens all the time in professional sports but it’s mind boggling every time. This guy here goes neck and neck down to the final races of the season almost beating Sexton for a 250SX title, only losing by 9 points. Then look at the 450 trajectory difference of the two.
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Maybe if AJ was his coach....😜
Shane has always seemed like a really genuine guy who loves to race. I remember those epic battles with Anderson and man he handled that well, all things considered.
Journeyman 450 guy who keeps digging, I'm a fan. Not quite at the same level, but he reminds me a bit of Shorty. Hopefully he'll take a step up on the Kawi.
That's like his 12th team huh?
12 more than me or you
Shane is an awesome dude, one of the nicest riders you’ll meet. Hoping this bike and team will allow him to be where he wants to be.
9 250 SX wins is pretty insane tbh.
Also he’s been uneven this year but he still has a 450 top 5.
I’d say he’s an amazing rider to pair with Freddy. One is better indoors than the other and one seems to be better outdoors than the other.
Shane and Freddie should pair up well. I always root for those guys.
Chase was in his 3rd season after winning it in his second and Shane was on last ditch effort after faking injury to not point out and leave to the most dominant team while in his 6th season. I was rooting for Shane, but I don't think anyone was expecting him to become THE GUY in 450s.
1 of those 12 was factory KTM I believe. Or was it TLD?
At least this team didn't have to photoshop him in for their PR
He's had a few flashes of his old speed here and there but he can't sustain it for whatever reason. When he was on MCR he battled Tomac for a heat race win once, or at least kept him honest.
It’s impressive what bubba pauli has built his team into
TLD
Ohhhhhh burn!
🤦♂️
This is my take away. Teams like this growing is the key to career longevity for people. We need more HEPs, MCRs, and MADD Parts in our sport.
Pit Row
I've watched a couple of his vlogs on his YT channel and found it odd how much he struggled with setup on the RMZ each race. That platform is very dated obviously and pretty surprising a "seasoned" pro like him couldn't get comfortable on it.
Hope it works out for him and he finds what he's looking for
He used to give Chase a run for his money not too long ago
If you have followed his career he has constantly complained about his bike set up. Seems Star was the only team that he was not complaining about. Him and JS17 have a lot in common about wanting to stay in the 250 class.
I agree. I think it’s mostly between the ears. Every interview I’ve heard from Shane he is yammering on about setup or just kinda rambling. Seems like a nice guy, maybe needs some confidence.
For sure between the ears. There is no such thing as a perfect bike. You get it 75-80% and u have to be mentally tough enough to do the rest. Not sure if Shane has that grit n dog in him to do that
This is false. While The 2018 and newer KTM frame caused some issues, before that weren't any complaints and actually the bike didn't change much at all, even just clickers. Some bikes just wont ever feel right to a person, I think that is possibly what's going on with the Suzuki. As for Rick Ware, that wasn't an all star moto team and Im sure there was some bike stuff going on. As far as staying in the 250s, same thing, some guys just ride them better, Lamson was a 125 guy, Brown was 125 guy, evidently Pastrana was a 125 guy. There are plenty of others there missing including A Mart and J mart in recent times. If you had to go do the same basic job, but put in more hours, have more responsibilty and get paid less, what the fuck would you want to do, especially when they will keep you hired in your current position? Talk shit about the system, not the riders.
Agreed, you know what you're getting with that bike. The RMZ doesn't do anything weird, and turns great.
Now he’s a solid 20-30 place rider. I guess that’s what MADD is looking for?
Shane isn't that far back he's a 10-16OA guy which is nothing to scoff at. Top 20 guy at a national is hauling ass.
Idk if it’s been asked, but did Nichols moving to HEP have anything to do with it? Not in a bad way I suppose, but making space on the team for a new face? I’ve always liked Shane and hope he finds comfort on the Kawi. He did grab 15th on a stock yz450f last year, after all.
100% agree. I found him to constantly saying the bike set up, etc etc... From his vlogs he seems mentally done, that RMZ should be an easy set up being such a old model and they would have plenty of info on set up. I don't see him doing any better!
Was that hep bike the last shot on a decent bike? Sorry but that madd parts kawi i would assume is a few steps below any of the equipment he has been on. Does anyone know if they have a full time suspension tech traveling to the races? If not then getting a good bike setup will be tough again
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