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9/16/2009
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Portland, OR, USA
Edited Date/Time
3/24/2025 10:14am
Watched the interview Lewis did with Chase after the race last weekend. Asked him about contract negotiations. Chase said he was in the middle of negotiating, but the way he answered and how he talked, it definitely didn't sound like he was trying to re-up with KTM. Usually riders who are trying to stay where they're at, say so. To me it sounds like Chase is trying to leave and is walking the tightrope trying not to say too much.
Chase to Kawi. Stamp it
He has an opt out. He doesn’t have to do anything to get out of his contract.
I'd be surprised if he left.
From the outside it seems like the team (Ian at least) has his back, and the bike looks really, really good with him now.
“Sounds like”
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I don't see him being any better or more comfortable on another bike. I really think he will set himself self back another year if he moves on.
I think that building from what he knows seems like his best move as an outsider with what limited knowledge we’ve got. Comfort and predictability seem to be really important to Chase. Even if the bike isn’t perfect for him at the moment, he knows what he’s got and can build on that.
Resetting all over again sounds a lot riskier for someone who operates off of a very specific set up.
You sayin' Chase's love tap to Anderson at Birmingham might have been a "message" to him, and Kawasaki?
Smart for his contract negotiation. Even if he wants to stay, he would be shooting himself in the foot in terms of money by prematurely declaring that he isn't going anywhere.
I'd just like to say Chase's interviews with Lewis are always top notch. It's an actual conversation and not just canned answers to canned questions. So refreshing to actually hear banter and personality.
Post that in the Kawi 2 stroke thread so we can get another 30 pages. 😉
Chase said he's negotiating. Haven't heard a single report of him talking to anyone else, so seems like he's just negotiating with KTM. Also noteworthy that Lewis asked same contract question to barcia and mookie and they both said they aren't talking yet. Assuming KTM isn't dealing with anything else until sexton is sorted out.
I just don't see what the argument is for sexton to leave.
Cooksey saying pretty much done deal that he's going to Kawasaki
Citing credible sources is a crucial skill.
While it might be the case he's going to Kawi, I don't want to rely on the guy that's friends with Skinny Jeans Mirtl, thinks the FBI is persecuting him, and has a head of which the top is made out of tinfoil. Fuck Kooksey.
At any rate, if it's true it means adios to El Viejo.
Same here. Always cool seeing riders personality’s and Chase has a really funny sense of humor. It’s cool
The last thing Chase needs is to switch bikes again and risk writing off another year learning a different bike. He looks fast in SX now and he already has a killer Outdoor setup from last year. The bike is now the least of his worries until the 2027 KTM redesign.
KTM bent over backwards for Chase and even went as far as to put KYB internals in his WP forks. Kawi is notorious for keeping their riders within a window of parts/setup as defined by them. I am not sure a rider like Chase would thrive at Kawi. Of course that new Kawi chassis is one of the best, so maybe he wouldn't need to get too far out in left field to make it work to his liking. Also there is the Redbull vs Monster part of that equation for Chase and that always makes a deal harder to get done.
that's a really good point. We've all heard the details of how Kawasaki does it. Doesn't sound like a good match but he will make whatever work because he's great
Pit Row
If KTM stays on a 4 year design cycle and has a "2026.5" Factory Edition, then that new bike will be next year. I think part of the reason Chase seems dialed is they're on year 4 on the current chassis and assumedly will be starting fresh next year.
Well, yes and no..
if they have a top top tier guy who will win, they will build an entire bike around him. See RV2..
Just read an article that Kenny is signing a 245 million dollar deal with Ducati 😂. Maybe Chase read that too and is trying to negotiate his salary to match.
Chase was a Monster athlete before he went to KTM
On pulp Steve made a comment to Chase about the contract talk like o you don’t want screw up and sign a deal like last time. And Chase said something like yea that was awful. Any idea what that’s about and why his current deal is so bad?
I had heard years ago that the privateer teams liked Kawi because you were essentially getting a chassis blueprint from them that had a wide degree of “variance” meaning you could get frames with specs to suit what you wanted and it wasn’t against the rules. Don’t know all the details about that but I know Chad Reed was a fan of that when he was with them.
RV, Tomac, and Anderson all said Kawi wouldn't change things for them
Yeah, wasn’t that pretty much what Tomac said the biggest reason for leaving was? Also recently heard they turn like a cruise ship
Maybe it was in reference to the situation where it leaked publicly so early and he still had to work with the Honda guys for over half a season with everyone knowing he wasn't coming back? Remember all the talk about Lars at Honda still giving him full attention and testing/working on the bike up until the final race to compete against Jett, even when he was already one foot out the door?
Other then when big Lew fawns over chase. That shits disgusting.
I'm guessing here, but I believe Steve was referring to the fact that Chase didn't get to ride the KTM much (if any) before he signed with them and that he was initially terrible on it for months. If you remember, JS7 saw Chase testing SX on the KTM early in the winter and couldn't believe how bad Chase looked. He made comment of that multiple times coming into A1. Chase never did get the KTM working in SX last year and until Outdoors he was struggling bad. So Steve may have just been referencing how rocky the KTM/Chase deal started out.
Dry satire is among my favorite styles of humor, so I dig it.
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