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Yes, Friday before press on vital interview. Lewis directly asked him and he didn’t respond to the question and shrugged his shoulders. Lewis said well that says it all.
I was on the Prado side but I have not heard one pro or former pro rider that has said they believe it’s all kawasakis fault(still). When your peers that are at a high level don’t agree with you then my slow self certainly won’t.
I don’t think it’s all the bike but I do think the bike is why he’s not trying. It’s like it’s reached a point where he’s hoping to just get out of the contract. He’s probably a 5th place guy at best with his current comfort level on the bike. Yet he doesn’t even want to go for that anymore. Mentally, he’s given up.
I think even Phil has spent the whole outdoor season trying to make the bike faster. He obviously doesn’t have the same access as Prado does to parts.
This video has aged well.
Phil is on a privateer Canadian MX team. I'm quite confident that whatever engine package Jorge is running has absolutely nothing in common with what Phil has.
That is basically what I said. However, Phil was on a ClubMX Yamaha and was yanking starts. Phil’s starts haven’t been good on the Kawi by his standards.
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I have no insider knowledge, but I’d be willing to bet that the Club MX team would also have a vastly superior engine program than a Canadian MX team does. For all the complaining that he does, starts certainly haven’t been Jorge’s problem. If he were ever able to finish a race in the same place he starts them, everyone would be a lot happier.
this is awesome, but seriously I wonder if at some point that Jorge has secretly ridden an Austrian bike again in the states just to see how it feels now as opposed to his Kawi?
Good question...
Prado is just trying to earn #61 next year so he's making sure he doesnt get too many points
No one asks how is shoulder is? Why? I never even heard what happened...dislocation? torn labrum? rotator cuff? What was the scope of his surgery? Shoulders are no joke and it could be the reason he fades and then gives up entirely. I would like to hear more about that.
This Prado mystery has been quite the drama, I still think he’ll get to winning moto’s and heat races by next year but what a dramatic start
Prado is young and obviously is a human being.
He came here expecting to win, nothing wrong with that at all. He was honest about that.
Most champions expect to win and anything less is a huge deal.
There is no question that the level of riders right now is deep and the pace that they are running is crazy.
My guess is Prado is a little dissonant to reality and that happens to a lot to people.
A true champion will pick himself off the mat and put his nose to the grind and build himself back up to where he believes he should be. Work within his circle. No one or no company is perfect but a real leader will find a way to bring his team together while working in unison and get to your end goal. It will not happen over night.
But everybody has to be on the same page. Its ok to be wrong. Swallow your pride and put the work boots on.
No more blame shifting.
It would be a great story if Prado and the team made a complete 180 coming into next season. Chase included.
He got one holeshot in 16 motos. That’s definitely a problem for the best starter in motocross history, who got 45% of the holeshots last year.
People are far too rider-focused in motocross. The bike is a a big equation in success which everyone just ignores. Prado said how it is, and people are mad about it for no reason. A champion like Prado won’t bother giving it all just to finish 5th instead of 10th because he knows he’d podium in every moto on a good bike.
I think you’re delusional unless he runs the Canadian series.😂
It’s awesome to see that Prado’s fans like yourself are so optimistic, even if it is ,at this point over optimistic!
Can you come up with any examples or reasons why you think we are too rider focused over bike focused? I’m actually interested to hear your reason I’m not being a smartass(although I definitely disagree with you). I actually think the complete opposite. I think we are way too bike focused.
Only person I can think of who drastically changed results by switching bikes in the modern era would be cooper Webb.
13-14-17
Believe it or not, but if he rode like that up here he wouldn't win. Harrison raced up here and I don't remember him winning a 450 race. Nicoletti still hasn't won a race this year and he was putting in better results than that last year.
I don't know what the problems are, but he needs to figure them out.
I assume he means the majority of people here saying stuff like "the bike is fine", "its him, he's getting beat by Harrison on a Kawi", "he has no heart", "he underestimated the competition here".
I'm interested in how you read this thread and think its too bike focused? Prado himself said the bike is not where it needs to be, and only a handful of people have taken him at his word IMO.
Yeah that’s it, “he’s figured out he can't hang with the fast guys here”
And he figured out he can’t beat the other former GP riders he used to either..?
Some of you guys spout some real nonsense.
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When I said too bike focused I didn’t mean this thread specifically, I more so mean in general. The poster I was replying too said we are far to rider-focused in motocross, indicating a generic statement. That is what it was replying to. Riders are way to quick to point out flaws with bikes and way to hesitant to point out flaws with themselves.
I definitely agree that people(not Prado himself)are blaming Prado for for his poor performance include almost all past and current pros. That is what leads me to my opinion.
Cooper Webb is actually a bad example to use in this instance.
Because he dramatically improved when he got off the YZF on to the SXF too.
Webb’s boredom & motivation has derailed him more than his equipment has.
Changes brands & comes alive.
Anderson is the same.
What? That was my point. He was the one example I could think of.
Seems like LouisianaMotocross was referring to Webb's improvement on the SXF as the only example whose results changed drastically.
Anderson was a threat to win any of those SX races his first year on Kawi as was Eli.
His corner speed was amazing that year.
Also saw that some of the Reed's Yamaha's will be going back to Mountain Motorsports. I'm guessing we see the family on Kawi's here soon and Chad will be helping Prado and Kawi back at Club.
Don't forget his burgers and fries...
If Tomac goes from a podium guy to 6-9 when the bike is off, and Prado is 5-8 when he tries, on a bike he doesn’t gel with, why is it not acceptable that he’d also be a podium guy if the setup were right?
The biggest problem I see is Prado gives up way too easily, and potentially whether Kawi is willing to give him what he wants, given their history. It’s an intriguing saga that could go in any direction.
Apologies- concentrating on more than one thing at a time..👎
In general i agree.
There isn't one top rider the past 10 years (make it 20) that hasn't had to fiddle around with bike setup over multiple season even being on the same platform.
Jett took a third because he went off on the shock settings a few weeks ago. Why change if he is so good and can just mail it in?
Tomac, well looking for new baseline because she went to faster on the old. Threw away two races looking for new settings.
Chase, looking for new base setting after 3 years on the KTM. Moving forks 1mm and that was the wrong direction for moto 2.
AP fucked up his setting after a great moto 1, but only got second. Still wanted to improve and threw away moto 2.
There is no support for that bike setup isn't the/a major limit for these guys. When was the last time someone could win on anything? Grant Langston, 30 years ago?
And still, Matthes says its 15%. That's what he wants it to be, but isn't and it will never be either.
When Sexton was struggling with his KTM set up, did you see him getting beat by privateers? No! Did he cruise around in 20th place for half a moto? No! Did he throw KTM under the bus at every opportunity? No! He rode hard every race despite the problems until they finally got it figured out. .
Prado should do the same. He's on a factory bike and getting paid a lot of money to give 100% effort. Not like it's a low dollar privateer gig.
And to go back to my quote, I'm not sure at this point he can ever run the pace needed to win here, although I wish he could on the Kawi. And I'm not convinced yet he has the desire and will of a Tomac, Jett, or Chase
I think most are put off by the fact he’s taking no responsibility for the situation in the interviews out there. He’s putting all the blame on the bike.
Agree to disagree on your statement that the bike being the key to rider success. I think a great rider can make a bad bike look good, but a bad rider on a great bike doesn’t do the same.
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