Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but Premium users receive great benefits. Premium benefits include:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
Why would a stomach virus keep him from racing for Kawi the next year?
He started his own race team a month after the first PR and did race, so that really doesn't make sense. I'm sure that was much more stressful than just fulfilling his contract with Kawi, getting paid millions and having everything set up for him.
https://racerxonline.com/2010/11/08/chad-reed-starts-his-own-team
@ML512 I know Vital doesn't normally test pro-bikes like MXA, but any chance you guys can pull some strings at Kawi to get an exclusive bike test of Prado's bike now that the season is over? We need closure on this issue.
Ohhhhh!!!! I'd enjoy hearing ML's take on the bike after riding it. Shoot, I'm not a big MXA fan, but I'd love to hear their take on it also.
The virus zapped him of nutrients and ability to keep food down and maintain energy to train, and function as an athlete. He spent months with doctors trying to find the solution while training for outdoors after supercross and the hand injury, then to try and compete and realize it was unrealistic and ASKED to be released from his contract for Kawi and his sake. THEN, he got healthy and didn't have options. So he started his own team......
Know your shit, don't talk it.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Free shipping: VITALMX
So he miraculously got healthy a month later, and was like "Ah shit if only I had waited a month, I could still have my multimillion dollar contract with a championship winning factory team." 🙄
Announcement is very different from riding/trading/racing. He was out for the rest of outdoors until Aus Sx in Nov or Dec. Move along dude, your point was null and voided immediately.
You still can't answer why he would quit Kawi because he was too sick to race, then immediately turn around and start his own race team.
It's all good man. I get it that he's your hero. I'm not saying he's terrible or anything. He's obviously very tough and has a lot of heart. But, he definitely quit at Kawi.
Kawi should enforce the contract and let him sit his whiney, can't ride this POS bike, ass on the sidelines for all of next year. Don't let this prick touch a bike.
Funny you guys discuss this because I just listened to a re-raceables pod the other day and Reed talked about that situation. Episode: Hangtown MX 2010
He was on Team Kawi because Monster wanted him there, NOT team Kawasaki manager. Also he said he was sick. He went right after he quit to Mexico across the SanDiego border and got "ozone therapy" numerous times and after awhile it completely cleaned him up from the Epstein Barr type thing he had going on. Then he started 22.
Can we get a time frame on what you think is immediately?
Looks like Chads last race for Kawasaki in 2010 was July 17th. His next AMA race was on January 8 2011.
Is your definition of "immediately" 6 months?
https://vault.racerxonline.com/rider/chad-reed/races
Yeah. The Kawi press release announcing the parting of ways came out in September. The article in Racer X announcing he was starting a race team came out the first week of November. And that was based on a report from The Daily Telegraph, which is a major news outlet outside the US. So, he had to have had it in the works already. I provided the link to those in earlier posts.
you could tell that he was shit this year because of the way that he was.
which is odd, he killed in MXGP.
Look man. I know what the story is. But, I also read between the lines. Plenty of guys have had Epstein Barr and come back the next year on the same team. Hell Hammaker just dealt with it a few years ago at Pro Circuit. Nobody cancelled any contracts.
You don't walk away from a multi-year, multi million dollar contract because you have EB and don't want to waste the team's money because you can't race....then within a matter of weeks start spending millions of your own money and countless long days to put together your own race team... and still go racing.
It wasn’t just health, he was also dealing with the death of his friend Andrew McFarlane and wasn’t sure he even still wanted to race, his first son was just born. He had a lot going on, he probably needed a month or two to get his head right. When he rode off the track at Millville, he probably was done in his head.
Yeah, I can buy that. I think it was probably a combination of a lot of things. He had a terrible showing in Supercross defending the #1 plate. If I remember correctly, he started the season late with injury. He has stated that he didn't like the bike, he probably did get EB, and certainly had all the things going on that you mentioned.
My original post on this was a response to a guy saying that Reed was a superhero who would never give up and had zero resemblance to Prado. And, i was just pointing out that he actually had a terrible year with Kawi and left early just like it appears Prado will do. I'm sure they both have their reasons. But, the fact is they left early (assuming Prado leaves)
When you read between the lines you move from facts to conjecture....
He won a race in the four he raced, then was injured. Rv came out of retirement, Jorge is 24 years old. And no, Jorge hasn't even come close to a podium, let alone winning.
Pit Row
Does he? Mental health issues maybe? Family/home life issues? I understand it's not our business and I believe JA to be a complete badass, but his season doesn't add up. Not trying to be rude, but my spidey senses have me wondering if the races he missed this year were all due to physical health issues. He's been pretty damn reliable throughout his post-ktm career. IDK, there isn't a way to ask this question without sounding insensitive to a champion of our sport. I do hope we see him racing and kicking ass in WSX soon.
Weak. I can do that without even reading.
I saw a earlier complaint by Prado saying the bike bottoming so much it nearly popping his shoulders out, now I just watch swaps vid he just posted with Taka. He came over to help and tried his bike and couldn't understand his suspension setup, said it was like really really soft! And Prado said that's how he likes his setup. So whos fault is it if his bike bottoms easy?
To all of you Prado apologists, this is not just like RV in Europe, Prado did not do just as good as Anderson, Americans do not hate him because he is European - half the field of our nationals are foreign riders as were all our ancestors, we do not consider this a reflection of all MXGP riders, Kawasaki did not sign him to a three year multi-million dollar contract with no intention of accomodating him or hiring a team of staffers to fulfill his wishes. None of these things, this is all unprecedented. It is because Jorge is behaving like an asshole, taking no responsibility, belittling his coworkers, employers, fans, sponsors, countrymen, family, and sport. There has to be massive personality conflicts within the team for Jorge to purposely try to humiliate them in such a way. I can't believe an adult is acting so childishly and undignified.
I can't remember the last huge dumpster fire in the sport? Maybe Claimgate? But this is orders of magnitudes bigger...
Nailed it!....but the apologists are still going to blame American fans for their dislike of him, when in reality Jorge is where he is with fans because of his actions...
100$ Prados never changed an air filter in his life….I don’t understand a top level rider that does not have some basic knowledge of bike setup……thats like a carpenter that can’t measure shit….Maybe Kawasaki should have brought in Jeff Ward to mentor Prado…..like Omara with Jetts & Hunter
Walking away from a bunch of money for any reason is more honorable than collecting a paycheck and just calling it in every weekend.
you are still trying to compare the two and they simply aren’t the same. That is the entire point, and after myself and others stated the reasons why it is different, this is what you came up with. Bravo mate. Bravo
Yeah well there is the whole not doing something you signed your name to. There is no doubt before Prado put pen to paper he rode the bike, had agents, advisors, lawyers, family members weighing in. This is not like he bought a hunting camp, this is a three year, multi-million dollar contract, with a fourth year option with a multi-billion dollar international conglomerate with thousands of employees all over the world. Kawasaki's scope as a company goes beyond most nations. This kid is a rube, shitting on an entity he should be grateful to be on their radar. Gerloff is getting shit results in WSBK, but Kawasaki re-signed him early, because he races hard and acts like an adult despite his dated platform.
I don't know what you mean by that. Both riders won championships the year before. Both riders signed with Kawi. Both riders missed a lot of races. Both riders under performed. Both riders left at the end of the year (well Prado hasn't yet). I'm sure your feel your guy had good reasons and Prado fans feel the same. But, the fact is that they both had a verry similar experience on Kawi.
Ouch...
Post a reply to: Jorge Prado "It was a very tough season to say the least. Cruising around every single race..."