Special thanks to RJ

KurtJ99
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I just heard on the Vital post race interview that RJ was hurt during the week and was about to give his Open slot to Cooper before Deegan pulled out. 

I don’t think any other available rider would have finished as well and he was the reason we got second. Crashes happened to other great riders in this event and his perseverance made the difference. 


 

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stewie94
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La Plata, MD US
10/5/2025 9:08pm

I can tell u wht tho , we all been watching RJ for almost a decade now , brotha RJ don’t cheat u on effort so thts respect no matter the result of today 🫡

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Tumic
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Sundsvall SE
10/5/2025 9:51pm

I don’t like the heat they get. In a race where your own riders and teams have let their own egos and politics got in the way of lining up for the last 10+ years, the ones that actually race should get nothing by praise.

The current lineup were never a winning team this year and pulled off the best possible result they could with a little help from Gifting. Were RJ a bit sloppy? - Yes, but nothing that changed the results of the race.

It’s sad to see both the US team pouting on the podium when they should celebrating like the two other teams up there and the ”fans” that give them shit for different reasons.

As a non American I still rooted for the team to do good, just because we all love this event and want to see riders out there that do the same. Not the ones that only line up when it’s convenient or fits their own agenda.


So thanks JCoop and RJ for putting egos aside and lining up so we could get some excitement about the podium spots in the last race.

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10/5/2025 10:06pm Edited Date/Time 10/5/2025 10:07pm

An A player. Just like the other 2. All 3 would be great work mates if they had regular jobs

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10/5/2025 10:37pm

Chase wouldn't have changed the result unless he went 1-1. But it sure as hell could have gone a lot worse than what RJ did. 

Blows my mind when his fellow countrymen shit on him. In a race where almost every top rider crashed once or multiple times.

Hunter crashed twice Moto 2. Jett damn near killed a flagger then crashed the next Moto. Track was tricky 

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The Shop

RACING
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10/6/2025 12:59am

It took a while, but I'm glad I finally saw the real 450 RJ we all expected!

😉

 

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gregyou
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10/6/2025 1:07am
crusty_xx wrote:
Chase wouldn't have changed the result unless he went 1-1. But it sure as hell could have gone a lot worse than what RJ did. Blows my...

Chase wouldn't have changed the result unless he went 1-1. But it sure as hell could have gone a lot worse than what RJ did. 

Blows my mind when his fellow countrymen shit on him. In a race where almost every top rider crashed once or multiple times.

Hunter crashed twice Moto 2. Jett damn near killed a flagger then crashed the next Moto. Track was tricky 

Exactly, achaee wasn’t in this year because he crashed, who’s to say he wouldn’t have crashed out. 

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-MAVERICK-
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Ontario CA
10/6/2025 9:31am

RJ

“The first race completely drained me. I was second before Jo Shimoda hit me. I managed to get back up to third and then had another collision with another rider. And I crashed again with two laps to go. It was really an off day for me. In the second race, I had a big crash going over the bike. It ruined my race. My bike was badly damaged and there was nothing more I could do. You should know that I injured my ribs before this weekend, on Tuesday during training. I fell sideways, right where I wear my heart rate monitor. It tore everything out and I cracked two ribs. I still wanted to ride, but falling seven times… it’s exhausting! Of course, we wanted to win, but finishing second is still very cool. We’re leaving with a podium and now we can take a breather and think about the off-season.”
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kage173
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10/6/2025 9:41am
-MAVERICK- wrote:
RJ[quote]“The first race completely drained me. I was second before Jo Shimoda hit me. I managed to get back up to third and then had another...

RJ

“The first race completely drained me. I was second before Jo Shimoda hit me. I managed to get back up to third and then had another collision with another rider. And I crashed again with two laps to go. It was really an off day for me. In the second race, I had a big crash going over the bike. It ruined my race. My bike was badly damaged and there was nothing more I could do. You should know that I injured my ribs before this weekend, on Tuesday during training. I fell sideways, right where I wear my heart rate monitor. It tore everything out and I cracked two ribs. I still wanted to ride, but falling seven times… it’s exhausting! Of course, we wanted to win, but finishing second is still very cool. We’re leaving with a podium and now we can take a breather and think about the off-season.”

Animal

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10/6/2025 10:04am
RACING wrote:

It took a while, but I'm glad I finally saw the real 450 RJ we all expected!

😉

 

Small victory for you even though we didn't win. You got to say "I told you so." Weird

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10/6/2025 11:01am

RJ rode his ass off for sure .He gave it everything he had . Crashes happen it looked like he went faster everytime  he got off the ground ..

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10/6/2025 12:11pm Edited Date/Time 10/6/2025 1:01pm

I think everyone is confusing "riding determined" with "riding way over your head". RJ could have mailed in 2nd place in Race 2. But then he crashed like he always does. It would be one thing if he actually got results out of his "determination", but he always ends up on his head. I was 0% surprised when the camera panned to him on the ground after passing all those guys to get to into 2nd. Then again, and again and again. Same old RJ. I know you guys will shit on my opinion, that's fine. It's a free country. But you all know how RJ is. Do you guys need to go back 5 months for the last time something important was up for grabs involving RJ? Dude cracks under pressure, it is what it is.

Edit: With his 2 horrible motos, I cannot believe we got 2nd overall! Tomac putting in an amazing Race 3 ride. And Cooper said he actually took second gate pick both motos to help the 450 guys get up front early. He had good rides when you factor that in.

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prozach
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10/6/2025 12:14pm
HonDawg17 wrote:
I think everyone is confusing "riding determined" with "riding way over your head". RJ could have mailed in 2nd place in Race 2. But then he...

I think everyone is confusing "riding determined" with "riding way over your head". RJ could have mailed in 2nd place in Race 2. But then he crashed like he always does. It would be one thing if he actually got results out of his "determination", but he always ends up on his head. I was 0% surprised when the camera panned to him on the ground after passing all those guys to get to into 2nd. Then again, and again and again. Same old RJ. I know you guys will shit on my opinion, that's fine. It's a free country. But you all know how RJ is. Do you guys need to go back 5 months for the last time something important was up for grabs involving RJ? Dude cracks under pressure, it is what it is.

Edit: With his 2 horrible motos, I cannot believe we got 2nd overall! Tomac putting in an amazing Race 3 ride. And Cooper said he actually took second gate pick both motos to help the 450 guys get up front early. He had good rides when you factor that in.

If he had gotten second that moto.  They still wouldn't have beaten Australia for the overall.  🤷‍♀️

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davis224
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10/6/2025 12:15pm
HonDawg17 wrote:
I think everyone is confusing "riding determined" with "riding way over your head". RJ could have mailed in 2nd place in Race 2. But then he...

I think everyone is confusing "riding determined" with "riding way over your head". RJ could have mailed in 2nd place in Race 2. But then he crashed like he always does. It would be one thing if he actually got results out of his "determination", but he always ends up on his head. I was 0% surprised when the camera panned to him on the ground after passing all those guys to get to into 2nd. Then again, and again and again. Same old RJ. I know you guys will shit on my opinion, that's fine. It's a free country. But you all know how RJ is. Do you guys need to go back 5 months for the last time something important was up for grabs involving RJ? Dude cracks under pressure, it is what it is.

Edit: With his 2 horrible motos, I cannot believe we got 2nd overall! Tomac putting in an amazing Race 3 ride. And Cooper said he actually took second gate pick both motos to help the 450 guys get up front early. He had good rides when you factor that in.

We still got 2nd with all his crashes, we might have had a chance at the win if he had succeeded in going for it.

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RACING
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10/6/2025 3:53pm
RACING wrote:

It took a while, but I'm glad I finally saw the real 450 RJ we all expected!

😉

 

Small victory for you even though we didn't win. You got to say "I told you so." Weird

Don't even know what you're talking about. I just missed the good ole crash test dummy.

😄

 

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Press516
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10/6/2025 6:28pm
HonDawg17 wrote:
I think everyone is confusing "riding determined" with "riding way over your head". RJ could have mailed in 2nd place in Race 2. But then he...

I think everyone is confusing "riding determined" with "riding way over your head". RJ could have mailed in 2nd place in Race 2. But then he crashed like he always does. It would be one thing if he actually got results out of his "determination", but he always ends up on his head. I was 0% surprised when the camera panned to him on the ground after passing all those guys to get to into 2nd. Then again, and again and again. Same old RJ. I know you guys will shit on my opinion, that's fine. It's a free country. But you all know how RJ is. Do you guys need to go back 5 months for the last time something important was up for grabs involving RJ? Dude cracks under pressure, it is what it is.

Edit: With his 2 horrible motos, I cannot believe we got 2nd overall! Tomac putting in an amazing Race 3 ride. And Cooper said he actually took second gate pick both motos to help the 450 guys get up front early. He had good rides when you factor that in.

davis224 wrote:

We still got 2nd with all his crashes, we might have had a chance at the win if he had succeeded in going for it.

Yes, the vitards don’t get the math…. While it was nearly impossible, he knew he basically needed to go P1 after Tomac and JCoop put up a 4 and a 10.  But the 7 also made Second overall a bit of a challenge too.  It was a bit of a catch 22 for Rick.  The end result of 2nd is pretty much what was expected, can’t fault anyone on the team for that.

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burn1986
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10/7/2025 12:13am
RACING wrote:

It took a while, but I'm glad I finally saw the real 450 RJ we all expected!

😉

 

lol. I’m glad he didn’t take it too heavy. Lot of pressure, all three had a great showing for USA.

10/7/2025 4:45am
RACING wrote:

It took a while, but I'm glad I finally saw the real 450 RJ we all expected!

😉

 

Small victory for you even though we didn't win. You got to say "I told you so." Weird

RACING wrote:

Don't even know what you're talking about. I just missed the good ole crash test dummy.

😄

 

Its pretty self exclamatory. You showing so much enthusiasm for RJ to struggle like he did is weird 

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ARM670
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Napoleon, OH US
10/7/2025 4:51am

I was impressed with RJ, I felt they all rode their asses off.  You could tell he was going for it. 

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10/7/2025 5:08am

His whole setup and Fly gear looked badass. At least he looked good crashing 😂 

1000001428 0.jpg?VersionId=92JIJdeoGV32fahZP3.0UqdB4L6Xqrw
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motomike137
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Fenton, MI US
10/7/2025 7:54am

RJ emptied the tank out there. He did everything he could and yes, he faltered some. The best team won, and our team rode their guts out. It was an epic event Smile

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mooch
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10/7/2025 10:21am
RACING wrote:

It took a while, but I'm glad I finally saw the real 450 RJ we all expected!

😉

 

Small victory for you even though we didn't win. You got to say "I told you so." Weird

RACING wrote:

Don't even know what you're talking about. I just missed the good ole crash test dummy.

😄

 

No need to miss out on anything there pal ...just look in the mirror if your looking for a dummy.

You're another oddball that seems to try to think of worthless crap to post that goes against the grain of most folks. So yeah, that's a nice way of saying you're a troll. But then , you do you, as sad as it is.

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toomanykaws
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Henderson, NV US
10/7/2025 10:34am
Earlier week crash and ribs took a hit. That he lined up and was hauling on Saturday. Little bad luck on Sunday. Putting up a decent finish in the first race was solid. There no quit in RJ.
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SonofThor32
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Corryton, TN US
10/7/2025 11:57am Edited Date/Time 10/7/2025 12:01pm

Small victory for you even though we didn't win. You got to say "I told you so." Weird

RACING wrote:

Don't even know what you're talking about. I just missed the good ole crash test dummy.

😄

 

mooch wrote:
No need to miss out on anything there pal ...just look in the mirror if your looking for a dummy.You're another oddball that seems to try...

No need to miss out on anything there pal ...just look in the mirror if your looking for a dummy.

You're another oddball that seems to try to think of worthless crap to post that goes against the grain of most folks. So yeah, that's a nice way of saying you're a troll. But then , you do you, as sad as it is.

And yesterday I saw RJ at the airport, having a great time with his kids playing on the moving sidewalks in the airport, and celebrating his wife's birthday.

There is more to life than this moto stuff, from what I can tell, he gives it his all at parenting as much as he does on the track.  A few of the comments here are a reminder of good and bad, and there is some folks that try to find the bottom of the internet toilet with their thoughts and comments.

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Jdog2221
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Burgettstown, PA US
10/7/2025 6:34pm

Just listening to rj on pulp, funny story at the end if you have been following his home improvements on twitter 

uncledaddy69
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10/7/2025 7:38pm

He always steps up when there’s a spot for him and he always tries his hardest. 

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