I watch the races on Peacock with the volume fairly loud, so I hear all the comments RC and Weege make; one comment that had me scratching my head was the call that 96 was the fastest rider on the track! Early in the race #96 was hoovering around 12-13 seconds behind the rider in 1st place, with around 8 minutes left #96 was a little over 9 seconds behind the leader. When Hunter took out Kroc with about 3 minutes left in the race they were both still close to 10 seconds behind Tomac.
Post Race I heard an interview where Hunter was being pretty pragmatic but still echoed the claim that he was the fastest guy on the track the last 9 minutes of the race . . . With all things being relative, what does this statement prove? Tomac and Webb are riding a very safe pace up front and #96 is pressing to save points. Since Jet is the master of maintaining a safe lead from the front, I'm sure Hunter is fully aware of the concept that the guys in front could probably drop their lap time by 0.5 - 1.5 seconds a lap if a rider behind there was narrowing the gap.
My point being is why bother bringing this up? They weren't playing horseshoes or hand grenades.
Because it can make the race sound more interesting then it may be at times. Most of us know that it doesn't reflect the speed of the guys in front who are being safe but I do enjoy hearing they are the fastest on the track because it tells me they are moving up and trying to catch whoever's in front of them rather than settling.
Also, it may give an unexperienced viewer the idea that there's hope to still catch the leader, kind of like when they get excited on the last lap and say it's not over yet but the leaders got a two or three second lead. Or with half a lap left, they comment about how someone is now two seconds behind instead of three. Probably just trying to hype up the race and keep it intetesting until the finish even though those who know, know that the race is already over.
Edit: as far as Hunter bringing this up after the race, I think when the race is over you take all of the positives you can and let that motivate you for the following weekend. In his mind, he probably isn't thinking about his time compared to whoever's leading by 5 Seconds because he's smart enough to know that they are riding safe, but what it could tell him is that, towards the end of the race when everyone else he is battling with is starting to go slower, his fitness and speed are better than the rest. A lot of the sport is mental so anything you can use as confidence, run with it.
Because it's an entertainment production. Because there's more happening in the race than just the leaders. Sometimes following the leaders can be quiet boring and all the action is happening in the field. There's been countless times where someone has come through the pack to challenge for podium position, the lead or even win the race.
I guess the lap time difference helps illustrate how fast he is closing, including watching his ticket show him close in on Roczen.
The lap time difference made it FEEEEL possible he could actually catch web. At rhe point he went down a 2 second quicker lap time for the last 2-3 laps would have had him right on Webb at the finish.
The lap time helps with this estimation making the race more exciting.
It also illustrates potential. Especially in hunter who is not know for outright speed. In 2026 he has outright speed.
I haven’t looked at the lap time chart, but all I know is at one stage Hunter was 15 seconds off the lead and closed it down to 8 at one stage.
If you consider how gnarly the track was, and that this was while Webb was still pressuring Tomac, so the leaders weren’t cruising, that’s pretty impressive. But mistakes at the start and one big mistake at the end cost him, and sadly, Roczen.
He needs to do better to get that first win.
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“Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds, you can grow flowers, or you can grow weeds..”
All it means is you can walk away thinking positively about your performance or negatively.
Always focus on the positivities.
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