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I disagree, Garrett Marchbanks said after Daytona that his was the first race that he could push the bike. They have been off for a long, long time and probably still are off.
Both can be true at the same time. Chase is a head case that ruins the relationship with the team if things don't go smoothly and even when things are pretty good and he is winning he still expects some utopian setup that is not available. And the Kawasaki team can have major cultural and technical issues with their way of working with riders and the bike package.
Chase and Kawasaki is a horrible pairing on paper, and i think under 2 months of racing has already proven this to be the case.
Shouldn't underestimate that they got new suspension on KTM for this year. They knew they needed to fix it. Just as Kawi knew they needed to do everything they can to make Chase a success.
If KTM is as last year, and Kawi also, situation would have been worse for both Tomac, and Kawi (if that's even possible).
The Sexton decision-making and downfall need to be studied. Everyone who has taken his old spots has shown improvement, while he's declining. I'm sure the entire KTM team is breathing sighs of relief, and working half the hours during the week.
It's not the same company now, they have new owners, based in India. It was Pierer mobility, now I believe the name is Bajaj mobility. And sales still are not very good, way down last year. More of the production will be shifted to India, more white-collar workers were laid off, all this is in the new owners' statements. But the racing end is doing well with Eli, they did win Dakar, and I believe Acosta just did pretty well at the Thai MotoGP, even if the team could not come to financial terms with long time star rider Jeffrey Herlings. You want to better believe the future is murky for the brand, if they survive it will be a very different company within a few years.
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To be fair, Anderson won like 7 rounds in 2022 on the Kawi and was runner up in points. Only losing the title by 9 points. That is title contending in my book.
Carmichael was the same way.
Ive been thinking about this, but his dad is very behind the scenes and not on front street. Ive heard multiple ppl say lately though that chase needs a new “team” behind him and kind of hinting his dad needs to go. RV had to fire his dad at one point, is it time for chase to do the same? I imagine its harder for the team and engineers to push back vs chase and his dad vs just chase, plus his dad may be sending him in the wrong direction on things. Idk if thats the answer but what hes doing now isnt working. He keeps trying to set up the bike in ways its not meant to be setup so somehow he needs to be told this is how the bike works and its you that has to adjust.
Yes but the relevant question is what was known when Chase left, and what was known when Eli signed.
Directly after Hangtown, he should’ve been calling Kawasaki from the Ktm truck changing room canceling his contract.
Nah….that relationship soured early after KTM fired his mechanic that he brought over from Honda…
Tomac was just ridiculous and the consistency of his speed/results are not a good look for Chase. He looks crazy comfy.
I'm stoked KTM has the bike sorted out for Eli, especially in outdoor type conditions. Now I have more hope for the great outdoors.
As for Chase, as some have stated, there were issues at KTM while he was there, and that's why you saw Chase's personal suspension show up for sale on Facebook. So although Chase had some amazing rides and looked good, KTM wasn't doing enough at the time to sort out the suspension issue, so Chase left.
Similar things happened at Kawi where they just had boundaries of what they wanted to do for Prado, so he bailed out. I understand both rider's decisions when you consider what was happening at the time both riders were having their struggles.
Now that KTM has changed things up and got Eli completely dialed in, it's obviously not helping the Chase departure look good to those who don't know what was really going on behind the scenes.
Yeah it didn't fit Webb either. Different strokes for different folks.
Last year’s shock issues were because Chase was asking for particular settings which caused it to overheat.
No shock issues over at Husqvarna or GG or In Europe.
Webb won 2 450 class supercross championships on the ktm.
I don’t think they are resting on their laurels at KTM because of Eli’s success anymore than Eli is relaxing. I think they like Honda and Hunter know they need to keep working to get better or someone else will. But yeah not in a panic like Kawasaki.
But Chase never left Honda because of the bike, he left it because of Jett, he didn't want to be the 2nd guy on the team, right? Really weird though how he just packed his things after the SMX playoffs there and the team never heard from him again. Lars seemed pretty bummed about it in interviews at least
For sure. Honda was clearly going to be Team Lawrence
Pit Row
You must not pay attention to media and riders. Most had issues with the KTM group suspension. Barcia and Sexton were running KYB forks even. Hampshire finally got the new shock this year and couldn’t believe how good it was. Prado blew the old shock in practice prep this winter as well. Vialle had the same shock problems on his 250. It was a pretty consistent issue in the last year. Then it was reported this year the drastic changes they made for the better.
I'm gonna be honest, If I was him I don't know if I could have stayed on that team either. Chase was supposed to be the next guy. Specially after the 2022 outdoor season where he went toe to toe with prime Eli. Then Eli gets injured in SX and everyone expects Chase to dominate the summer. What happens? A rookie, specially his teammates moves up and he couldn't even lead a single lap against him. You could tell he wasn't the same at SMX.
Leaving KTM is a huge question mark to me tho. Except for the first half of SX in his first year on the KTM, he always looked good and fast on the bike. Outdoor championship, would have won another SX title if not for some dumb mistakes or descisions. Comes back outdoors mid season after his weird Pala crash, completely dominates the field at Washougal, wins the first moto at Ironman.. He just always looked fast on that bike. How can you hate a bike that much when you ride like this?
Matthes, JT & Phil discussed it on pulp. They were speaking about the settings that Chase were requesting being the issue.
They are the media.
I just think Eli has a realistic idea on setup, and the testing days are fewer than the training days.
You forget KTM shit canned wp for kyb for chase . The bikes are fine ,it's him and probably mostly his dad . When at that level you're better off with out dads input mucking things up . Apparently doesn't apply to Dazzy though he seems to get it
Prado broke a shock spring.
Sorta sad how our esteemed moto media fell for the shock story hook, line, and sinker.
And not a word said this season.
It has been said for a few years now that Keir makes the decisions for the Sexton race effort.
...that said, the Lawrence Brothers are so lucky to have a level headed, common sense father like Darren helping them.
I hear you, however there were serious suspension issues last year so you can't forget about that. Remember when the bike sent Chase for a ride on that wall jump in outdoors? Can't remember which race but yeah there were issues.
Seems like they've got it sorted out now.
Think its about knowing when to step back and let the team take over. Brian does the same thing with Star. Hes there to watch, learn and give his feedback but doesn’t overstep his boundaries.
Clearly doesn't apply to John Tomac either.
Eli could ride one of his dads old MTB frames with a lawnmower engine strapped to it and be competitive at this point. It’s incredible that he’s been effectively the same rider on Honda’s, Kawis, Yams and now KTMs. Dude knows exactly what he needs to rip and is able to direct a team to get him that.
Chase is just…lost. I’m more convinced now that he has absolutely no idea how he goes fast on the bike. He can just do it…if I bike is right. But he also doesn’t know what makes the bike right. So he’s in this death spiral of chasing setups that probably don’t exist. Chase needs to learn to manage the 6in between his ears and just go from there.
Kawi…they need to seriously consider a change in who manages that team. Chase is a head case but the amount of guys who have not great things to say about the team can’t be ignored.
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