Panic Button for Chase/Kawi?

3/29/2026 11:09am
prozach wrote:
Dudes season would be completely different if he rode exactly the same as he did all season, but started as good as Hunter every race.  He...

Dudes season would be completely different if he rode exactly the same as he did all season, but started as good as Hunter every race.  He might even have the points lead right now or at least close to it.  

Is that two good starts this season now?  One win and one second in those two races?  

When Jett is out, on paper, Chase should be winning these titles. Obviously hasnt worked out that way. Say whatever you want about Dungey being gifted titles but when RV was out, or eventually retired, Dunge cleaned up. He didn't fold because all the pressure was on him now

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3/29/2026 11:13am
truck wrote:
Lot in here to digest...."Pretty much stock" engine but different airb box, mapping, exhaust.... is he talking about transmission? Head? Cam? My takeaway from the interview is...

Lot in here to digest....

"Pretty much stock" engine but different airb box, mapping, exhaust.... is he talking about transmission? Head? Cam? 

My takeaway from the interview is that the bike is still bad but he's accepted it and is trying to make the most of it. Has tried all kinds of different things and it stays basically the same. Focused on starts over the last week or so. 

Little bit different situation than KTM and maybe a little more encouraging? If he can keep his head on his shoulders and just make the most of it he's still good enough to win on this bike.

That wasn't really an option on the KTM because the issue was how inconsistent the bike was. Great at times and then it wasn't. So can't really just accept it and learn to ride around the weaknesses. 

Didn't he miraculously start riding great last year on the KTM when he finally just decided to just accept the bike for what it was and stop chasing the perfect setup? How many times do we need to repeat this cycle? RC said it 20 frigging years ago, the bike isnt going to be perfect in every section of the track and he just rode the damn bike. Sexton is so good thats why its so frustrating 

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3/29/2026 11:39am

I’m sure Kawasaki won’t be thrilled about that interview. Basically said the bike isn’t good and nothing helps so he is just going to do the best he can. 

Also, I’m sure he is on a factory transmission and that alone makes that bike so far from stock that calling it stock is silly. Still rooting for him though. 

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ipbrew
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3/29/2026 12:22pm

Whatever he did, he looked good. Still doesn’t look like he trusts the bike, but it looked much better than it has.  

How does one look when they trust the bike? When every bike is wrong and the outdated Suzuki is top box or the trusted Honda gets squirrely in the whoops (on many occasions last night) and spits Hunter to the ground. I am sure they all trust the bike. Chase just rode his race to a clean second; bike seems to work.

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The Shop

aees
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3/29/2026 12:42pm
I’m sure Kawasaki won’t be thrilled about that interview. Basically said the bike isn’t good and nothing helps so he is just going to do the...

I’m sure Kawasaki won’t be thrilled about that interview. Basically said the bike isn’t good and nothing helps so he is just going to do the best he can. 

Also, I’m sure he is on a factory transmission and that alone makes that bike so far from stock that calling it stock is silly. Still rooting for him though. 

Exactly. Don't trust the bike, so will ride around bumps looking for smooth lines. Major work for outdoors left.

Wonder where we have heard that before. And this seems to be a completely different bike than what Prado got together.

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Motofinne
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3/29/2026 12:51pm
I’m sure Kawasaki won’t be thrilled about that interview. Basically said the bike isn’t good and nothing helps so he is just going to do the...

I’m sure Kawasaki won’t be thrilled about that interview. Basically said the bike isn’t good and nothing helps so he is just going to do the best he can. 

Also, I’m sure he is on a factory transmission and that alone makes that bike so far from stock that calling it stock is silly. Still rooting for him though. 

Well that is the truth though, all they can do is continue working and getting better. If they take offence to an interview like that, then the relationship will most definitely not last 3 years.

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3/29/2026 12:55pm
I’m sure Kawasaki won’t be thrilled about that interview. Basically said the bike isn’t good and nothing helps so he is just going to do the...

I’m sure Kawasaki won’t be thrilled about that interview. Basically said the bike isn’t good and nothing helps so he is just going to do the best he can. 

Also, I’m sure he is on a factory transmission and that alone makes that bike so far from stock that calling it stock is silly. Still rooting for him though. 

I feel the same about Kawasaki's feelings on that interview. He pretty much confirmed everything us vitards were guessing about being uncomfortable early in the year, but he never once said that theyve turned the bike around - he actually said they tried a lot and it stayed the same so now he's just going to do what he can. That wasn't a good look IMO. Also, the atmosphere in that truck seemed frosty. Lewis mentioned the "Angry look" and it just felt a bit off.
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chasetwo79
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3/29/2026 1:24pm

At least there’s a green bike out there.

shortty761 wrote:

Marchbanks brought home 10th as well which is pretty damn good imo with who’s he is up against

I agree. Marchbanks is starting to round into shape. He will be fine outdoors we already know. 

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3/29/2026 1:42pm

You miss RB KTM Chase?

The next team he goes to will have the perfect bike for him. I can feel it

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3/29/2026 2:15pm
I’m sure Kawasaki won’t be thrilled about that interview. Basically said the bike isn’t good and nothing helps so he is just going to do the...

I’m sure Kawasaki won’t be thrilled about that interview. Basically said the bike isn’t good and nothing helps so he is just going to do the best he can. 

Also, I’m sure he is on a factory transmission and that alone makes that bike so far from stock that calling it stock is silly. Still rooting for him though. 

Motofinne wrote:
Well that is the truth though, all they can do is continue working and getting better. If they take offence to an interview like that, then...

Well that is the truth though, all they can do is continue working and getting better. If they take offence to an interview like that, then the relationship will most definitely not last 3 years.

That very well may be the truth but I can’t blow my employer out and not expect them to get mad. Same goes for professional athletes. 

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kpiper
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3/29/2026 2:29pm
Leemur891 wrote:

Good ride from Chase. Also gifted some positions. Onto the next one with hopes that it isn’t an entirely new bike again. 

That was a good ride for Chase but could have easily been a 5th. Hunter should have beat him, a normal Eli, and probably Webb.

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3/29/2026 2:50pm
Leemur891 wrote:

Good ride from Chase. Also gifted some positions. Onto the next one with hopes that it isn’t an entirely new bike again. 

kpiper wrote:

That was a good ride for Chase but could have easily been a 5th. Hunter should have beat him, a normal Eli, and probably Webb.

I'll give you Webb and Hunter because of their obvious issues. Chase straight up beat Eli. Normal Eli? LoL I understand what you're trying to say though 

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ProKawi24
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3/29/2026 3:09pm
Didn't he miraculously start riding great last year on the KTM when he finally just decided to just accept the bike for what it was and...

Didn't he miraculously start riding great last year on the KTM when he finally just decided to just accept the bike for what it was and stop chasing the perfect setup? How many times do we need to repeat this cycle? RC said it 20 frigging years ago, the bike isnt going to be perfect in every section of the track and he just rode the damn bike. Sexton is so good thats why its so frustrating 

I feel like Chase's worst enemy is himself. He always seems to be chasing "the perfect setup" and if anything is even slightly off he's not comfortable or can't keep it on 2 wheels. These bikes are all so damn well built and these factory teams know what they're doing. Get a good baseline setup and just ride the damn bike. RC & Stew didn't blame a bad result because they just couldn't find the right setup...they took what they had and made it work. Hell, Stew was even keeping pace with 4 strokes on a 2 smoker! At some point you just have to let your talent & skill take over and go win. 

 I feel like Jett is a perfect example of someone who doesn't chase his setup constantly and just lets his natural talent, skill, & ability take over. He can take that bike on any track and just go win. It won't always be the perfect setup but he finds a way to just ride the damn bike and get wins. That's why I have so much respect for Jett.

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winman
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3/29/2026 3:15pm

Kawasaki is doing pretty well in 250 also!  Placing 5 in the  top nine yesterday!    I guess people only see what the want too!

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matze
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3/29/2026 3:20pm

I mean if u watch that interview with Lewis.. wow. Its worse than I thought. The stares Sexton gave Lewis while he was talking bad about the bike. "I thought about retirement" (speaking about finishing in 7th place) Love how they joked about maybe not doing the next interview in the kawasaki rig while bashing the bike lmao

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davistld01
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3/29/2026 3:59pm
matze wrote:
I mean if u watch that interview with Lewis.. wow. Its worse than I thought. The stares Sexton gave Lewis while he was talking bad about...

I mean if u watch that interview with Lewis.. wow. Its worse than I thought. The stares Sexton gave Lewis while he was talking bad about the bike. "I thought about retirement" (speaking about finishing in 7th place) Love how they joked about maybe not doing the next interview in the kawasaki rig while bashing the bike lmao

Yeah, probably a bad move to throw the guys who build your bike under the bus…right there in front of them. Call it ignorance or arrogance…bad move.

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Hohmie
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3/29/2026 6:20pm

That’s bad!

Not doing himself any favors.

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Motofinne
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3/29/2026 10:36pm Edited Date/Time 3/30/2026 3:01am
I’m sure Kawasaki won’t be thrilled about that interview. Basically said the bike isn’t good and nothing helps so he is just going to do the...

I’m sure Kawasaki won’t be thrilled about that interview. Basically said the bike isn’t good and nothing helps so he is just going to do the best he can. 

Also, I’m sure he is on a factory transmission and that alone makes that bike so far from stock that calling it stock is silly. Still rooting for him though. 

I feel the same about Kawasaki's feelings on that interview. He pretty much confirmed everything us vitards were guessing about being uncomfortable early in the year...
I feel the same about Kawasaki's feelings on that interview. He pretty much confirmed everything us vitards were guessing about being uncomfortable early in the year, but he never once said that theyve turned the bike around - he actually said they tried a lot and it stayed the same so now he's just going to do what he can. That wasn't a good look IMO. Also, the atmosphere in that truck seemed frosty. Lewis mentioned the "Angry look" and it just felt a bit off.

And that is exactly what Prado said on many times last year, lots of work being done but no progress. 

Edit: I want to add something. They keep working and tell the media about the long days at the test track but the results are completely absent. They didn't make significant progress last year and they still haven't made major progress this year. That is the big, big issue.

They need to overhaul the whole operation.

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Indy mxer
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3/30/2026 5:21am Edited Date/Time 3/30/2026 5:21am
I’m sure Kawasaki won’t be thrilled about that interview. Basically said the bike isn’t good and nothing helps so he is just going to do the...

I’m sure Kawasaki won’t be thrilled about that interview. Basically said the bike isn’t good and nothing helps so he is just going to do the best he can. 

Also, I’m sure he is on a factory transmission and that alone makes that bike so far from stock that calling it stock is silly. Still rooting for him though. 

I feel the same about Kawasaki's feelings on that interview. He pretty much confirmed everything us vitards were guessing about being uncomfortable early in the year...
I feel the same about Kawasaki's feelings on that interview. He pretty much confirmed everything us vitards were guessing about being uncomfortable early in the year, but he never once said that theyve turned the bike around - he actually said they tried a lot and it stayed the same so now he's just going to do what he can. That wasn't a good look IMO. Also, the atmosphere in that truck seemed frosty. Lewis mentioned the "Angry look" and it just felt a bit off.
Motofinne wrote:
And that is exactly what Prado said on many times last year, lots of work being done but no progress. Edit: I want to add something. They...

And that is exactly what Prado said on many times last year, lots of work being done but no progress. 

Edit: I want to add something. They keep working and tell the media about the long days at the test track but the results are completely absent. They didn't make significant progress last year and they still haven't made major progress this year. That is the big, big issue.

They need to overhaul the whole operation.

4th fastest qualifier, wins his heat, and gets 2nd in the main. Plus his bike looked much better in the whoops than Hunters. I'd say thats progress.

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Motofinne
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3/30/2026 6:33am
I feel the same about Kawasaki's feelings on that interview. He pretty much confirmed everything us vitards were guessing about being uncomfortable early in the year...
I feel the same about Kawasaki's feelings on that interview. He pretty much confirmed everything us vitards were guessing about being uncomfortable early in the year, but he never once said that theyve turned the bike around - he actually said they tried a lot and it stayed the same so now he's just going to do what he can. That wasn't a good look IMO. Also, the atmosphere in that truck seemed frosty. Lewis mentioned the "Angry look" and it just felt a bit off.
Motofinne wrote:
And that is exactly what Prado said on many times last year, lots of work being done but no progress. Edit: I want to add something. They...

And that is exactly what Prado said on many times last year, lots of work being done but no progress. 

Edit: I want to add something. They keep working and tell the media about the long days at the test track but the results are completely absent. They didn't make significant progress last year and they still haven't made major progress this year. That is the big, big issue.

They need to overhaul the whole operation.

Indy mxer wrote:
4th fastest qualifier, wins his heat, and gets 2nd in the main. Plus his bike looked much better in the whoops than Hunters. I'd say thats...

4th fastest qualifier, wins his heat, and gets 2nd in the main. Plus his bike looked much better in the whoops than Hunters. I'd say thats progress.

Resultswise yes. But listen to Sexton talk post-race, he says that there has not been progress regarding the bike. The bike is what it is (not good) and he is the one that has made progress with adapting to it.

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davistld01
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3/30/2026 7:05am
Motofinne wrote:
And that is exactly what Prado said on many times last year, lots of work being done but no progress. Edit: I want to add something. They...

And that is exactly what Prado said on many times last year, lots of work being done but no progress. 

Edit: I want to add something. They keep working and tell the media about the long days at the test track but the results are completely absent. They didn't make significant progress last year and they still haven't made major progress this year. That is the big, big issue.

They need to overhaul the whole operation.

Pretty obvious, huh? Sexton''s "just put my head down and ride the bike" attitude seems as much a resignation as anything. He's decided not to push against things within the team that are wasted effort, and just do the best that he can.

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Natester551
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3/30/2026 7:09am

I think Chase isn't seeing huge leaps forward in progress (hence the statement about the bike being basically the same), but the eye test says otherwise.  His bike looked pretty balanced and settled to me this weekend.  

Like most things it's probably a combination of Chase mentally shifting to being a bit less picky (i.e. riding around small issues), small steps forward on the bike, etc.  Hopefully he's taking a page from Hunter and Jett's mentality of just taking what the bike gives him and adjusting his riding to compensate for the shortcomings.....

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280driver
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3/30/2026 8:25am

I’m sure Kawi is pretty cool with the fact he won a heat race and got second in the main using a “stock” engine.

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BossWool2800
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3/30/2026 8:50am
ipbrew wrote:
How does one look when they trust the bike? When every bike is wrong and the outdated Suzuki is top box or the trusted Honda gets...

How does one look when they trust the bike? When every bike is wrong and the outdated Suzuki is top box or the trusted Honda gets squirrely in the whoops (on many occasions last night) and spits Hunter to the ground. I am sure they all trust the bike. Chase just rode his race to a clean second; bike seems to work.

Seems like the Zook is the best of the bunch 😎

 

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Press516
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3/30/2026 9:15am

Just rewatched the main...  Chase was riding his own very technical style, downsiding almost everything perfectly.  Super smooth and precise in the rhythms.  Was not a bullet in the whoops, but really, only Davies was.  Corner speed was ok, but maybe not what we've seen from him in the past.

He was catching Kenny for a while, then got in some lappers and lost a bit.  It seemed like at that point he chose the P2 points over the push till I fall approach.  Let's see how the next couple of weeks look.  Maybe he has settled down a little.  

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aees
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3/30/2026 9:34am

The problem is, Chase should be in front of all of these guys, with margin, if the bike works properly.

If Jett was here, he wouldn't stand a chance and he knows it. 

He didn't gain a second place, he lost a win.

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TalinH112
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3/30/2026 9:58am
aees wrote:
The problem is, Chase should be in front of all of these guys, with margin, if the bike works properly.If Jett was here, he wouldn't stand...

The problem is, Chase should be in front of all of these guys, with margin, if the bike works properly.

If Jett was here, he wouldn't stand a chance and he knows it. 

He didn't gain a second place, he lost a win.

I wouldn’t discount Kenny’s speed at the moment, in the past he has been one of the few to keep Jett honest. Kenny is one of the most naturally talented riders we have ever seen, his injuries robbed us and him of a lot of success. He is really coming into a form we haven’t seen from him in almost 10 years. Chase coming off an injury and Kenny being this good, I think they finished right where they should have. 

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aees
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3/30/2026 10:57am
aees wrote:
The problem is, Chase should be in front of all of these guys, with margin, if the bike works properly.If Jett was here, he wouldn't stand...

The problem is, Chase should be in front of all of these guys, with margin, if the bike works properly.

If Jett was here, he wouldn't stand a chance and he knows it. 

He didn't gain a second place, he lost a win.

TalinH112 wrote:
I wouldn’t discount Kenny’s speed at the moment, in the past he has been one of the few to keep Jett honest. Kenny is one of...

I wouldn’t discount Kenny’s speed at the moment, in the past he has been one of the few to keep Jett honest. Kenny is one of the most naturally talented riders we have ever seen, his injuries robbed us and him of a lot of success. He is really coming into a form we haven’t seen from him in almost 10 years. Chase coming off an injury and Kenny being this good, I think they finished right where they should have. 

Hunter Lawrence was 1/10 faster than Kenny and Chase. I don't think Hunter is running Jetts pace.

It's old recency bias coming into play. 

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TalinH112
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3/30/2026 11:02am
aees wrote:
The problem is, Chase should be in front of all of these guys, with margin, if the bike works properly.If Jett was here, he wouldn't stand...

The problem is, Chase should be in front of all of these guys, with margin, if the bike works properly.

If Jett was here, he wouldn't stand a chance and he knows it. 

He didn't gain a second place, he lost a win.

TalinH112 wrote:
I wouldn’t discount Kenny’s speed at the moment, in the past he has been one of the few to keep Jett honest. Kenny is one of...

I wouldn’t discount Kenny’s speed at the moment, in the past he has been one of the few to keep Jett honest. Kenny is one of the most naturally talented riders we have ever seen, his injuries robbed us and him of a lot of success. He is really coming into a form we haven’t seen from him in almost 10 years. Chase coming off an injury and Kenny being this good, I think they finished right where they should have. 

aees wrote:

Hunter Lawrence was 1/10 faster than Kenny and Chase. I don't think Hunter is running Jetts pace.

It's old recency bias coming into play. 

I think Hunter can run Jett’s pace. Jett has said so, many times.

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