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Chase may have left Honda because of the brothers but a lot has changed since then. I doubt Deegan being there would be enough to prevent chase from going there now with the way things have gone. Chase probably wouldn't train there and sounds like Deegan hardly ever rides with anyone anyway. Both have motor homes for race days.
The free agent question is interesting. Brothers and Deegan for sure but other than that I don't think there's anyone else right now? Prado maybe if he is winning outdoors right away. The rest of the guys are either up there in age or don't have as high of a ceiling. I'm sure others have him way down the list on this question and that's the disrespect I'm talking about. Most of the criticisms of him are valid but we disagree on where that puts him in the hierarchy.
I also don't believe the door is closed anywhere. Everyone says they're sorry and they learned things and you convince yourself it'll be different and you remember the titles you won together and give it another go if it makes sense for both of you.
Throw a progressive spring on that PDS KTM and Voilá!
For the 100,000,000,000th time, it’s not the bike, it’s the team.
If the bike is so bad, how did he win a SX round?
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Chase Sexton is a pretty talented rider. And talented people can overcome difficult situations once in a while.
Every team in the paddock would get past any hurt feelings from the past to get Chase (for the right price). No doors are permanently shut....it's business, and Chase is one of very, very few with truly elite level speed.
I agree that Kawi needs to clean house....what they're doing obviously isn't working, and sometimes you need to fire the coach to move the team forward. Similar scenarios play out in F1 from time to time...it's usually a leadership and resources problem. Kawi has plenty of resources, so.......
It was a few weeks back, he addressed kawasakis willingness to do what it takes on the motorcycle. Jake Weimer outright said that it wasn’t true and they wouldn’t let him stray from a setup. 🤷🏻♂️
I think the issue is he can get the bike good on one thing/condition maybe, but then it's a disaster on others.
You can't ride two or three completely different bikes depending on track. What do you ride when you practice?
I don't think Star is likely in the near future, simply because of Deegan's presence. Chase left Honda because he didn't want to be second fiddle - why would he want to be second fiddle again, to a rider who is probably much harder to play second fiddle to (taking into account his antics)? Deegan is Yamaha's future, and he should be - He is 20 years old and likely going to quickly become one of the few riders to challenge Jett. Yes, Sexton has challenged Jett more than just about anybody, but he's already entering his late 20s and carries a lot more mental & physical baggage.
Sexton is still a hot commodity, don't get me wrong. I think the possibility of reuniting with KTM (or the KTM group) at some point is possible. And, to be completely honest, I would argue that the best he has ever ridden in his career was 2024MX and the second half of 2025SX - both on KTM. I also think Suzuki could be a possibility at some point in the future, if Kenny retires in the next couple of years (although he is looking better than ever, so I'm not so sure about that).
I don't see the Kawasaki thing working out over three years, though. I do believe there are some fundamental issues with the team - I don't think any factory race team has had former riders speak as negatively about them as former Factory Kawi riders. Even guys like Webb, who didn't have the smoothest exit with KTM, would admit (and I think has admitted) that Roger giving him a chance back in late 2018 was crucial in the revival of his 450 career, and that the whole Baker program and rigidity of Red Bull KTM was too stressful (more so mentally than physically) for him to continue his career into his 30s, which he wanted to do.
I guess it depends on the definition of "bad."
My sort of rhetorical question is based on that the Kawi platform is capable of winning, so it cannot be inherently "bad" (otherwise there would be no win.)
Are the bike settings/setup "bad?" (Too narrow of a range, not flexible for track variability, imbalanced, understeer/oversteer.)
And are these "bad" settings/setup due to CS or team factors, or a combination of the two? (CS doesn't trust the settings, CS doesn't understand how the settings will impact portions of the track, there are too many settings/setups for CS to keep straight, team won't provide xyz, etc.)
I can see the logic behind the latter (bad settings.)
ain't gonna lie...CS could roll around easily in 5th-8th very safely with little risk of injury and could cash mega checks to fulfill this contract. Yeah, I know people want the c-ships/legacy stuff but he's put himself in a helluva position. Not sure if he'd be too old at that point, but after fulfilling the contract, he joins XYZ team and wins races. Not an ideal solution, but when you consider pay/health/career...sticking w/ the crummy job for the great pay isn't always a terrible plan.
Yeah, but Chase is there to win....no doubt about it.
If Kawi lets Chase walk and keep dumb and dumber leading the team nobody will ride for them….Kawi japan needs to make a management change as they are the NY Jets of SX/MX…
He didn’t leave Honda because of the bike. He has left every other team since then due to the bike, I say “every other” cuz he will 100% leave Kawi before the 3 years is up. His only hope is Star and that means he will have to suffer being an actual B guy. You give him the truth serum and Chase would be begging to get back on Honda, front tucking aside he was the best on that bike- also, any chance all the Prado haters give him his due now or are we still blaming him for being right and sticking to his guns (how dare he)
Bullshit he complained about the handling of the Honda (how can we forget all the front end tucks he suffered on the Hon) and said it was one of the reasons he moved on everyone assumes that he left because of the Lawrence’s but he never said that, only talking heads and conspiracy theorists have said that….
The Honda was the tuck machine. Chase complained about it as well.
And I disagree, he was best on KTM..
I don’t follow team management details very much at all but even with no prior knowledge if you just looked at the last two years there’s clearly a problem at Kawasaki.
Having said that how do you reconcile your two main statements - they’ve done everything for Chase but they need to go? I’m finding it hard to understand how both can be true.
If the bike really isn’t a problem and they’ve tried everything why can’t they make it work? There have been toxic relationships between rider and management at top level teams in the past where they’ve still seen success.
Yes, while it seems there are problems at Kawi at the team level this doesn't get Chase off the hook. He has a reputation with teams for being very difficult to the point of rudeness and disrespect. Chase has admitted this himself regarding his time at both Honda and KTM. It's also been pointed out that his father is a problem. Finally, Chase himself. Numerous commentators of note have pointed to Chase needing to sort out himself and stop blaming the bikes, the teams, and so on.
I honestly don't think STAR would sign him at this point. Deegan is their big investment going forward and they don't need a whole bunch of headaches from Crazy Chase.
Pit Row
Seewer said that an oil tanker and the kawi has the same characteristics when it comes to turning.
Chase has said he needs to ride outside lines and around the bumps. So it's probably very narrow window for when the bike works, and it needs to suit the riding style. Chase ain't a rear end steering guy.
If the fundamentals about the bike is wrong, it doesn't matter what linkage, triple clamps or other things you throw at it to try and bandaid. Trying to fix something fundamentally wrong, will create 3 other issues.
The big question is will the energy drink companies want any more to do with him.
Not permanently shut but Honda and KTM just don’t have room in the near future. I’d also speculate that the circumstances of Chase’s departure from both teams is still recent enough that while they might not say no outright, they probably aren’t going to bend over backwards to get him. Or maybe they might if they could get him on a deal that is hugely in their favour.
Maybe Chase ends up on a Rockstar Husky 😁😁😁😉
It’s been a problem since RV left.( yes I know Eli won there but he ended up leaving because of the management of the team) It is the team managers responsibility to help get the bikes and riders where they need to be and have the best people in the right spots. Give everyone the right tools to succeed, very much like a general manager and coach in sports. The sport has grown beyond their abilities and their way of only working with their friends and buddies in the industry isn’t going to work anymore, they confuse loyalty with ability. When you have to have 3 separate test riders, and allow your rider to show up with a different motorcycle every week just screams that they have lost their way, they are just throwing mud on the wall now to see what sticks and it is absolutely Bruce S and Dan F’s job to make sure that doesn’t happen and that is why Kawi needs to move on from Dumb and Dumber….because if they don’t they will hurt the brand.
He won’t be winning anything besides maybe a heat race in 3 years.
Blair joked about it on the pod with matthes this week but maybe somewhere like club would be perfect for him? Same dynamic as roczen going to HEP. Their 250 is obviously plenty capable. Gamble on each other and see what happens.
Nope, his dad was on pulp and said they wanted to leave and not be on the same equipment as Jett. 2024 ish
that's my point. is that the worst thing if you're cashing 7 figure checks? I mean, would YOU cash 7 fig checks knowing you wouldn't win championships? I understand that there's a lot more variables, but this situation is beyond odd and Chase has to start thinking beyond his nose.
I don’t think the elite guys want to just ride around knowing they can’t win, or aren’t at least competitive.
What is with the dad's in this sport? I don't know anybody whose dad goes with them to work everyday.
I don’t think starting his own team works, you need clear direction on settings and strong mental fortitude. Chase has neither unfortunately
MXGP, fresh start away from Dad and out of the fishbowl might be just the ticket to reignite things
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