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For the most part, Hunter does seem to be slightly quicker on the hard pack. BUT, in quailifying session 2 last week in Denver, Kenny did put a heater & go to the top of the board. Only .200 or .300 somewhere in there, but I’d say he can push on hard pack if he NEEDS to, and this weekend… he’ll need to, Hunter will probably start ahead of Ken, if he does, Kenny 100% running him down making a pass happen… just hope he can put in some serious sprint laps & make Hunter push that little extra where the Honda doesn’t work so well for Hunter(right now) and make little mistakes that’ll cost Hunter to not catch up… like miss a rythem section, lose time in the whoops etc. or maybe even allow another rider in between them.
Well isn’t it the same kinda track and dirt from last weekend? I’d have to say Hunter because he was gone last weekend.
Sooo . . . you're saying Hunter has a shot? 😇
Totally get the Aussie pride.
Ken was pretty fast in qualifying at Denver but he was the only guy diving into the end of the scoring time loop and rolling the finish. He went from 10th to 5th in Q1 when he did it, and went to the top after doing it again in Q2. Not sure how much time it was worth but I think 1/2 second is probably a fair estimate and that would have put him 5th in Q2 if he had completed the lap normally. I know Ken fans will chastise me for saying this but it's true, they can go back and watch if they would like to. Totally legal to do it, just not a good number to use for comparison since nobody else was gaming it like he was.
This weekend we won't have to deal with that issue because the end of the time loop isn't right out of a corner.
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Qualifying P2 is just as good as P1, since you’ll still get first gate pic in the second heat. There are no championship points attached so there’s really no need to break your neck for that one position improvement late in the session.
Ahhh gotcha. Yeah true.
I want Kenny, but somehow I think Zac Osborne is going to win it all.
Kenny is older, wiser, way more experienced. Plus he is riding momentum which is huge.
Hunter has an immense amount of pressure on him, both self inflicted and also because once his brother is back he knows he can't beat him.
Both are headstrong and handle pressure well.
For me it comes down to riding style and the track. Its going to be dry, hard packed, and square edged. Kenny hasnt done as well as Hunter on those types of tracks. Denver really showed this. I think hunter has the edge here, and he is going to sprint out front early even if Kenny holeshots. Hunter will pass Kenny within the first couple of laps, then try to run away and hide.
All year Kenny has been ok protecting a podium spot in those situations and he takes it down a notch. It'll be interesting to see if Kenny responds aggressively to pass hunter back, close the door, and try to sprint away himself. If Kenny wants to beat hunter, he has to be flawless.
Im rooting for Kenny, but if I was betting Id say hunter edges him out.
Lets just hope mitchell harrison and vince friese stay in their lane and dont ruin this race.
Just some more thoughts as I read through the additional comments...
I'm not fully convinced on the calm, cool, and collected demeanor of either guy. I don't see either of them as on the level of say, a Chad Reed type, when it comes to having ice in their veins. If things get close and dicey, it's tough to say how either Hunter or Kenny will handle it.
From a pure technical and observational perspective, I feel like Kenny's bike has more upside. Yes, Hunter has been a little better in hard pack, but he often looks like he is right at the limits of what his bike can handle, especially whoops. Both Jett and Hunter have looked like they are having to use a lot of "extra" technique to keep their Honda's in line in the whoops in recent years.
As someone else put it, Hunter's bike looks "edgy". It makes sense. I owned a recent model CRF and it had razor sharp handling, but it also randomly scared me with how it would step out at times in rougher sections of the track. Not that my skill or bike was comparable, but it certainly gave me an idea of the nature of the chassis.
For Kenny, I feel like if he pushes it, his bike will be far more forgiving. But, he absolutely must push it. There's no next week.
I'm not sure about that anymore - Hunter has improved so much I'm not taking that for granted.
Same!
Feld wins, they write the script. On that note, Kenny gets title, better storyline
After watching the press day videos of the whoops, I got Kenny for the title.
Hunter washes out
Big Whoops in SLC. Just sayin'.
I think Roczen will win, but it will be close. Hunta will fight very hard but in the end, experience wins.
lol I had Harrison and Friese on my team last week. They crashed into each other in the LCQ.
As usual I'm hoping Bob Hannah wins. I should probably stop doing that by now.
Pit Row
I agree, those whoops are gonna help KR.
AGREED,
Realistically, who ever gets the better start will win, and going by past performances thats still 50 / 50.
Imagine how exciting it’ll be if they start 1-2, let’s hope for that.
Kenny because we all want him to!!!!
Hunter because he’s on the way up
Lappers will fuck somebody over with 48 second lap times.
If there was ever a weekend to blackflag people for just being too slow...
Those HRC starts are hard to bet against...
I want Hunter to win bad. I think we see Tomac play a factor i have a feeling hes going to ride well and get between the 96 and 94.
Irrelevant. It’s all decided on which order Ken and Hunter finish, regardless of where they finish.
not irrelevant if it keeps a rider from within striking distance
Maybe someone said this, but I didn’t read all 4 pages: if I’m Hunter and in front, I’m definitely doing some brake checks. Wouldn’t be anything dirty, just trying to get ken to stall the bike and have to try and kick it to life.
Post a reply to: Roczen vs Lawrence, who wins and why?