https://www.vitalmx.com/features/post-race-interviews-2026-fox-raceway
Lewis, I’m not trying to glaze you here, but kudos for always following up on a riders comment and asking for further details or elaboration. The riders can always say no, (say like Hunter is always known to do) but for example in the interviews above, if you don’t ask Beaumer what he changed on the start, he wouldn’t tell us he changed his launch rpm. Same with Hammaker, if you don’t ask him to elaborate regarding what he wants to improve with the suspension, we don’t get to hear him speak on the bike swapping side to side. Asking RJ to go in depth further regarding the KTM group’s shock fading issues is bold and appreciated. It’s a real issue that they are facing. Same thing with your Sexton interviews. If you don’t ask the follow up questions, we don’t get the details. These aren’t trade secrets, it is a very normal thing in Motorsports to speak about race setup and needed changes/improvements. Just because a professional racer is struggling with race day setup on the weekend, that doesn’t mean that manufacturer and the bike he rides is complete crap. I know it’s always been Win on Sunday and Sell on Monday, but that’s a stupid reason to have an entire sport gate keeping things as little as setup changes. It seems like an outdated mentality from the OEMs and Teams here in 2026. Kenny and Suzuki are a testament to that. I just wish we could normalize speaking more openly in our sport, similar to other professional sports, so thank you for interviewing as you do. Keep leaning in when interviewing and asking follow up questions of the riders and team personnel.
(Honorable mention to ML for your weekend What We Learned YT episodes. They are fantastic.)
Here is a broken up version easier to read.
Lewis, I’m not trying to glaze you here, but kudos for always following up on a rider's comment and asking for further details or elaboration.
The riders can always say no (Hunter is always known to do that), but if you don't ask, you don't get the details. For example, in the interviews above, if you don't ask Beaumer what he changed on the start, he never tells us he changed his launch RPM. Same with Hammaker. If you don't ask him to elaborate on what he wants to improve with the suspension, we never hear him explain the bike swapping side to side.
Asking RJ to go deeper on the KTM group's shock fading issues was bold and appreciated. It's a real issue they're dealing with. The same applies to your Sexton interviews. If you don't ask the follow-up questions, we don't get the details.
These aren't trade secrets. In motorsports, it's completely normal to discuss race setup, bike behavior, and areas that need improvement. Just because a professional racer is struggling with race-day setup doesn't mean the manufacturer or the bike is complete crap.
I know the mentality has always been "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday," but that's a pretty weak reason for an entire sport to gatekeep something as basic as setup changes. It feels like an outdated mindset from OEMs and teams in 2026.
Kenny and Suzuki are a testament to that.
I just wish we could normalize speaking more openly in our sport, similar to other professional sports. So thank you for interviewing the way you do. Keep leaning into those follow-up questions with riders and team personnel. That's where the interesting stuff is, and it's what a lot of us actually want to hear.
Honorable mention to ML for the weekend What We Learned YouTube episodes. They are fantastic.
I appreciate it as well. The riders and teams usually default to giving a semi vague answer, and that forces them to either flat out say "no, I won't tell you", or realize it's not that big of a deal and just give the details.
RJ sounds bitter and of course it’s the shock issue effecting him.
Lewis is awesome!
Grammar police fn suck. I read that fine.
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Here is a broken up version easier to read.
"Slurp! Sluuurp, sluuuurp!!!"
I was impressed with RJ's confidence in his Swap interview. Said he's got a lot more in the tank and the reason he hasn't signed a contract yet was because he wants to show it
For the guys being negative; you don’t appreciate good content? Weird.
Thank you! I really appreciate it.
I just listen to what they say and respond like I would if it was a private conversation.
Lewis is great. Top journalist in the sport. Vital and ML are lucky to have him. I bet in the next few years he starts his own company.
True heir of Pulmx Empire
I noticed on the Pulp Show that RJ completely changed his tune on the shock issue. I’m guessing he got a talking to on Monday.
Hahaha I thought the same thing. “No no there’s no shock problem” 🤣
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